The Center for Nonverbal Studies (CNS) is a private, nonprofit research center located in Spokane, Washington. Underway since October 1, 1997, the Center's mission is to advance the study of human communication in all its forms apart from language. The Center's goal is to promote the scientific study of nonverbal communication, which includes body movement, gesture, facial expression, adornment and fashion, architecture, mass media, and consumer-product design.
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AS OF MAY 15, 2016, OUR NEW URL IS AS FOLLOWS: http://center-for-nonverbal-studies.org/htdocs/1501.html
I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace. --Sherlock Holmes to Watson ("A Case of Identity")
He even walked like a crab, as if he were cringing all the time. --Elia Kazan, commenting on actor James Dean (Dalton 1984:53)
LOVE SIGNALS: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship (New York: St. Martin's Press), 2005. (Translated into Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish; paperback edition by St. Martin's Griffin, 2005)
CRIME SIGNALS: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim (New York: St. Martin's Press), 2008.
OFFICE SIGNALS: What Corporate Walls Would Say If They Could Talk (New York: St. Martin's Press), in press 2009.
World Book Encyclopedia published its first-ever entry on "Body Language"--written by CNS staff--in its 2001 CD and 2001 hardback encyclopedia editions.
"Mysteries of Mating"--a TV pilot featuring CNS research--premiered on February 13, 2001, at 7pm and 10pm PST, and 10pm and 1am EST, on The Learning Channel. (LA Weekly . . . "TV Pick of The Week"!)
The Center for Nonverbal Studies (CNS) is home to The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues. Our earlier Website was abruptly taken down by AOL in late 2008, and this is the beginning of our new site, begun February 26, 2009.
We apologize for the disruption in service, and hope to make the newest version of The Nonverbal Dictionary available soon. Meanwhile, thanks very much for your patience and support. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with you on all matters of nonverbal communication, from the Adam's-Apple-Jump to the Zygomatic Smile.
David B. Givens began studying "body language" for his Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Washington in Seattle. He served as Anthropologist in Residence at the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C. from 1985-97, and is currently Director of the Center for Nonverbal Studies in Spokane, Washington. He taught anthropology at the University of Washington and teaches in the School of Professional Studies at Gonzaga University. His expertise is in nonverbal communication, anthropology, and the brain. Givens offers seminars to lawyers, judges, social workers, salespeople, and physicians; works with local law-enforcement agencies and the FBI; and consults with the U.S. intelligence community. Givens's scholarly articles are recognized as international classics by the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Givens and neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean introduced the word "isopraxism" (the reptilian principle of mimicking) into the English language, as announced by the executive editor of the American Heritage Dictionary in the Atlantic Monthly. Givens was a member of a team of anthropologists, linguists, astronomers, and nuclear physicists charged by the U.S. Dept. of Energy with designing a marker to warn human beings 10,000 years in the future about the dangers of nuclear waste. Givens has spoken to the Smithsonian Institution, National Academy of Sciences, European COLIPA, U.S. EPA, Washington State Administrator for the Courts, and other groups. He has done consulting for Sandia National Laboratories, the Bechtel Group, U.S. Department of Energy, Pfizer, Epson, Wendy's International, Dell Inc., Unilever, Hallmark, Masterfoods USA, Kimberly Clark, and Best Buy. His ideas on nonverbal communication have been written about in Omni, Harpers, the New Yorker, U.S. News & World Report and in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Givens is the author of Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship (St. Martin's, New York, 2005), Crime Signals: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim (St. Martin's, 2008), and Office Signals: What Corporate Walls Would Say If They Could Talk (St. Martin’s, forthcoming). His online Nonverbal Dictionary is used around the world as a reference tool.
SELECTED PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS
The Center for Nonverbal Studies (CNS) gave a Featured Presentation on "Establishing Viable Rapport Across Continents" on Tuesday, January 26, 1999, at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, Florida. The Q-Search conference was sponsored by the Marketing Institute and the Institute for International Research (www.iir-ny.com).
CNS conducted field research on the Warm Wishes® product line for Hallmark Cards Inc., with the Center for Ethnographic Research, in Kansas City, Missouri, from March 1-5, 1999.
A presentation on "Product Selection and the Evolution of Consumer Goods" was given at the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Chicago Hilton & Towers Hotel, Thursday, November 18, 1999, in Private Dining Room 2, 3rd floor).
CNS conducted field research in Spokane, Washington, on signage for Hallmark Cards Inc., with the Center for Ethnographic Research in Kansas City, Missouri, from January 6-11, 2000.
A presentation on "Interrogation and the Interview: Nonverbal Agendas" was presented to the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) on Wednesday, July 26, 2000, at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute (SIRTI) in Spokane, Washington.
"Nonverbal Behavior for Investigations," was presented for the Behavior Analysis Training Institute at the CarrAmerica Realty Corporation Conference Center in Pleasanton, California, on Tuesday, December 19, 2000, from 8:30 am - 4:00 pm.
Research on facial expressions was completed for LaForce & Stevens, 132 West 21st Street, New York, NY on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Oral Health.
Research on available consumer data was completed for Robideaux Marketing & Design on behalf of Olympic Foods and Sunkist (see the product at www.sunkistpure.com).
Observational and ethnographic product research was completed for Ethnographic Research, Inc., in Kansas City, Missouri, on behalf of Epson America.
