In The Definitive Book of Body Language, communication experts and best-selling authors Allan and Barbara Pease argue that body language plays a key role in shaping interactions between people. The authors explain that during verbal interactions, people pay more attention to the facial expressions, gestures, and postures they see than the words they hear. Therefore, knowing how to interpret body language—and show the right body language—can help you communicate more effectively.

You’ll come away from this guide understanding:

• How your body language reflects and influences your emotions
• Why other people respond to you the way that they do
• How to adapt your body language to garner positive responses from others

We’ll also expand on the authors’ thoughts with psychological research, additional insights, and practical methods from other communication specialists and self-help practitioners.

People who are comfortable in social situations have the best chance of establishing beneficial relationships and creating opportunities for personal and professional success. Unfortunately, many people struggle with social situations and don’t know how to confidently approach and talk to others. Their discomfort prevents them from creating new connections and they miss out on enjoying opportunities that spring from social and professional relationships.

In How to Talk to Anyone, Leil Lowndes presents practical techniques to help you overcome social discomfort and confidently develop new connections. Our guide walks you through her techniques for mastering the art of conversing with anyone. You’ll come away knowing how to appear more likable without saying a word, confidently approach people you want to talk to, feel at home in any social context, and encourage meaningful conversations.We’ll also expand on Lowndes’s techniques with psychological research, additional insights, and practical methods from other communication specialists and self-help practitioners.

Do you wish you could better understand the ways people communicate with their body language? Nonverbal communication plays a huge role in how people express emotions and interact with each other. With an understanding of how to use and interpret body language, you can more easily form connections with others, adapt your nonverbal signals to suit different situations, and even alter your emotional state.

In Shortform’s Master Guide to Understanding and Using Body Language, we’ve collected insights from nine experts in nonverbal communication, including self-help authors, former FBI agents, behavioral experts, and leadership specialists. We’ll discuss how body language impacts our communication, as well as some of the most important contextual factors that should influence how we interpret nonverbal signals. Finally, we’ll look at a selection of nonverbal cues you can use to show others you’re open to friendship—and that may indicate whether or not others feel the same way.

Do you feel like you go unnoticed or underappreciated in your personal or professional life? According to Vanessa Van Edwards in Cues, this could be because you lack charisma—the quality that makes others pay attention to you. Without charisma, you can’t communicate or connect with others efficiently, which can hold you back in life. The good news is that even if charisma doesn’t come naturally to you, you can learn to convey charisma by adopting charismatic cues.

In our guide, we’ll explore Van Edwards’s definition of charisma and explain how verbal and nonverbal cues reinforce or undermine your charisma. Then, we’ll discuss which cues you should adopt or avoid to project a charismatic image. In our commentary, we’ll explain why head tilts are cuter in dogs than in humans and why steepling your fingers can make you seem like a diabolical mastermind. We’ll also explore social and scientific perspectives on charisma and discuss how marginalized people, people with communication disorders, and actors can use cues to their professional advantage.

Does the idea of attending a wedding solo or standing in a room full of strangers make you cringe? If so, best-selling author Vanessa Van Edwards has a message for you: You got this! In Captivate, she provides strategies to help you become a social superstar. Van Edwards argues that by taking control of social situations and presenting your best self, you can dazzle the people you want to know and forge meaningful relationships.

A self-proclaimed “recovering awkward person,” TEDx Talk presenter, and blogger on how to master interpersonal skills, Van Edwards has drawn on the research of social psychologists and counselors to develop strategies to make yourself magnetic, bring out the best in other people, and build strong partnerships and relationships at home and work.

In this guide, we’ll explore Van Edwards’s strategies for establishing connections and deepening your relationships and compare her ideas to that of other relationship and social behavior experts. Along the way, we’ll suggest additional ways to apply Van Edwards’s strategies.

Have you ever felt frustrated or puzzled by the way your coworkers behave? In Surrounded by Idiots, communication expert, business consultant, and author Thomas Erikson offers a framework for understanding the people who perplex us the most.

Erikson’s framework includes four personality types, and each has a unique way of thinking, behaving, and communicating. He shows you how to navigate conflicts, sharpen your communication, and improve your relationships with your boss and colleagues—all by recognizing their personality types as well as your own.

