Truth and Lies

What People Are Really Thinking

By: Mark Bowden, Tracey Thomson

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A fresh, insightful guide to reading body language in the post-digital age

Whether you're at a job interview or a cocktail party, searching LinkedIn, or swiping right on a dating site, you want (no - need) to understand what people are really thinking, regardless of what they're saying. Understanding what others are trying to tell you with their posture, hand gestures, eye contact (or lack thereof), or incessant fiddling with their iPhone might all be even more important than what you're projecting yourself. Do they plan on making a deal with your company? Are they lying to you? Can you trust this person with your most intimate secrets? Knowing what others are thinking can tell you when to run with an opportunity and when not to waste your time, whether at work, in a crucial negotiation or on a promising first date.

Best-selling authors Mark Bowden and Tracey Thomson, principals at the communications company Truthplane, illustrate the essential points of body language with examples from everyday life, leavened with humor and insights that you can use to your advantage in virtually any situation.

©2018 Mark Bowden and Tracey Thomson (P)2021 Tantor

Good book, title a mystery

I got this book after watching Mark on the Behavior Panel on YouTube. My first thought was that every time I hit play on this, I was disappointed Mark wasn't narrating. The narrator is fine, even very good, just not quite the voice I was hoping for. My other major complaint is the title. If you watch the Behavior Panel, you'll know they explain over and over that there is no body language for lying, and in fact Mark is probably the least of a "lie detector" of all of them. Nothing in this book goes against that - it is all about context, subtleties of meaning, innocent misunderstandings, that kind of thing. Rarely, especially in the contexts in this book, are people straight-up lying to you. So I don't know what's going on with the title - I guess it is the print version of click-bait. So if you watch the Behavior Panel and think the title sounds weird, well, the book is probably closer to what you expect based on Mark's expertise, and not what the title suggests.

The book is a bit repetitive, but that is extremely common in this type of book, and can actually be a somewhat helpful when it comes to retaining information. There were times when the book was a little hard to follow because of the formatting - it can be a bit hard to follow quotes, and there pull-out sections (Mythbusters) and sometimes the transitions in and out were a bit confusing. The chapter on online dating seemed to have the least helpful information - basically, have a good profile pic and don't be blatantly misleading. I'm an animal lover and really enjoyed the sections on dog behavior, as it realted to human behavior.

Overall a good read, I just wish they'd resisted the temptation to click-bait the title. Though that may have been a decision by the publisher, not the authors.

The Abcs of Body Language.

This is a great starter if you’re into body language. Yes it gave me a lot of confidence in how or when to trust my judgement with the guide of this book. I hope they’re will be a sequel to this. Thank you dear Author.

Entertaining and Educational

The concepts were helpful and useful for everyday life. Understanding the basics to human behaviour and suspending judgement is something all children should be taught in their formative years.
Although I’m no spring chicken, I loved learning the scan technique and have avoided unnecessary confusion or confrontations just by suspending a few judgements. 🤗
Thank you

social overview

this book was more about social situations and body language than I anticipated. it is a very goood overview of generalized situations, the specifics and differences between cultures both cultural and societal as well as business and personal. if this is what you are looking for, you found it.

Enjoyed It Thoroughly

I got a lot out of this book especially the SCAN approach and the way body language can be mis interpreted.

Very enjoyable listen

This book contained a lot of very good information and was presented in a very pleasant narration.

Narrator couldn't keep my attention

Struggled as a person with ADHD. If Mark had read the book, it would have been amazing! Bad idea to allow the narrator. The charm for attention keeping IS Mark Bowden himself. I'm so sorry for the negative, but honesty is best.

Nothing New Here

I read the first 22 chapters and I have no interest in reading further. This book is full of misinformation, bias and irrelevant conversations. This is a boring book on an interesting subject.