“Your body language speaks louder than your words”
Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head? As humans, we depend on cultivating connections and forming relationships, and knowing how to read people by making sense of their actions, expressions, or behaviour is a fundamental part of this process. However, it isn’t always the easiest skill to master. People are hard to read. Here at What We Reading, we thought we would pull together the best books on how to read people, educating readers on how to refine their empathy, understand what someone is thinking and feeling, and how these skills can be used in the real world!
Read People Like A Book: How To Analyze, Understand, And Predict People’s Emotions, Thoughts, Intentions, And Behaviors – Patrick King
Kicking off our list of the best books on how to read people is Patrick King’s acclaimed 2020 work, Read People Like a Book. In it, he guides readers through how to become a ‘mind reader’ and forge stronger connections by truly understanding human psychology and nature.
King, a global bestselling author and expert on social skills, attempts to expose how people lie and why the context behind them is so important, understanding the subtle signs we give out, improving emotional intelligence, and identifying how defining personality types can be the most efficient way of influencing and convincing others. His writing leans on academic and scientific studies, coaching, and real-life experiences, making for a fascinating deep dive into psychology and human nature.
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The Art Of Reading Minds: How To Understand And Influence Others Without Them Noticing – Henrik Fexeus
Human psychology expert Henrik Fexeus guides readers through how to influence people through non-verbal communication in his book, The Art of Reading Minds. In it, Fexeus aims to teach readers how to become expert mind-readers and get exactly what they want from life, whether that be securing that promotion at work or being the beating heart of the party.
Using skills such as non-verbal communication, reading body language, and using psychological influence, Fexeus’ book is the ultimate toolkit for finding out what other people think and feel, and how you can utilize those to your advantage. With short and snappy chapters, The Art of Reading Minds takes readers through everything ranging from how we all present contradictory signs, flirt without meaning to planting and triggering emotional states. Practical and full of useful tricks to make use of, this remains one of the go-to books on how to read people.
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Rapport: The Four Ways To Read People – Emily Alison And Laurence Alison
Whether we’re asking our bosses for a pay rise or squabbling with the traffic warden, all of us encounter difficult people in our lives. Laurence and Emily Alison, two world-leading forensic psychologists, teach readers how to handle even the toughest of encounters and get exactly what they want in their work, Rapport.
Having advised the FBI, CIA, and police on how to engage with even the most dangerous of criminals, Rapport is all of their knowledge on interpersonal relations condensed into one easy handbook. The pair teach readers the four types of interactions: Control (the lion), Capitulate (the mouse), Confront (the Tyrannosaur), and Co-operate (the monkey), and how identifying these styles is the first step in steering a conversation how you want it, striking up a rapport that is most helpful to you.
How To Read People Like A Book: Speed-Read, Analyze, And Understand Anyone’s Body Language, Emotions, And Thoughts – Chase Hill
Chase Hill takes aim at all the miscommunications and misunderstandings that have jeopardized readers’ lives and teaches them how to never let them happen again in his 2023 work, How to Read People Like a Book. Leaning on the old saying of actions speaking louder than words, Hill’s book is a run-through of the significance of silent actions and social cues, and how to spot them and understand exactly what they mean.
How to Read People Like a Book delves into facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and a wealth of other nonverbal cues to deliver the most compelling guidebook on understanding what a person is thinking or feeling when they are lying and reading between the lines of any IRL interaction, text message, or email. Through his work, readers are sure to develop more profound connections, boost their communication skills, and enjoy improved relations across their lives!
Body Language: The 7 Laws Of Body Language: Communication Skills Teach How To Analyze People, Read People, Influence People And Develop Charisma – Brian Cagneey
Brian Cagneey’s Body Language is a short and snappy book on how to read people, designed to help readers understand others’ intentions accurately, get to grips with non-verbal communication, develop an enigmatic personality, and influence others!
From his first law of understanding specifically what body language is, to his final law on the lost art of charisma and the body, Body Language equips readers with everything they need to know on how to ace every social situation they find themselves in. Through Cagneey’s insights, readers will learn how to better function in a group environment of any size, become better leaders, project confidence, and be more open with their emotions.
Face Reading: Unlock The Secrets Of Chinese Physiognomy And Discover How To Read People Like Clockwork – Mari Silva
One of the best books on reading people that focuses specifically on facial expressions comes from Mari Silva in their 2021 work, Face Reading. An ancient Chinese art that is still widely practised to this day, Silva showcases how a person’s past, present, and future can be read (with surprisingly accurate results) from their face and imparts this knowledge to readers throughout the book.
Everything from features such as scars and moles to more subtle components such as the shape of the face all paint a picture, and Silva explores how picking up on these can tell a lot about a person’s life and experiences. With this ancient art, readers can begin to identify a person’s thought process, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.
How To Read People Like A Book: A Guide To Speed-Reading People, Understand Body Language And Emotions, Decode Intentions, And Connect Effortlessly – James W. Williams
Expert communicator and body language expert James W. Williams teaches readers how to speed-read people, getting to quickly and accurately learn everything about a person, in his book, How to Read People Like a Book.
For those looking to foster more genuine and authentic connections, this book guides readers on how to read other people’s body language and uncover their motivations and true intentions. Williams aims to take the mysticism out of speed-reading, showcasing that it is a skill anyone can pick up with a little practice. From deciphering what people are truly saying to learning how to better communicate their own feelings, readers can depend on Williams’ years of extensive research for one of the most compelling books on reading people in this revised and updated second edition.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
