(Bk Business) Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D.-The Nonverbal Advantage_ Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work -Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2008)

C H A P T E R
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Feet First
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS, our feet and legs have been
our primary means of locomotion and in the forefront of
responses to “fight, flight, or freeze” survival strategies. Our
limbic brain (also called the mammalian brain) is at the center
of our emotional response system. Its major function is
to react instantaneously to incoming information from the
environment. Emotional reactions, as we know, occur prior
to thought. Before we’ve had time to develop any conscious
plan, our limbic brain has already made sure that our feet
and legs, depending on the situation, are geared to run away,
kick out in defense, or freeze in place.
And we’re hardwired for these reactions to threats.
Although the hazards are very different in a modern business
setting, whenever we are faced with something we perceive
to be dangerous or even disagreeable, our feet and legs still
respond in the same way: they freeze first, attempt to distance
second, and finally, if no other alternative is available,
prepare to fight and kick.
Joe Navarro worked for the FBI in behavioral analysis for
fifteen years. Now he teaches body language skills to professional
poker players. His advice? “I tell people to watch the
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