Former FBI Agent Breaks Down Universal Body Language | WIRED

Former FBI agent and body language expert Joe Navarro breaks down the unintentional non-verbals that are displayed by human beings around the globe. Joe explains how the limbic system functions and why we act the way we do in certain situations.
Check out Joe's book "The Dictionary of Body Language"
www.jnforensics.com/
Books By Joe Navarro: www.jnforensics.com/books
Joe Navarro Body Language Academy: jnbodylanguageacademy.com
Still haven’t subscribed to WIRED on KZbin? ►► wrd.cm/15fP7B7
Listen to the Get WIRED podcast ►► link.chtbl.com/wired-ytc-desc
Want more WIRED? Get the magazine ►► subscribe.wired.com/subscribe...
Get more incredible stories on science and tech with our daily newsletter: wrd.cm/DailyYT
Also, check out the free WIRED channel on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. Here you can find your favorite WIRED shows and new episodes of our latest hit series Tradecraft.
ABOUT WIRED
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Through thought-provoking stories and videos, WIRED explores the future of business, innovation, and culture.
Former FBI Agent Breaks Down Universal Body Language | WIRED

[@eshabilnanacak]

I can listen to this man for hours.

[@miguelahorta]

He is indeed an excellent communicator, for sure a great professor.

[@damaribrackett1159]

Same but I cant listen to my teacher of 30 mins b4 falling asleep

[@NerdyCatCoffeeee]

@@damaribrackett1159 You must be studying physics

[@LadySamurai88]

Same here. The way he tells it is interesting.

[@SquidBeats]

Jesus Christ is God and is the only way. Turn to Jesus Christ before it’s too late

[@antoniovalencia2984]

All the quiet kids in the corner are already pros..

[@sand4brainz506]

someone actually said it. i gotta agree w you, as a former quiet kid who sat in the corner

[@BadazzGregg]

Quietest person is the most observant.

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

I used to track social groups and the speed of interactions at my high school by saying something weird and specific and making a note every time I heard those exact words.

[@chadsknnr]

Well, I guess that makes me Argus . . . .

[@borisdawelf4500]

*Hi*

[@indiciaobscure]

I feel better knowing there's a reason for freezing up when something scary happens to you. I was molested in the street, and froze up. Afterwards I could not understand why I didn't respond in any way. It's not very useful nowadays, but I'm glad to know it has some survival function.

[@jdhama]

I really felt bad after reading that you were molested

[@GMAMEC]

So sorry to hear about your experience. Yes, it is not uncommon to freeze when you are in a dangerous or scary situation. It wasn’t your fault and it wasn’t consent. While we all have different ways of healing, please consider counseling with an experienced specialist or support group.

[@SueBoo2]

Hindsight is 20/20. Evidently, your reaction saved you. 😓

[@acousticintervention7163]

Yeah, that happens because if you run they'll do a heck of a lot worse. Interesting, isn't it? (Sad, really.)

[@acousticintervention7163]

@@Elektrikkiss very true. I should have said, "I always thought it happens because..." Because that is what I really meant. Thank you for correcting that.

[@janey783]

Joe is a genius! I've been using his body language knowledge to be a better actor, his books are so worth it

[@francescaa8331]

Interesting use of the information. I could see how it might make a performance more convincing. Also, do you feel the addition of the body language adds to your emotional connection to the character? Just curious.

[@songbird1154]

Me too!

[@nishi704]

Oh my. I'm glad I found your comment cuz as an artist it's one of my goals to be able to imitate the human figure on the canvas. I'll look into his books immediately ty!

[@jurassicthunder]

@@francescaa8331 emotions are directly connected with your body

[@francescaa8331]

@@arjundube8380 artist and actor were discussing body language and how to use in art. I was commenting on that. I have no idea what your WTF is about.

[@andrenewell9483]

This was extremely fascinating especially the reflexes in babies.

[@bobsburgers8497]

Hi Andre

[@WakaWaka2468]

Hi Andre

[@ruchir7831]

Hi Andre

[@santaclaws1508]

Hi Andre

[@briseboy]

Goo, Andre.

[@lostpuppy6951]

His hands are open palmed most of the time....welcoming behaviour.…human body language is very interesting. Couldnt have been better explained than this. I definitely learned something today.

[@kathryncarter6143]

On new born hospital wards, testing the Babinski reflex is part of the routine health check

[@JohnPullum]

Joe is amazing. He was a guest on a series I hosted for the Discovery Channel a number of years ago. Super smart guy and nice, too!

[@animeyahallo3887]

People after watching 3 videos of this guy : Hi I am a non-verbal communications expert.

[@gregkral4467]

This man is so fascinating, and for Autistic kids, who cannot really read body language, great lessons as well in human interaction and interpretation.

