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The Literalist

You take words at face value and miss the body contradicting them.

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He looks directly at you
THE LITERALIST · TYPICAL SKILL SHAPE
  • Facial Expressions
  • Posture & Gestures
  • Rapport & Influence
  • Voice & Paralanguage
  • Congruence & Deception

Illustrative shape. Yours is drawn from your own ten answers.

What it costs you

You take the concession at face value and stop negotiating. You accept "I'm fine with that" in a one-to-one and are surprised by the resignation a month later. The words were never the message.

What the literalist misses

Lip compression under a generous sentence. A restraint grip while conceding. A "yes" that arrives a beat late, or a nod that starts before the question ends. Each is the body holding back the position the words gave away.

How to fix it

Weight the cluster over the claim. When the words and the body disagree, the body was there first. The congruence module in Body Language Foundations drills exactly this on video until it is a reflex.

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