Chapter 5: The Science Behind The Face
For those who don’t already know, Ekman identified seven universal emotions, that all show in uncontrollable ‘micro-expressions’ (you can Google it, or check my Encyclopedia), namely Anger, Happiness, Sadness, Surprise, Fear, Disgust and Contempt.
If you want to learn anything about this subject matter (which I hope you would if you’ve considered buying the book I’m reviewing right now), then simply Google FACS (or buy Ekman’s ‘Emotions revealed‘) and use Ekman’s Micro-Expression Training Tool (METT). This is also the summary of this chapter.
Chapter 6: Understanding Nonverbal Displays of Comfort and Discomfort
Using what has been written earlier in the book and some snippets of new information, this chapter explains how to notice, analyze and utilize displays of comfort and discomfort.
(Except, not really. It tells us various signs of comfort and discomfort, and the fact that you should analyze them is implied in the subject matter. How? Granted, the chapter title never says it will train you in doing any of it, but then what is the point in reading it when other books_ do? _But there is hope! Chapter 9, ‘Non-Verbal Communication and the Social Engineer’ will surely fill out all these gaps, won’t it? Eh…)
New area: Neck and Face Pacifying. Strong indicators of discomfort. Watch for changes. Watch for tells. Find out why.
Another new area: Mouth Covers. Show of shock or surprise, strong indicator of discomfort. Watch for changes. Watch for tells. Find out why.
Another new area: Lips. Lips show signs of emotion. Can indicator discomfort or hesitation. Watch. Watch. Find.
Fourth area: Eye Blocking. Indicates sadness. Not going to bother with the rest.
Last area: Self-comforting and Head Tilts. See above.
This chapter was definitely more worthwhile than the others, if only because these area’s aren’t mentioned as often elsewhere as the others are, but they are still bits of information that are already known to must of us and didn’t need the amount of space they were given to be explained to newcomers.
Chapter 7: The Human Emotion Processor
This is the one. This is the chapter that made me doubt my own sanity – my own skillset, my entire opinion of this book and my entire opinion of myself. The reason for it was simple: This book had me hoping, against all odds and past experience, that it was going to be worthwhile – something extraordinary, something revolutionary, or at least something that showed why Christopher Hadnagy is the one that sets and raises the bar when it comes to detailing all facets of Social Engineering. And, this chapter seemed to be a turning point.
The obligatory ‘our brain is a computer’-metaphor was rhetorically satisfactory, and did what it set out to do without using up too much space and time. It is followed by some important (though not novel) things to remember and be aware of:
1. Our emotion affects our perception and reaction to a situation. Our emotions modulate our perceptions and affect memories as well, allowing them to trigger very strong reactions.
2. Emotion involves an appraisal process that occurs in our internal processors to create a response. For comparison, look at the oft-repeated adages ‘Things are what we make them.’ and ‘No one can hurt you without your consent.’
He moves on to the amygdala, where the key take-aways are that the 1) amygdala creates a response before we’re even consciously aware something happened, and 2) the amygdala requires only a single negative experience to decide that something is a threat.
He then raises the interesting notion that ‘there must be a way to hijack someone’s amygdala to create the emotional content that you want in there,‘ and with that, my heart started racing.
Perhaps irrationally, but I hadn’t been this enthused to read on and soak up information since I first read Daniel Wegner’s ‘Illusion of the Conscious Will,’ or Stuart Sutherland’s ‘Irrationality‘ (my own personal introduction into the amazing realm of psychology), or even Carnegie’s ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ I was prepared to have my mind be blown, feel ten times smarter than I had been before, now aware of this amazing piece of knowledge that I had needed all along to transcend to a higher plane of being.
Contrary to what you might assume, I was not disappointed in that regard. Or in that regard, I should say.
Because my other belief was that this chapter would redeem the minimal quantity of compelling content the book had provided this far. That, needless to say, wasn’t the case.
You have to understand that it takes a very little to please me – I love learning things. If I can read a book and see even one thing in a completely new perspective, I’ll be left satisfied. Well, I did have a moment like that. It did please me, and it was little. One line, actually:
In this first section, we learn ‘Triggering, or hijacking, the emotional, empathetic, or social regions of the brain can shut down the person’s ability to think logically.’
A sort of an Emotional Human Buffer Overload, you could say. Had I not already heard of this? Of course I had. ‘Flipnosis‘ by Kevin Dutton makes mention of it, and in fact bases an entire book around the idea. But I had never thought that it could be applied so broadly – the endless new possibilities raced through my mind, and it left me manic and giddy like a child for the briefest moment.
All in all, it comes down to this: ‘Activate someone’s empathy centre. Activate their social centre. Activate their emotional centre. Use microexpressions or other means of non-verbal communications to do so. Exploit their moment of mental weakness.’
That is my personal summary, anyway. Now I’m left to ask myself the question: ‘Since you (the reader) now know this, if you didn’t already, what other things of note does the book provide? What makes it an essential book to have?’ I’ll answer that question in this review’s conclusion.
Moving on, we must remember that ‘The brain subconsciously recognizes nonverbal communications and then reacts.’
Then, ‘… our nonverbal communications play a major role in our reactions to a given situation,’ which is important to realize because:
1) ‘Learning to read other people’s nonverbal communication can help you understand their true intentions and motivations.’
2) Your own expression and non-verbals can give-away emotions your pretext doesn’t support, and controlling them is essential when trying to influence the other person emotionally.
3) When you’re aware of not just the emotional state of your pretext, and not just the emotional state of your target, but also the emotional state of the room you’re both in (the ‘atmosphere’), then you can set your own emotions to match and be more convincing as a result.
The rest is anecdote, which is actually something I wanted to touch on: Hadnagy’s anecdotes are, as always, an absolute pleasure to read. He really makes his own personal adventures come to life in our minds, and for that briefest of moments, we feel like the social engineer Hadnagy is — the one we all wish we could be.
However, there are simultaneously too few and too many anecdotes, and if I were to ask for more, I’d ask Hadnagy to write an autobiography, not an instructional book.
This chapter was by far the most interesting and stimulating one in the entire book. I have no real criticisms to levy at it, except for it being far too little of a good thing, and far too late.
Continue Reading – Chapters 8 and 9