What Every BODY Is Saying : An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed Reading People

92 WHAT EVERY BODY IS SAYING

(see box 21) also serve the same purpose. For instance, a businessmen may
suddenly decide to button his jacket when talking to someone with whom
he is uncomfortable, only to undo the jacket as soon as the conversation is
over.
Buttoning a jacket, of course, is not always an indication of discomfort;
often men will button their jackets to formalize a setting or to show defer-
ence to their boss. It is not the kind of total comfort we might find at, say, a
barbecue, but neither does it indicate uneasiness. Clothing and how we at-
tend to our clothes can influence perceptions and are even suggestive of how
approachable or open we are to others (Knapp & Hall, 2002, 206–214).

BOX 21: PILLOW TALK

When we see individuals suddenly protecting their torsos, we can assume

they are not comfortable and that they sense themselves to be in some

kind of threatening or dangerous situation. In 1992, while working with

the FBI, I interviewed a young man and his father in a hotel room in the

Boston area. The father had agreed, reluctantly, to bring the young man

to the interview. While sitting on the hotel couch, the young man grabbed

one of the couch pillows and held it close to his chest for most of the

three-hour interview. Despite the presence of his father, this young man

felt vulnerable and, therefore, needed to tightly clutch a “security blan-

ket.” While the barrier was only a pillow, it must have been quite effective

for this individual, because there was just no getting through to him. I

found it remarkable that when the subject was neutral, such as when we

talked about his involvement in sports, he would put the pillow aside.

However, when we spoke of his possible complicity in a major crime, he

would retrieve the pillow and press it tightly against his torso. It was clear

that the only time his limbic brain felt the need to protect his torso was

when he felt threatened. He never did reveal anything at this meeting, but

the next time he was interviewed, the comforting pillows were conspicu-

ously absent!