Book Report

Just so you know I have a penchant for nerdy, anthropological, non-fiction books.

Consequently I was intrigued when Quinn came home from work with one written by a former FBI counterintelligence officer about nonverbal behavior, specifically subconscious non-verbal behavior. It's called What Every Body is Saying written by Joe Navarro.

The person who writes the article in US Magazine about how they can tell Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are having marital issues by their body language at the park must have read this book.

Here are some gems:

This is called arms akimbo.
It's a territorial behavior used to "assert dominance and project an image of authority." I'm pretty sure I see cops standing like this all the time.

This is called genital framing. Ahem.
According to this book it's a "powerful dominance display." When you see a man do this, in essence he is saying, "check me out, I'm a virile male." It reminds me of Todd Packer...you know Michael Scott's crass friend from The Office.

This is called steepling.
Apparently it's one of the most powerful displays of confidence we possess. On a side note, Donald Trump was steepling during his entire interview with Barbara Walters that I watched last week.

This is called "the regal stance"
When someone is standing this way they are communicating that they are of a higher status and that they don't want you to touch them. It makes me think of a boss I used to have....


Did you know that when you compress your lips like this it is, "very indicative of true negative sentiment." There is usually stress or anxiety driving this behavior.


Since I read the book I keep asking Quinn questions I think might make him mad to see if he compresses his lips. I was also paying attention to which couples at the ward Christmas party are leaning toward each other or away from each other and who's playing footsie (a good sign of a happy relationship).