The Concentration of an Airplane Pilot

There is a poem I cannot find at this time, about pilots ... about a boy looking up in the back yard as a plane flies over ... about "the concentration of good men."

I like analyze non-verbal communication. In the photo which is, to me, incredibly beautiful, someone to our left is taking the photo. There is someone to the right.

In this photo, there is one person looking directly at the camera - like you should be - and he is a pilot.

In Italian Trial, the non-verbals will count

Is it Amanda Knox or Foxy Knoxy?

12 year old Seattle honor student is on trial for murder in Perugia, Italy.

Compare the lead photo on msn.com with the one you are lead to from Newsweek here.

I don't know about you, but from looking at the photos, I would have a completely different "impression" of Ms. Knox depending upon which one I was shown.

The article on Newsweek (link above) is full of the importance of impression and nonverbal communication. Would this be moreso in a country that is relatively more right-brained, like Italy? You be the judge. But the nonverbals matter in any courtroom in any country. That's why lawyers study it, why there are mock trials, why there are experts who 'prepare' witnessess, and why there are expert witnesses called to testify. The jury watches carefully, listens carefully, forms opinions beyond what is said, what is termed in the article, "nonjudicial factors."

Examples from the article:

Murder suspect Amanda Knox has a lot of explaining to do. But what she says may not be as important as how she says it.

Says Alessandra Batassa, a criminal-defense lawyer in Rome who has served on defense teams in similar crimes. "The court will be absolutely influenced by nonjudicial factors like her demeanor. Her image has been painted in a very bad light in the trial so far, so she has to portray that she has normal sexual relationships and that she is just a normal girl. She has to be very convincing."

At times she is indignant, answering questions with her own questions.

... she is either serious or arrogant

... waffled between confidence and calamity

The article ends:

She will almost surely be less cavalier this time, as her lawyers prepare her for what will be a grueling day. The jury will be listening attentively, but more important, they will be watching her every move.

If you'd like to increase your understanding of emotional intelligence and nonverbal communication, take the EQ Course or sign up for EQ coaching. Email sdunn@susandunn.cc for more information.

P.S. How would someone portray that she is "just a normal girl"? Share your comments.

Nonverbal Communication Reveals Status

Body Language Reveals Wealth from yahoo.news. Not just a wealth of information about you, but what wealth and status you have.

From the article:

A flashy handbag or Armani suit can signal a person's wealth, but so can their body language, according to a new study. People of higher socioeconomic status are more rude when conversing with others.

Psychologists Michael Kraus and Dacher Keltner of the University of California, Berkeley, ... looked for certain gestures that indicate level of interest in the other person during one-minute slices of each conversation. .. They found that students whose parents were from higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds engaged in more of what he called "impolite" behaviors, such as grooming, doodling and fidgeting. Lower SES students showed more "I'm interested" gestures, including laughter and raising of the eyebrows.

Research appeared in January issue of Psychological Science.

If you want to know more about nonverbal communication, and how to manage yours, order "Nonverbal Communication" or take The EQ Course. Email me for more information - sdunn@susandunn.cc Coaching includes personal assessment of your own nonverbal communication gestures, expressions, etc.

Clearly it pays to know what your nonverbal communication reveals about you, and how to get it in line with what you want it to reveal.

What do Obama's nonverbals reveal? See ARTICLE HERE on discussion of Obama's gestures, expressions, posture, etc.

Who is good at reading nonverbal cues and who is not. And how to get better at it.

The biggest mistake you can make is to assume communication has taken place.

A classic:

I have just revised my ebook, NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION and invite you to learn more. Including new research information.

Why learn nonverbal communication aka body language? As Sun-Tzu says, if something can be used against you, it's good to know as much about it as you can.

From the ebook:

Who's Good at Reading Nonverbal Cues and Who Isn't? (according to research):

• Autistic people usually are poor at it, or cannot
• Abused children are more sensitive to anger cues than unabused children
• Heroin addicts and phencyclidine abusers have a decreased ability
• Cocaine addicts have an increased ability
• Men with major depression have significantly decreased ability to read nonverbal cues
• Obese women have diminished ability to read nonverbal cues
• Women with PMS have a diminished ability
• Serial rapists of adult women are very good at it
• Women who have been raped on at least two occasions by different perpetrators are very poor at it (see data below)

A Disturbing, Yet Cautionary Tale:

In research done by AJ Giannini, WA Price, JL Kniepple in International Journal
of Psychiatry in Medicine, it was found that males who were serial rapists of adult women had very high "nonverbal receptive abilities," while women who had been raped on at least two occasions by different perpetrators had "a significant impairment in their abilities to read these cues in either male or female senders." Adds wikipedia, " These results were troubling, indicating a predator-prey model. The authors did note that whatever the nature of these preliminary findings the responsibility of the rapist was in no manner or level, diminished.

