This is an extremely practical book, full of helpful insights with very clear examples and exercises. The writing is witty, engaging and funny. I highly recommend this book both in what it teaches but also in how entertaining it is.

I try to only get ARC copies of books I might want to own. I am a rather picky reader; reading countless books on the same topic and generally disliking the majority of them. As a result, some of the ARCs I choose I end up regretting as although they are good they aren't as good as my favorite books on the topic. This book on the other hand blew me away.

While I haven't read too many books on the topic in general I have read about a dozen books on NLP and found most of them to be poorly written; barely communicating anything actionable. This book on the other hand is an easy read that addresses the topic in a down to earth fashion. The author besides seeming to have comprehensive knowledge on the topic also communicates it very well making it easy to see the practical implications. He also seems like an honest and good person which is important as some of the claims in similar books seem hard to believe.

While human psychology expert Henrick Fexeus can't teach you to mind meld, he can teach you have to understand the basics of non-verbal communication. What makes others think we're angry or frustrated? How does someone seem cool and confident even when they have no idea what they are talking about. Fexeus takes readers through how our non-verbal cues can help you understand how someone is thinking and feeling, and how subtle changes to your behavior can trigger different emotional states in others.

In the Art of Reading Minds, Fexeus gives you practical tips, as well as brief behaviors to try out in social situations. This is a great guide for working to focus your skill in both personal and business settings.

The Art of Reading Minds is available October 15, 2019 from St. Martin's Press.

I enjoyed reading the Art of Reading Minds. This isn't parapsychology but the scientific study of human behavior combined with keen observations skills.

Henrik Fexeus uses the study of behavior on both a subconscious and a psychological level to teach you how to understand what is going on in someone's head. With humor and easily accessible language, Fexeus explains how recall works and how it can manifest physically depending on how people learn. He gives you tips working with people who recall from visual, auditory and kinesthetic memory. I enjoyed learning as this built on a lot of principles I already was familiar with after studying psychology in college.

While the majority are tips and tricks that can help you in your lie such as signs that someone you know may be lying to you, there are a few fun parlor tricks that will at parties. So pick u this book and enjoy learning with some fun thrown in.

This isn’t a book about telepathy, clairvoyance, or any other form of ESP. It’s a book about nonverbal communication, and how to use it to both recognize the true mental and emotional states of others and to be able to influence said states. It draws on a range of findings and approaches, including those of Paul Ekman, NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), Robert Caldini, and Antonio Damasio.

The book consists of twelve chapters. The first clarifies the nature of the “mind reading” under discussion. Chapters two and three propose how both nonverbal and verbal communication can be used to build rapport. A lot of the rapport-building chapters are about how one can subtly mirror another so as to create an impression of being a kindred spirit without freaking the other person out or seeming like one is mocking them. Chapter four investigates the role of perception in the processes presented throughout the book.

Chapter five explores emotions. Of course, any “mind reading” of value must capture not only thoughts, but how the individual feels about (and as a result of) said thoughts. Paul Ekman’s work on “leakage” is central to this topic. Ekman discovered that even when people are successful in covering expressions of their true feelings with either a poker-face or another emotional expression, they often made extremely brief “micro-expressions” of their true feelings.

Chapter six discusses the ethics and morality of this topic. The active exploitation of nonverbal communication can bear the stink of being manipulative, and that necessitates consideration of how such activities can blow up in one’s face.

Chapter seven is about “lie detection” and the truth and myth of this topic. One thing I liked about this book is that the author is quite forthcoming about the limited support for some of the ideas that are conveyed, as well as the limitations of what these tools can do for one. Many authors of this type of work suggest that these tactics are iron-clad science, which isn’t the case. The most controversial of these approaches is NLP. Neuro-Linguistic Programming has an extremely stalwart following among many people ranging from salespeople to therapists. However, NLP has not fared well when subjected to scientific investigation. NLP supporters suggest this is because investigators are fighting a straw man by considering oversimplified claims that were never made by Bandler and Grinder (the NLP founders.) As an example, NLP claims that a person will tend to look one direction when remembering and another when imagining. Some within the NLP suggest this is the basis of lie detection (if a respondent looks as though they are imagining versus recalling, they must be involved in a fabrication.)

Chapter eight delves into the body language of flirting, and educates the reader about how they might be flirting (or being flirted with) without even recognizing it. Chapter nine explores suggestibility and many of ideas that are presented are from hypnosis, though the author isn’t explicitly teaching hypnosis.

Chapter ten is entitled “Haul Anchors” and it suggests that one can act in certain ways to trigger desired emotional states in another person. The penultimate chapter is about mentalist party tricks that one can use to convince oneself and others of one’s abilities, and the last chapter is a conclusion and wrap-up.

The book offers a references section, and includes many graphics (particularly black and white photos and diagrams) as necessary to convey examples. Needless to say, a picture is often worth a thousand words when dealing with nonverbal communication.

While I’m skeptical about using some of the approaches presented in this book as the basis of one’s behavior, I appreciate that the author is forthcoming about what is controversial and what is well-supported. Fexeus takes the view that one should try it out for oneself, and draw one’s own conclusions. I also think the inclusion of an ethical discussion is essential as many of these books come off as kind of creepy – not to mention overblown. If you’re looking for a book on nonverbal communication, rapport-building, and persuasion, this one does a fine job.

