Vocal fillers such as "um" or "ah" can indicate hesitation or uncertainty. They can also indicate that a person is trying to buy time to think about what to say next or not sure about the answer.

Vocal fillers 

Head tilted to the side: When someone tilts their head to the side, it can indicate curiosity, interest, or confusion. Head resting on hand: Never rest your head on the hand as it can indicate boredom, fatigue or inattentiveness.

Head tilted

Standing tall with good posture can indicate confidence and power, while slouching can indicate lack of confidence or submission. Also, putting hands on hips can indicate assertiveness or dominance.

Posture 

Dilated pupils, for example, can indicate that a person is excited or attracted to the person they are talking to. Conversely, if a person's pupils are constricted, they may be disinterested or uncomfortable.

Dialtion

Direct and prolonged eye contact can indicate confidence, attentiveness, and interest. Avoiding eye contact can indicate that a person is hiding something or is not being truthful.

Eye Contact

A decrease in blinking rate can indicate, interest or deception. A normal blink rate is about 10 to 15 times per minute. Rapid blinking can indicate nervousness or lying. Excessive blinking can indicate discomfort or dishonesty. Long blinks can indicate boredom or lack of interest.

Blinking Rate

For 25 years, Joe used nonverbal communication as his primary professional tool in the FBI to catch and interview spies, criminals, and terrorists. Since leaving the FBI his life’s work has been in building awareness about the power of nonverbal communication, debunking myths and falsehoods about nonverbals and giving people insight in how to better utilize nonverbals to enhance their communication skills. Follow Joe on @navarrotells Joe Navarro was a Spycatcher for the FBI in a career spanning decades. Using his specialized skills in behavioural assessment, he mastered the craft of counterintelligence through the use of nonverbal communication. Since retiring he has authored 13 books dealing with human behaviour and lectures widely on the importance and practical use of nonverbal communication. His book, Louder Than Words, was lauded by The Wall Street Journal as “One of the six best business books to read for your career” and What Every BODY is Saying, translated into 28 languages, remains after eleven years, the #1 selling body-language book in the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

philosophy

Philosophy

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

strategy

Strategy

education

Learning & Education

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

For 25 years, Joe used nonverbal communication as his primary professional tool in the FBI to catch and interview spies, criminals, and terrorists. Since leaving the FBI his life’s work has been in building awareness about the power of nonverbal communication, debunking myths and falsehoods about nonverbals and giving people insight in how to better utilize nonverbals to enhance their communication skills.

Follow Joe on @navarrotells Joe Navarro was a Spycatcher for the FBI in a career spanning decades. Using his specialized skills in behavioural assessment, he mastered the craft of counterintelligence through the use of nonverbal communication. Since retiring he has authored 13 books dealing with human behaviour and lectures widely on the importance and practical use of nonverbal communication.

His book, Louder Than Words, was lauded by The Wall Street Journal as “One of the six best business books to read for your career” and What Every BODY is Saying, translated into 28 languages, remains after eleven years, the #1 selling body-language book in the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere -- celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED's format and rules.

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy). 

For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com.

Vocal fillers

Similar ideas to Vocal fillers

Vocal Tone

Shutting people off

Interpreting words