Lastly -

Medical students going into family practice, psychiatry, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology were significantly better at reading nonverbal cues than medical students going into surgery, radiology and pathology. Internal medicine and plastic surgery candidates scored near the mean.

Common sense (EQ) would add:

• Successful trial lawyers are good at it
• Clinical psychologists are good atl research psychologists aren't
• Psychics are excellent at it
• Identical Twins are very good at it (see my white paper on this)
• Successful gameplayers are good it ("don juans," Ponzi-schemers and poker player)
• Accountants, engineers and IT personnel are not good at it

I work with doctors and lawyers to improve their ability to read nonverbal communication.

IF YOU CAN'T READ NONVERBAL CUES, IN THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO, YOU ARE "CLUELESS" AND IN THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO, YOU ARE A SITTING DUCK FOR PREDATORS.

Let me help you. Order the ebook, sign up for personal coaching. Email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc .

Essential Travel Tips

Planning to travel for the holidays? Some savvy travel tips can really lessen your stress (a left brain thought). More than that, savvy travel tips can add to your comfort (a right brain feeling). After all, there's more to life than speed and avoiding stress. There's also comfort, pleasure and enjoying the ride.

Yesterday, I came across the article Know Before You Go: Unlock the Secrets of Your Home Airport on msn.com. The lead-in is, "Every terminal has tricks that savvy fliers can use to save time and reduce hassles." And, say I, add to your comfort and enjoyment. Armed with emotional intelligence (the right attitude, and emotional management), it can again be a rather pleasureable experiene.

Reading the article made me realize how much I know about certain airports that I never really verbalized. Just little tricks, things I've learned in going through them many times. And how helpful they would be to someone else. Why hadn't I ever thought about asking other people what they knew??

The author mentions Sea-Tac first. I used to travel to Sea-Tac a lot when my son was at Pepperdine. A friend of mine called me when she was planning a trip there, and I immediately started telling her the ins and outs, which car rental to use and why, this incredibly convenient and user-friendly affordable motel ... I had it all down to a science.

This man's article talks about speed of maneuvering. Mine would include tips on comfort - restrooms, food, places to rest, where the best food is at O'Hare ... what airport has rocking chairs, and which one has a smoking room inside, and which has a bar centrally located where if you by a drink you can smoke, how bad the food is at XXX, and what airport is set up so you can quickly go outside between flights to enjoy some fresh air and the beautiful scenery.

I'd also talk about all the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) tips I've applied to personnel at airports that have eased my passage through. Together he and I would write quite a book!

For instance, there's security - a fantastic place to practice your emotional intelligence skills for savvy travel. I read in the Dallas newspaper not long ago that the TSA there was going to move their focus from book-learning to intuition. One official interviewed said that we know intuitively when someone's 'suspect.' I know this has caused a lot of discrimination talk (should every 20 y.o. male Arab be searched?), but there it was in print. The TSA agents were now going to receive training in recognizing suspicious behavior, expressions, postures, gestures, etc. If I had time, I'd love to lead the training! There's one trick I use that almost always assures I get 'to the front of the line' in most situations.

When dealing with airport personnel and TSA, I use a lot of nonverbal behavior that greases wheels for me. In contradistinction, I traveled with a friend of mine not long ago who "hates" airports and the "stupid" security stuff, like having to take off her shoes, and therefore becomes hotile the minute she sets her foot in an airport. She really cops an attitude, AND GUESS WHO ALWAYS, ALWAYS GETS SEARCHED??

Savvy travel through what is often a nightmarish landscape: Another compelling reason to study Emotional Intelligence. Take THE EQ COURSE and start learning more now. This is a unique course - nothing like it on the Internet. Find out about nonverbals and intuition, what they're onw teaching the TSA people; find out what can make you your own worst enemy when traveling. What you learn in THE EQ COURSE can be applied to every situation you encounter anywhere, for win-win outcomes.

Nice people finish last? Nope. Nice people get through airports faster, get better service from stewardesses, get help with their bags, get their own special bus to that far-off terminal ...

Special in time for holiday travel: 50 min. phone consultation, $50. Beats the heck out of the $299 you'd pay for a Clear pass.

Also check out the TSA database on security wait times at U. S. airports. (And each airport's own website.)

How long is the wait time at Love Field in Dallas? I maintain it's a lot more important for you to know the back route to the airport that I know (saves at least half an hour and avoids one of the most dangerous left turns ever created by man), and about the cell phone parking-waiting area. Wish someone had told ME about them!

It's emotionally intelligent to get the information you need to prepare for less-stress travel, as much creature comfort as possible, and to maintain a support network for that, and everything else.