Anyone who can successfully read people can communicate and hold power. It's human nature to make decisions quickly, based on subconscious impressions of how a person looks and acts. Police officers and poker players often look for non-verbal cues in the people they deal with. They call these cues 'tells' — and pride themselves on seeing 'tells' where ordinary people don't. Here are practical tips for understanding the inner motivations of others, and for controlling your own message to the world. Non-verbal communcation isn't about beauty or fashion or external first impressions. It is the sum total of ones' vocal inflections, facial expressions, gestures, posture and physical demeanor when communicating with others.