[@loonyspoonie3655]

I never had any clue that I consistently grasped at my heart when I would hear sad news until my husband told me. When I payed attention I realized that I would actually feel a pain there that felt like it needed to be soothed.

[@oxide9679]

Vagus nerve, most likely.

[@ImAssassinX]

Every guy is now like "Sorry honey, I'm not trying to ignore you by watching sports, I can't help it. It's part of my survival instinct!"

[@HerbFlowers]

It's part of ur coping

[@fevre_dream8542]

Fun fact - Babinski reflex is part of the infant neurological exam in medicine. Very useful for assessing spinal chord injuries or abnormalities.

[@galtab8479]

I need a channel with just this man. I have watched all his videos

[@henk-3098]

How does 'normal' non verbal communication differ in people on the autism spectrum and other psychiatric disorders?

[@CyberCheese392]

People go to school for years and write books and books to answer that kind of question. But Ill say this: Aspergers disorder symptoms were a lack of emotional awareness and expression. The disorder was reclassified as "low functioning autism" some years back. So with Autism, I would say most of the time nonverbal communication is absent (However, I imagine an esoteric subject that they are into might contain a signal that might noticably grab their attention).

[@nexusSix_237]

@@CyberCheese392 don't you mean HIGH functioning? I'm pretty sure asperger's is on the high end, not low end

[@CyberCheese392]

@@nexusSix_237 Yes you are correct. I got mixed up. It is called high-functioning autism, which is low on the autism spectrum.

[@youareaclown3659]

"normal"??

[@youareaclown3659]

like voluntary stuff??

[@Boopierthanmost]

Joe Navarro: talks about complexity in human brain. People in comments section: tiger in Africa?

[@otbfitness1313]

They are a little bit behind on the evolutionary scale

[@kingdoublegee1681]

No they’re speaking facts..besides zoo’s, there are no wild tigers in Africa

[@kaemincha]

@@kingdoublegee1681 To cut him some slack, he's an expert in humans, not animals haha

[@halointheworld]

Probably there was the saber tooth tiger back then

[@Bryle_P.]

I'll avoid these when im lying, an outstanding move for me.

[@lilbertsmom3561]

Better yet, don't lie and you won't have to think about your non-verbal cues.

[@HunterCihal]

This has to be the most interesting thing I've listened to in months.

[@flowerlullaby]

If he taught a class I'd be there every day

[@yourmathtutorvids]

I've always found it hard to focus when I'm at sports bars (the ones with huge tvs everywhere). Now I know why!

[@ThresholdGaming]

During my training as a psychologist, I was taught to recognize subconscious body language. So now when I have to speak with those in law enforcement...I purposefully send certain signals to cause relaxation & comfort and familiarity. If they're being azzholes, I send different signals to throw them off. Once you know how THEY have been taught to think, they are easily manipulated.

[@matthewsalvador9783]

My gma is a psychiatrist she reads me every day. I do believe you. It’s a bit intimidating.

[@jakubstupka2922]

make a video about it ))

[@redweather6315]

what are some signals that you use to cause comfort and familiarity?

[@LuchadorMasque]

I have problems exhibiting and evaluating social and emotional responses, and learning these body language cues help me a LOT. For example, grasping the back of your neck while someone is talking indicates that you are listening to them. I have horrible adhd and I do this one whenever I realize I'm not paying attention. Another big one is eye contact. It's so complicated it drives me crazy. I Iearned that if you keep your gaze just above someones eyes (brow or forehead) it asserts confidence and makes people see you as somewhat dominant. Social cues suck.

[@nexusSix_237]

@@LuchadorMasque maybe you have a touch of asperger's along with that adhd? ?? ...its a good thing!

[@MamaPinks]

I absolutely LOVE this man! I love how he explains things and his passion for the craft is evident.

[@helenalderson6608]

Cool! As a dentist, I am constantly battling limbic response

[@kalki3060]

wow yeah, we feel like we're in danger in the dentist's even though we're really not and our body goes into survivor mode. Never thought about that 😀

[@MichaelGaryScott90]

*Sweats in Limbic*

[@ItoNarasimha]

I love this series, so interesting to learn about these kind of stuff

[@JessicaReinke]

Love Joe Navarros books! These videos with him have made me buy and finish 3 of his books so far

[@sandraklein2651]

This is by far the most fascinating and interesting view. Thank you for your profound vid.

[@maryged6624]

should have done former FBI agent plays among us or smt

[@joebush372]

Yeah and then he starts calling people sus

[@hannibalburgers477]

There is actually S.W.A.T youtuber who plays Among us. Pretty nice guy actually. Forgot his name tho

[@matthewtheniceguy1159]

@@ionela7374 just vote him out

[@rosal7429]

Thankyou for making a Joe a regular on your videos!

