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

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32 WHAT EVERY BODY IS SAYING


haviors that tell you the businessperson is unhappy with what is occur-
ring at the table.


The Fight Response

The fight response is the limbic brain’s final tactic for survival through
aggression. When a person confronting danger cannot avoid detection by
freezing and cannot save himself by distancing or escaping (flight), the
only alternative left is to fight. In our evolution as a species, we—along
with other mammals—developed the strategy of turning fear into rage
in order to fight off attackers (Panksepp, 1998, 208). In the modern


People lean away from each other subconsciously when
they disagree or feel uncomfortable around each other.

Fig. 5
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