CNS contributed copy on nonverbal communication for use in media ads by Sprint (July 2001).
CNS contributed information on nonverbal communication for use on the Intel Education Web Site (August 2001).
A product launch was held for Procter & Gamble's Olay Touch, on behalf of DeVries Public Relations, 30 East 60th Street, 14th Fl, New York, NY, in September, 2001.
Product research in China, England, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the U.S. was completed for Ethnographic Research, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, on behalf of Pfizer.
CNS provided training in nonverbal communication from 2002 - 2004 for the U.S. Department of Defense. (CNS is an official DoD contractor.)
CNS completed research on "The Language of Hands" in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Chicago, and Boston on behalf of Unilever. Results were shared at a press conference on the rooftop garden of the Library Hotel in New York City. ''Working with the Center for Nonverbal Studies, we better understand how people feel about their hands and the hands around them,'' said Pablo Gazzerra, Vaseline Intensive Care Brand director. ''From Dr. Given's conclusions, we are pleased that Healthy Hand Essentials Moisturizing Lotion will fulfill consumer need for a product to help correct the physical attributes that inhibit our communication'' (Amsterdam News, August 29, 2002).
CNS presented the keynote speech ("The Naked Ape and Cosmetic Behavior") to the International Cosmetic Forum (hosted by the European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association [COLIPA] of Brussels, Belgium, under the patronage of the International Centre for Applied Research in Cosmetology and the Italian Society of Toxicology) at the Aula Magna Santa Lucia, University of Bologna, Bolgna, Italy, on March 6, 2003.
CNS conducted nonverbal research for Best Buy from June 12 - 21, 2003 in Maryland and Virginia, in cooperation with the Center for Ethnographic Research in Kansas City, Missouri.
CNS provided nonverbal training for the FBI on June 24 - 25, 2003 in Tampa, Florida.
CNS conducted research in September and October, 2003 for Dell Inc. in cooperation with the Center for Ethnographic Research in Kansas City, Missouri.
CNS conducted research in November and December, 2003 for Wendy's International, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, and Spokane, Washington.
CNS completed its final report on January 30, 2004, for Dell Inc.
CNS conducted nonverbal focus-group research on men's grooming in April, 2004 for Robideaux Marketing & Design in cooperation with Strategic Research Associates in Spokane, Washington.
CNS conducted nonverbal training for Masterfoods USA, a division of Mars Incorporated, at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, from August 3-5, 2004.
CNS collaborated with economist and essayist, Jan Van Meenan, on his 2004 book, De Politiek Achter Het Gebaar (Roeselare: Roularta Books), about the body language of Belgian politicians.
CNS completed its final report for the U.S. Department of Defense in October, 2004.
CNS produced a white-paper report on "The Bioevolution of Human Hair" for Pfizer in October, 2004.
CNS conducted research on nonverbal messages conveyed by portraiture for Heller Communications in New York City in March, 2005.
CNS conducted research in February and March, 2005, in Dallas and Houston, Texas, for Wendy's International, Inc., on behalf of Pacific Ethnography in Santa Monica, California.
CNS staff wrote an article on nonverbal communication in face-to-face meetings (for designers) for Heller Communications in New York City in April, 2005.
CNS conducted research on nonverbal "comfort cues" in April, 2005, for Kimberly Clark's Kleenex division.
CNS analyzed nonverbal messages conveyed by corporate portraiture for Heller Communications in New York in September and October, 2005.
CNS conducted research on nonverbal communication in 2005-06 for Masterfoods USA in Vernon, California.
CNS analyzed nonverbal messages conveyed by corporate portraiture for NewPage Coated Paper in Dayton, Ohio in February and March, 2006.
CNS presented a seminar on "Roadside Reactions: Nonverbal Agendas for Police Officers" on March 2, 2006 to the Road Warrior Interdiction Network in Beaumont, Texas.
CNS presented a seminar on "Roadside Reactions: Nonverbal Agendas for Police Officers" on March 3, 2006 to the Beaumont Police Department at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
CNS produced a white-paper report on "Rationale for Nonverbal Training in Telephone Sales" for SureSpeak, Inc., on behalf of Quicken Loans in April, 2006.
CNS presented a seminar on "Judicial Kinesics" on April 28, 2006 to the Texas College for Judicial Studies in Austin, Texas.
CNS provided training on "Reading the Person in Front of You: Nonverbal Signs, Signals and Cues," on September 19, 2006 in Saratoga Springs, New York, for the NYS Affirmative Action Advisory Council's Annual Training Symposium.
CNS presented a seminar on "Feelings Apart from Words" for Inland Northwest Blood Center in Spokane, Washington, November 16, 2007.
CNS consulted on a project for the National Center for State Courts, on behalf of Greacen Associates in Regina, New Mexico, December 3, 2006 - November 27, 2007.
CNS presented a seminar on “Reading the Person in Front of You: Nonverbal Signs, Signals, and Cues” to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle, Washington, February 27, 2008.
CNS presented a seminar on “Visible Deception: Nonverbal Signs, Signals, and Cues” to the FBI Polygraph Program at the Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, California, June 17, 2008.
CNS presented a seminar on “Reading Deception in the Field” for the U.S. EPA – Region 10 in Seattle, Washington, January 21, 2009.
CNS gave a keynote presentation on “Crime Signals in Casinos” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 2, 2009, for World Game Protection, Inc.
