The Definitive Book of Body LanguageThe Lying IntervieweeWe interviewed a man who had arrived from abroad to apply
for a position with our company. Throughout the interview
he kept his arms and legs crossed, used critical evaluation
clusters, had very little palm use and he looked away fre-
quently. Something was obviously worrying him, but in
the early stages of the interview we didn't have sufficient
information for an accurate assessment of his negative
gestures. We asked questions about his previous employers in
his native country. His answers included a series of eye-
rubbing and nose-touching gestures and he continued to look
away. We eventually decided not to hire him, based on what
we had seen as opposed to what he had said. We were curious
about his deceit gestures and when we checked with his
overseas referees, we discovered that he had given false infor-
mation about his past. He assumed that a potential employer
in another country probably wouldn't bother to check over-
seas references and, had we not been aware of the body
language cues and signals, we could have made the mistake
of hiring him.Chin StrokingThe next time you have the opportunity to present an idea to
a group of people, watch them carefully as you give your idea
and you may notice that most will bring one hand up to their
face and use an evaluation gesture. When you come to the end
of your presentation and ask the group to give opinions or sug-
gestions about your ideas, the evaluation gestures will usually
stop and a Chin Stroking gesture begins. This Chin Stroke is
the signal that the listener is going through the decision-
making process.