Body language interpretation is one of security personnel’s greatest allies, and at the same time one of the least known security methods.  An interview with Nirit Krakover, Doctor of Behavioral Sciences and Non-Verbal Communication expert.

Even when the mouth is silent, the body speaks.  The academic term for the phrase commonly known as “body language” is “Non-Verbal Communication”.  Sometimes it accompanies oral language, and other times it independently communicates its own messages, without verbal cues.  Body movements, facial expressions, voice pitch, and intonation: all of these make up what is known as Non-Verbal Communication.  These expressions are joined by physiological symptoms, including blushing, trembling and paleness.  The final component includes social cues such as the clothing one chooses to wear, how the individual creates his or her environment, and behavior relative to the environment and those inhabiting it.

“Non-Verbal Communication reflects a person’s personal and psychological history, here and now”, states Doctor of Behavioral Sciences and Non-Verbal Communication expert, Nirit Krakover.  “When a person is under stress, he communicates discomfort.  If, for example, someone arrives at a work interview and has something to hide, his body begins to speak: Some lower their gaze, others clear their throats, or repeatedly scratch or caress a certain body part.  These small movements are called ‘leaks’ in the language of Non-Verbal Communication.  Body language can communicate much more information than, for example, a polygraph test”.

According to Dr. Krakover, the majority of people are sub-consciously capable of picking up on certain levels of body language, even without proper training or education.  When speaking with someone, we can usually tell when what he is saying does not correspond with his body language or behavior.  The difference between the average person and a professional is that the latter can decipher more detailed movements more quickly, and use these observations to interpret an individual’s intentions.

In the security industry, professional body language interpretation is critical.  A security director, for example, must be able to identify a potential aggressor, while simultanteously maintaining his anonymity until the moment he decides to reveal himself.  In addition to knowing how to question a suspect, the professional must be able to decipher his or her body language. Is the suspect hesitating in answering, sweating, moving awkwardly, or even acting pompously in order to divert suspicion?

“The need to understand the principles of body language interpretation actually begin at a much lower level”, explains Dr. Krakover. “That same security director must train his staff, from receptionists to security guards, in body language identification so that they too can identify a suspect and inform the security director”.

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Proper training can also provide individuals with the ability to capitalize on their intuition in interpreting body language.  “Security professionals must be able to recognize suspicious behavior, but at the same time they must also know how to control their own body language to prevent revealing themselves”, explains Dr. Krakover.  “For example, the dark sunglasses that bodyguards wear serve as an accessory whose function is to control body language.  They allow for the escort to look in different directions without onlookers being able to track exactly where and what he is observing”.

Just as there are different verbal languages, there are also different types of body language that vary from one culture to another.  According to Dr. Krakover, there are two types of body language: the first is universal, and the second is culture-specific.  “Certain basic qualities such as emotions are universal.  When a person is nervous he may fidget, lower his gaze, or sweat.  On the other hand, however, certain gestures or movements may have different meanings depending on the culture.  Even the most basic gestures, such as sitting down or shaking the head ‘no’, can have very different meanings; the left-right movement of the head signifies negativity or rejection in western cultures, whereas in India, for example, this same motion denotes ‘yes’, or positivity.  And vice-versa: what for us might mean ‘yes’, may actually mean ‘no’ in other cultures”.

There is no doubt that what we express outwardly comes from the inside, but the point here is that not everything on the inside shows on the outside.  During an interrogation a Non-Verbal Communication expert will be able to extract that hidden, internalized body language, and examine it.  Body language interpretation used by security professionals is a more effective tool than technological means because in this case, the suspect has no idea that he is being examined.

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