[@traveljunkie1324]

Utterly enthralling-I could listen to this stuff all day! 😍

[@shadytreez]

He communicated so well...love him!

[@timothywilson3785]

I thought this was going to be more practical examples, but I learned a lot.

[@jesseling144]

Thank you for this valuable lesson.

[@bitflip8191]

Absolutely fascinating! Great content.

[@gretchenbaker7435]

The amount and variety of what he needed to study blows my mind!

[@misse7154]

This is really interesting. But just as much as this is nature, the limbic system can be conditioned. For example survivors of trauma can get stuck in a state of freeze.

[@marinalechner556]

Wouldn't you call that a manipulation instead of conditioning? English is not my first language so I might be wrong but wouldn't conditioning be training done with a goal in mind? I don't think when experiencing a trauma people do that to train their brains

[@user-lr6eq5fj8v]

@@marinalechner556 what is your first languagev

[@briseboy]

@@marinalechner556 Conditioning is EXACTLY a manipulation. Training has some goal, and is never random activity. One can train one's brain to dissociate, or to become more effective and attentive. Dissociation is to enormously reduce attention to sensory reality.

[@maryatkinson2006]

@@marinalechner556 Manipulating in English tends to have a pejorative nuance to its meaning, when applied to living creatures. We don't manipulate ourselves, in English, because of this. People tend to consider manipulation an external force, either used on us or used by us upon someone else, but not in a good way for the recipient's benefit. Think Miss E is using 'conditioned' in the passive, so the human being is not conditioning themselves but becoming conditioned by some habitual or frequent danger or by a danger so threatening that even one experience can trigger off the same freeze, for example, at the slightest hint of a possible similar threat recurring: it is not voluntary, it is not conscious or deliberate. That is a conditioned reaction that usually involves a trauma which convinced the person that his or her life might end at any minute and is a memory so strong that it is not recognised by the conscious mind. In short, terror.

[@marlencitaflores]

This information is unvaluable. Thank you to the investigator

[@stephenryan8492]

Who else is watching this and feels like all your senses are super heightened? I’m like looking around the room all quickly like “yeah my orientation reflex is strong 💪”

[@Vanilla_Neko]

I actually have that neck reaction pretty often when I'm dealing with a situation that's stressful or uncomfortable I usually end up reaching up and placing my right hand like halfway on the side of my neck and halfway kind of wrapped around the front gently I'm so glad to hear that this is just a normal sort of reaction and not some weird tick

[@lnc-to4ku]

This was incredibly fascinating! This guy is so brilliant!

[@clascaulfieldjr3653]

How interesting. I learned about the rooting and moro reflexes long ago in developmental psychology but was never told why we do that.

[@juniorwichayapol4357]

Thank you Joe Navarro, especially for 3:15-3:50

[@corycourtney8923]

I have watch everything that has Joe's name on it. His books are also fantastic.

[@lorry2763]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@nexusSix_237]

Love this content!!

[@matchdust7049]

First time I went wild camping alone a Cougar sniffed my neck through my tent (Ionosphere snugpak) and I froze for like 20 mins. Scary af and I wondered why I felt paralysed when I wanted to try to scare it away. Very interesting video.

[@FingeringThings]

Former FBI agent spies on my FBI egent

[@chadsknnr]

4:30 I have heard a different theory; newborns and infants spent 9 months crammed into a small, warm space, so when they reach out, they are expecting to feel the comforting confinement of the uteral walls. They wake-up when they reach out, and feel nothing but air, it startles them. I imagine that most normal functioning people out grow that reflex by about 2 years old . . . .

[@notyouraccount7497]

That makes so much more sense than the evolution theory.

[@sweetangel199219]

And bears oh my. I couldn't help it 🤣🤣🤣

[@simonbd5373]

Read his book, it’s brilliant

[@tanawilliams7498]

I have PTSD. I always look around at any difference in pattern or movements. It is a reflective response due to what gave me PTSD

[@chellefell1331]

Same! I have cptsd, and my senses go off chart all the time... it's very tiring. I wish sometimes I could turn off my hypervigilance.... I don't know how to explain it, but is really is absolutely exhausting....

[@marcmenard9121]

@@chellefell1331 Breathe. 😃

[@a.mcwhorter8573]

I really like Joe. His video on the election candidates made me look at both of them completely different as I spotted a lot of the behaviors he talked about. It was really interesting.

[@dominicalarissa7269]

I love this man!! So fascinating!!

[@richcarroll3264]

He’s very knowledgable about neuroscience .💯

[@snittykitty1]

I love this guy, body language is fascinating.

[@joecarter5018]

Thanks super interesting!

