How can you know when someone is bluffing? Paying
attention? Genuinely interested? The answer, writes Alex
Pentland in Honest Signals, is that subtle patterns in
how we interact with other people reveal our attitudes
toward them. These unconscious social signals are not
just a back channel or a complement to our conscious
language; they form a separate communication network.
Biologically based "honest signaling," evolved from
ancient primate signaling mechanisms, offers an
unmatched window into our intentions, goals, and values.
If we understand this ancient channel of communication,
Pentland claims, we can accurately predict the outcomes
of situations ranging from job interviews to first
dates. Pentland, an MIT professor, has used a specially
designed digital sensor worn like an ID badge--a
"sociometer"--to monitor and analyze the back-and-forth
patterns of signaling among groups of people. He and his
researchers found that this second channel of
communication, revolving not around words but around
social relations, profoundly influences major decisions
in our lives--even though we are largely unaware of it.
Pentland presents the scientific background necessary
for understanding this form of communication, applies it
to examples of group behavior in real organizations, and
shows how by "reading" our social networks we can become
more successful at pitching an idea, getting a job, or
closing a deal. Using this "network intelligence" theory
of social signaling, Pentland describes how we can
harness the intelligence of our social network to become
better managers, workers, and communicators.
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