Throughout the guide, we’ll compare Erikson’s ideas about personality to those of other personality-typing models, and we’ll add perspectives from psychologists that support or challenge his assertions. By the end, you’ll be able to more effectively communicate and collaborate with the bosses, employees, and colleagues you thought you’d never understand.

Do you feel like you go unnoticed or underappreciated in your personal or professional life? According to Vanessa Van Edwards in Cues, this could be because you lack charisma—the quality that makes others pay attention to you. Without charisma, you can’t communicate or connect with others efficiently, which can hold you back in life. The good news is that even if charisma doesn’t come naturally to you, you can learn to convey charisma by adopting charismatic cues.

In our guide, we’ll explore Van Edwards’s definition of charisma and explain how verbal and nonverbal cues reinforce or undermine your charisma. Then, we’ll discuss which cues you should adopt or avoid to project a charismatic image. In our commentary, we’ll explain why head tilts are cuter in dogs than in humans and why steepling your fingers can make you seem like a diabolical mastermind. We’ll also explore social and scientific perspectives on charisma and discuss how marginalized people, people with communication disorders, and actors can use cues to their professional advantage.

Does the idea of attending a wedding solo or standing in a room full of strangers make you cringe? If so, best-selling author Vanessa Van Edwards has a message for you: You got this! In Captivate, she provides strategies to help you become a social superstar. Van Edwards argues that by taking control of social situations and presenting your best self, you can dazzle the people you want to know and forge meaningful relationships.

A self-proclaimed “recovering awkward person,” TEDx Talk presenter, and blogger on how to master interpersonal skills, Van Edwards has drawn on the research of social psychologists and counselors to develop strategies to make yourself magnetic, bring out the best in other people, and build strong partnerships and relationships at home and work.

In this guide, we’ll explore Van Edwards’s strategies for establishing connections and deepening your relationships and compare her ideas to that of other relationship and social behavior experts. Along the way, we’ll suggest additional ways to apply Van Edwards’s strategies.

Nobody likes small talk, right? That may be so, but it doesn’t make small talk any less important as an overture to the more interesting topics you actually want to talk about. In Better Small Talk, social interaction specialist Patrick King argues that small talk is a critical part of any conversation and that you need to master the art of small talk to have better, more meaningful conversations. In this guide, you’ll learn how to engage someone in the dreaded small talk and how to become a better conversationalist, storyteller, and listener overall.

In addition to presenting King’s strategies, we’ll also share psychological insights on human communication and tips from other communication experts, and we’ll draw connections between different parts of the book to enhance your understanding of the material.

Do you avoid small talk because you find it intimidating or lacking in value? If so, The Fine Art of Small Talk is your ticket to conversational success. According to Debra Fine, small talk is a skill well worth developing because our careers, romantic prospects, and social lives depend on connecting with other people. Indeed, it’s difficult to succeed socially without small talk because it establishes the emotional tone of our interactions and helps us gauge how deeply we’d like to connect with each other.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through Fine’s small talk tips and her ideal conversational process step by step—from first introduction to exiting the conversation—teaching you everything you need to appear confident and engaging in any context. We’ll also compare Fine’s ideas to those of other communications experts—for instance, Dale Carnegie—and weave in psychological research that sheds light on the mechanics of communication. Learn how to break the ice with strangers, keep a conversation going, and avoid the most common conversational pitfalls—in a way anyone can follow.

Does the idea of attending a wedding solo or standing in a room full of strangers make you cringe? If so, best-selling author Vanessa Van Edwards has a message for you: You got this! In Captivate, she provides strategies to help you become a social superstar. Van Edwards argues that by taking control of social situations and presenting your best self, you can dazzle the people you want to know and forge meaningful relationships.

A self-proclaimed “recovering awkward person,” TEDx Talk presenter, and blogger on how to master interpersonal skills, Van Edwards has drawn on the research of social psychologists and counselors to develop strategies to make yourself magnetic, bring out the best in other people, and build strong partnerships and relationships at home and work.

In this guide, we’ll explore Van Edwards’s strategies for establishing connections and deepening your relationships and compare her ideas to that of other relationship and social behavior experts. Along the way, we’ll suggest additional ways to apply Van Edwards’s strategies.