Louder Than Words

Whether it’s brusque, convincing, fraught with emotion, or dripping with innuendo, language is fundamentally a tool for conveying meaning—a uniquely human magic trick in which you vibrate your vocal cords to make your innermost thoughts pop up in someone else’s mind. You can use it to talk about all sorts of things—from your new labradoodle puppy to the expansive gardens at Versailles, from Roger Federer’s backhand to things that don’t exist at all, like flying pigs. And when you talk, your listener fills in lots of details you didn’t mention—the curliness of the dog’s fur or the vast statuary on the grounds of the French palace. What’s the trick behind this magic? How does meaning work? In Louder than Words, cognitive scientist Benjamin Bergen draws together a decade’s worth of research in psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to offer a new theory of how our minds make meaning. When we hear words and sentences, Bergen contends, we engage the parts of our brain that we use for perception and action, repurposing these evolutionarily older networks to create simulations in our minds. These embodied simulations, as they're called, are what makes it possible for us to become better baseball players by merely visualizing a well-executed swing; what allows us to remember which cupboard the diapers are in without looking, and what makes it so hard to talk on a cell phone while we’re driving on the highway. Meaning is more than just knowing definitions of words, as others have previously argued. In understanding language, our brains engage in a creative process of constructing rich mental worlds in which we see, hear, feel, and act. Through whimsical examples and ingenious experiments, Bergen leads us on a virtual tour of the new science of embodied cognition. A brilliant account of our human capacity to understand language, Louder than Words will profoundly change how you read, speak, and listen.

Heroic actions speak volumes in a powerful middle grade novel based on real WWII events. Life is becoming ever more terrifying for the Jewish community as the Second World War envelops their lives. For twelve-year-old Dina and her sisters, things get even harder when their father dies. Their mother must go back to work and despite many objections, the family adjusts to the arrival of their new housekeeper, Nina, who is not Jewish. But Nina’s role changes dramatically when the Nazis invade their small Ukrainian town. Nina sacrifices her own safety to make sure the children she has come to love are kept from the clutches of the Nazis, and Dina comes to depend on her in a way she never imagined she would. The third novel in Kathy Kacer’s acclaimed Heroes Quartet series, Louder Than Words is based on the true story of one woman’s incredible heroism in the most dangerous of circumstances. It is a another affecting testament to the unsung heroes of World War II who, at great personal risk, saved the lives of strangers.

Your character, more than anything else, will impact how much you accomplish in this life. It is more important than your talent, your education, your background, or your network of friends. Andy Stanley helps you chart a course toward becoming a man or woman of character. You'll discover a definition of character that will inspire you for a lifetime, the external and internal benefits of strong character, the six false beliefs behind negative behaviors, and more. Using practical insights, biblical exposition, and engaging stories, Stanley guides you step-by-step in setting the personal goals that will build the foundation for true success. The Secret to a Life with No Regrets How important is your character? It determines everything about you! How much you will accomplish in life, and whether you are worth knowing. How you will respond to success, and how you will weather the inevitable storms of life. This is a book about uncompromised living. It is about choosing every day to be a man or woman of integrity, a person whose actions speak louder than words. Bestselling author Andy Stanley challenges you to become what you were meant to be: a person whose commitment to doing the right thing, whatever the cost, will inspire others and change your world. Story Behind the Book As a pastor, I spend a substantial amount of my time with people who are digging themselves out from personal environmental catastrophes—circumstances that were often years in the making but “took them by surprise.” Another group of people have faced, or are facing, storms of life that are not of their own making, storms created by the character deficits of others—storms that are a natural part of a fallen world. There, in the midst of unjust treatment and seemingly undeserved pain, the true character of a man or woman is revealed. What you see in such moments is what was really there all along. This book is about change. It’s about the process of taking raw materials and molding them, shaping them, and refining them into a finished product. Whether you know it or not, that process is happening in you. Your character, not your accomplishments or acquisitions, determines your legacy.

Rafi hasn't spoken for eight years. It's up to her to tell her brother's story now that he can't speak either ... Rafi idolises her seventeen-year-old brother, who is popular, generous and a borderline genius. Ever protective, Silas always includes her when he's with his friends, so Rafi gets to hear all sorts of things that younger sisters wouldn't normally be a part of. Like the time Silas hacks a gaming site to help out his friend Josie, who has been trashed by her ex. With Josie, Rafi finds herself with a proper friend for the first time in her life. As they grow closer, she realises that she wants to find a way back into the world - she wants to learn to speak again. But Silas has found a new interest too - and it's taking him away from everything that was once important to him. Can Rafi find the words to save her brother?

A girl with no voice, only one friend, and a synthetic speech machine that makes her sound like a robot--definitely not prom queen material. So traumatized on the night of the car wreck that killed her entire family that she lost her ability to speak and most of her memories, seventeen-year-old Sasha faces a lonely, quiet future...until she meets a beautiful boy who can literally read her mind.

Build your understanding of behavior as communication, and learn to interpret the messages behind the actions. This book provides information and tools to support all children whose primary way to communicate is through challenging behaviors. Enlightening, sometimes humorous stories provide examples of how children use behavior to communicate. Engaging exercises and end-of-chapter questions can be used to improve current practice.

How do educators engage students in community action projects without telling them what to think, how to think, or what to do? Is it possible to integrate social justice organizing into the curriculum without imposing one’s political views on students? In Actions Speak Louder than Words, longtime activist and teacher educator Celia Oyler delves into such questions through firsthand accounts of social action projects. By moving beyond charity work or volunteerism, she shows how community activism projects offer fertile ground for practicing democratic engagement as part of classroom work. Actions Speak Louder than Words is a systematic, qualitative study offering in-depth and detailed portraits of teachers who design social action projects as part of the regular classroom curriculum. Each case forms a chapter organized as a narrative that includes excerpts from classroom dialogues, and interviews with students, teachers, and parents describing their social action projects with sufficient detail to give educators guidance for designing such projects for their own classrooms. The final chapter examines power, pedagogy, and learning outcomes across the cases, providing specific guidance to educators wishing to take up such projects and offering instructional and procedural advice as well as cautions. A fresh new example of taking up the challenge to teach toward equity and social justice, Actions Speak Louder than Words is an invaluable resource for educators who are passionate about the possibility of integrating activism and advocacy into curriculum as a means to engage in strong democracy.

“Louder Than Words takes us from an understanding of nonverbal behavior to an understanding of something far more valuable for success—nonverbal intelligence.” — Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and Practice “Joe Navarro brings together the art and science of nonverbal communications for the business sector with the edge of a former FBI agent and the insight of a world-class observer.” — Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles Joe Navarro, bestselling author of What Every Body Is Saying and Phil Hellmuth Presents Read ‘Em and Reap and former FBI agent specializing in behavioral analysis, helps you successfully navigate the business world by training your brain to see what others are feeling, thinking, or intending. Job hunters and professionals of every ilk—as well as fans of the hit FOX television series Lie to Me—will find many helpful and effective tips to reading body language and microexpressions in Louder than Words.