Nonverbal communication around the world

Not many can say they were personally approached to join the FBI, but this is exactly what happened to Joe Navarro while he was working as a police officer at the tender age of 23. He accepted their offer and became one of the youngest agents ever to join the renowned investigative agency.

Joe spent the next 25 years at the FBI, working both as an agent and supervisor in the areas of counterintelligence and counter-terrorism Through his work he was able to study, refine and apply the science of non-verbal communications. His acumen in this field and his success as a spy-catcher, led Joe to begin training FBI agents and the intelligence community. Retiring from the FBI in 2003, and meeting overwhelming demand for his notable insights into human behavior, Joe has dedicated himself to speaking and consulting with major corporations worldwide.

Today Joe is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on reading non-verbal communications and he is regularly interviewed on programs such as NBC’s Today Show, Fox News, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS’ Early Show, and for publications such as The Washington Post and Psychology Today.

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Mr. Navarro was kind enough to agree to answering some questions for myself and the readers of this blog. His answers were insightful and delightful in every way, and yes, we even briefly discussed Sherlock Holmes. Let’s jump right into it…

Mr. Navarro, you have spent your life studying, utilizing and teaching the science of nonverbal communication. You spent 25 years in the FBI using your skills to catch spies. You started out as a police officer and were personally approached by the FBI to join, what do you feel it was that caused them to seek you out?

I think at the time the FBI was looking for individuals with certain skills. I had graduated from the Utah police academy and was working as an investigator/detective, I had a pilot’s license, and I had majored in criminology so perhaps one or more of these were things they were looking for. I never asked exactly what it was they were interested in because frankly I was so grateful to get the job offer. It’s not every day they send you an application and ask you to fill it out. In all honesty, I thought 23 was kind of young to be asked to join the Bureau, but I am glad they did and in the end, it worked out but to this day I don’t know what it was they saw in me.