A well-written and insightful guide that helps one become aware of clues people may be giving you about their attitudes, emotions and so on without realizing it. Also, about what you may be unconsciously conveying. It's not really about reading minds so much as just being more attuned to interactions. As a writer I must say that I found the author's detailed considerations to be extremely useful for my own character building and scene setting. I recommend this as a must-read for fiction writers and a should read for everybody else. You'll be surprised at what's right out there in front of you! #WritingCommunity

I found the discussion about creating rapport with others fascinating. We've all learned different ways that you can "read" body language, but the Art of Reading Minds takes it a step further, delving in to how to mirror another person's body language, voice inflections, etc. to create a sense of emotional connection. You may already even do this unconsciously. It's also gives you insight into when others are "reading" you! While not true "mind reading", the skills you can develop by practicing the suggestions in this book will help you intuit a great deal.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Genre:
Nonfiction

Book Structure:
The book is around 256 pages divided into 12 chapters. The chapters' lengths are short and suitable for the genre. The author has also included the references he has used in writing his book.

What is it about?
It is about mind reading. I was very curious to know what this book will talk about hence I decided to read and see what it will offer in this area. The first thing the reader has to understand is that the book says nothing new that has not been said before as the author suggests. What he means here is that he did not invent something where you can read the minds of other people. There is even a word of warning where the author clearly suggests not to take the contents of this book as objectively true. However, he will teach you techniques that will make things more interesting if you follow them.

"Whatever happens to our bodies affects our mental process"

That is the first important concept to understand that our emotions and thoughts not just happen in our minds but also happen in the whole of our bodies. In other words, if something happens to our bodies, it affects our thoughts too. So the concept that the author wants you to understand at the beginning of the book is that you can understand other people's mental processes & thoughts by observing their physical movements, reactions, and features. It makes sense. We all do this already but it is unconsciously but as the author suggests we can get better at it if we correctly interpret the body language of others in different situations.

I found also the chapters that talk about rapport building very important. This is something one needs in his daily life. Meeting other people at work or going anywhere to a shop, bank, hospital, etc needs you how to deal with other people. If you want your things to be done smoothly rapport building is a crucial thing. He talks about techniques like matching and mirroring, be it with body movements or how to do that with your voice in different ways or even with your breathing rhythm! The whole concept behind this is that you will put yourself in the same shoe as the other person you are communicating with, this will help in getting you both into an agreement or reach to a good conclusion.

"The easiest way to plant an anchor in somebody is to wait until he or she is in the emotional state you're after"

The later chapters discuss anchors, the things that trigger the emotional reactions to a memory. This could be anything tangible like a sweater that reminds you of grandmother, or a place that reminds you of a certain situation and triggers a specific emotion. The whole thing let you understand how and why planting an anchor is important to achieve the goal.

The book also has pictures to make you have a better understanding of body languages like how to read someone from his legs movements or to understand someone's thoughts or emotions from the facial expressions. There is also how to read fake expressions with some fun exercises.

I will personally use and practice some of the techniques suggested here to see how they will affect my daily life. I feel everybody will get something if not everything from these techniques. The language of the book is simple and easy to understand so it should suit a wide range of readers. It is an informative and enjoyable book to read at the same time hence I'm giving it 4 strong stars out of 5. The book is going to be released on October 15th, 2019.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me a free advanced reading copy (ARC) in return of this honest and unbiased review.

I really tried to get through this book. Several times. I just could not do it. Maybe something was lost in translation, but I found the writing to be not engaging at all. In fact, to be honest, it was downright dull. Sorry.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up out of casual interest, and it gave me chills and it made me feel very uncomfortable, which probably means it was meant for the intended audience of people who really want to learn these skills. At least now I know what to watch out for, and I could probably stand to take this guys advice at my next work meeting

A thousand thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the chance to read this, in exchange for an honest review.

Okay... admittedly, I generally pride myself on being perceptive, a good conversationalist, and intent listener, but this book showed me ways in which I could achieve more. And that’s really what it’s here to do: to help you communicate well (or better!).

I actually find body language and non-verbal communication fascinating, so I ate up every word the author, Henrik Fexeus, wrote. The power of words: what we say, how we say it, who were saying it to... everything is a variable, and everything can be used to “read” someone. I read a book a while ago called Lexicon by Max Barry, which took more of a Science Fiction approach to a parallel concept: that you could use words in a certain way to influence someone. I mean, I’ll admit that I’ve done it before (never for nefarious or immoral reasons!), but testing different tones of voice, or experimenting with higher/lower energies (mimicking whoever you’re speaking with), to see if my conversation partner matches it, and it works! I can steer a conversation in a certain direction by triggering a particular word or phrases. So, yes, I was invested in Mr. Fexeus’ book from the get-go.

I just found it really cool and insightful, on the whole.

This book isn't about actual mind reading, as in telepathy, but concentrates instead on areas such as non-verbal cues and body language, and how understanding those signals can lead to a deeper understanding of others and the ability to positively influence their behaviour. The chapters are fairly short which I liked as I could dip in and out, and I also think I retained the information better as some of it was quite in depth. The tips and tricks were really interesting and gave the book a fun edge. A really interesting read by a clearly knowledgable author.

The Art of Reading issue is a interesting book. It is easy to read and has some interesting information.

A conversational read that will do well in nonfiction collections where pop-psychology is popular. Has crossover appeal for HS collections as well.