[@Coffee_Is_Magic]

Saw this guy again whilst scrolling and was like 🙌🤩 I have to watch this ASAP

[@lxstyexr349]

i think this guy is sitting there wondering "am i really teaching 40 thousand people on youtube how to read body language in 10 mins, yet it took me years for it?"

[@gracehall5608]

0:57 and bears, oh my!

[@AdamBechtol]

I can see how these are so popular, such interesting stuff. (And I'd been curious about that suprasternal notch bit at the end once I came across this guy, nice)

[@logann8243]

This is mind blowing info. I like this guy.

[@kaitlynrush3484]

Joe Navarro, a legend

[@CSAccetura]

These videos are so helpful for those of us that use it in nefariously

[@cadothree]

these videos have made me analyse everyone i talk to

[@Scixxy]

Hey, I just bought this guy's book!

[@Rodner14]

this is my favorite video with this guy

[@Ontos1717]

so true

[@rebelliarosetm2008]

Also, I noticed the DSM-V on your shelf. Is there any correlation between your insights and experience into body language reading and the determination of mental health issues? Thank you in advance.

[@dawned9947]

Alternative title: Former FBI Agent gives 10min lecture of Biology

[@piercedsiren]

Obviously i prefer light to obscurity. I'd rather take a longer road that i can see at night rather than a dark alley.

[@joyceyt6722]

the way i just wrote my college essay about this topic

[@jo-cx7pb]

Fascinating.

[@acspirit6842]

Doesn't take body language to get a vibe, but very helpful for watching leaders on television. Thanks

[@TouchTheStars]

Eyyyyyyy Madison Wisconsin wooooo! That seriously took my by surprise lol, did not expect to hear my hometown

[@acosta829]

As a nurse, I spend a semester on these reflexes

[@Itsandinicole]

This guys needs his own KZbin channel!

[@zioazalin]

more, please.

[@wolfe4410]

I freeze when my crush sees me and moves on without acknowledging I was ever there

[@equaius893]

no no, you gotta run after them

[@alirezazadeh]

I’m not sure, when I’m low on gas I just go to the nearest gas station

[@anonymousbosch9265]

I’m in Madison, Wi and I had a limbic response when he said it

[@ryanchenger5196]

Could the tucking in of thumbs have something to do with the face that when chimps attack humans, they go for the face and the fingers/hands? It might be how we used to fight amongst ourselves or at least how our common ancestors did?

[@y2kkitten]

This guy is awesome!

[@Eleora1997Msia]

nice tips now i can read body language toward patient in hospital...

[@JoshKnoxChinnery]

The thumb tucking is proof that ninja running is the most optimal form

[@serenityane]

I love this dude

[@zachbowman3483]

Can you imagine trying to play poker with this guy? 🤣

[@Arch55567]

Why not, if not all in. 😁

[@ihatespam2505]

0:54 - Lions and tigers and dogs! Oh, my!

[@maryrichardson6029]

Thank you

[@ModernVince]

i love this guy

[@luthiellequeiroz405]

I can't see a Joe's video just once thank you

[@AmyCrawford360]

Casually tells story of his coworker getting his thumb ripped off. Ok. Cool cool.

[@frankflaherty5074]

When a person is calm, composed, and compassionate, they fold their hands, no threat. No need to demonstrate defense

[@theman5324]

Why did I think he was going to say his name was Jeff???

[@TheLittleSquidge]

“Lions, tigers” . . . and bears, oh my!

[@alexiane250]

the oriental reflex is why you turn to look when someone enters a classroom (lecture hall), even though you instantly can go back to your task. its just a reflex like blinking

[@XPRT10R]

Tigers in Africa??

[@XPRT10R]

@Thot PoliceThen again, probably not. Also: "were", not "was".

[@XPRT10R]

@Thot Police ... Whatever.

[@TheTabaK23]

@Thot Police there weren’t tigers in Africa 2.5 million years ago, better?

[@OtnielSantiago]

im buying all his books.

[@elisekathleen6070]

where was this man when i was trying to learn calculus. i feel like he could explain anything.

[@good-questions]

Light doesn’t “represent” visual clarity - it IS visual clarity. It’s more information.

[@edwardmclaughlin7935]

8:09 The infamous Komrad Kamala cackle.

[@sh4de186]

What I immediately thought of and find interesting is that I have personally (and seen others) froze and stopped moving when crossing the road and it appears a car is about to hit me. Strange to think about how an instinctual survival response can so easily kill you in the modern day.

[@sh4de186]

I wonder if we will ever see an evolution in that regard

[@sh4de186]

Perhaps an instinctual ability to quickly distinguish between a conscious predator and an unfeeling piece of technology, and react accordingly