IF there is one thing that everyone needs in life it’s the ability to properly communicate and sometimes it pays to be able to know how to do it well.
One woman has confessed she earns up to £775 an hour training people in the art of body language reading, according to documents seen by The Sun.
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Carole Railton, a 70-year-old body language expert from London, says she fell into the trade by accident and quickly worked up a plan to make a career out of it.
She struggled in school and would only find out later on that her dyslexia was holding her back.
She told The Sun: “At school, I was really good at sport, and art yet struggled with reading. Studying was not something at that time I aspired to.”
Straight after school, Carole went into recruitment but she soon realised that her people skills could be better met elsewhere.
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It wasn’t until Carole was 45 that she found out she was dyslexic.
At that point, she realised just how much skill she had developed in understanding people’s body language without the help of spoken word.
“I relied heavily on visuals in my early life, adapting to people’s personalities and body language skills was something I was an expert in,” she said.
“It didn’t take me long to realise I could sell my skills.”
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Carole built up her skills in body language reading, picking up books from other authors and studying on her own.
“I quickly realised there were gaps in some of these authors’ knowledge that I was able to fill.
For example, at the time there was no real distinction between male and female behaviours and I made one.”
“Once I was able to separate myself from the current market, things got a lot easier. This raised my public profile and put me on the speaker circuit.”
Carole’s first big break came when she gained a high-profile client early on and was quickly able to prove her worth.
She said: “I was lucky to gain a large insurance company client as soon as I went full-time into body language teaching.”
“They gave their top sales team to me for three days. The theory being, if I could make them even better I could help all the other salespeople.”
“It was so successful they opened another branch and I trained up the rest of their sales teams.”
What is body language reading?
Carole said up to 70% of communication can be visual, ie body language and attire.
She noted it’s a “vital part” of human communication and added: “If you have the tools you need to read someone you can tell when they’re sad, struggling or even when they’re are lying without them even saying anything.”
The skill is great for companies who are based in sales or customer service but you can take it further by using it to understand personality styles and recognising criminal behaviour and deception.
Carole said: “When I first came onto the scene I was competing with body language experts in secret services and national security organisations such as the FBI.”
Jet setter
Carole explains aside from helping people her job has allowed her to travel and explore the world.
She said: “I have been to 47 countries and have lived and worked all over the world in Zambia, South Africa, Germany, USA, France, Australia, Nigeria, Austria, Ireland, Serbia and Indonesia.”
“I love my job, it’s such an interesting talking point, people always want to know more about what I do.”
She added: “Working for yourself gives you freedom. Whenever there has been a slack period I have gone on holiday to recharge.”
“I still have a few clients and regularly do work for the national press analysing famous people’s body language in new situations, including at the recent Coronation looking at the royals, especially Harry and Charles.”
Managing a schedule
As well as travelling Carole gets to decide her schedule.
She says: “I am at the stage now where I can demand a high hourly or daily rate. I usually charge based on the success of the assignment.”
“My daily rate at the moment ranges between £3,500 to £10,000 and I usually only work two or three days a week.”
“I only take assignments if there is a quantitive measurement a couple of months down the line so I charge on this basis.
“50% upfront and 50% on completion of the success three months down the line.”
Although her earnings are high Carole admitted she plans to slow things down before she retires.
“I’m in my 70’s so I am looking to work just one week a month from the new tax year in April.”
Carole explained most of her clients find her through public speaking events.
She said: “I have done a lot of public speaking which generates some new clients, others via global gurus and probably the most common way is via management consultants who have used me and use me again or recommend me to their clients.”
” In the beginning, I used to go to network meetings and business exhibitions to meet as many buyers as I could.”
Carole said she saw an increase in clients during the pandemic when her first book The Future of Body Language helped to inform people on how to behave in multimedia.
She said: “I was also commissioned to write ‘A Useful Guide to Personal Branding’ for a series of management books for a university.”
Carole now teaches people both how to read other people’s body language but also how to adapt their own to be more influential.
In her courses, you can learn how to analyse of behaviours of high-profile individuals, salespeople and buyers.
She can teach you how to recognise signs of deception among four main personality types.
Perhaps you want to become the master of your own body language in which case you can take a class to enhance your influencing skills.
Carole can even tell which job you are best suited for based on your behaviour and body language.
Getting into the field
In the end, Carole has confirmed she doesn’t think going to university would have helped in developing her career.
She said: “I have over 25 years of experience in the field, I’ve led companies and now I’m ranked the number eight body language expert in the world.”
“I believe most of that is because I have been able to be creative and imaginative and not take the usual route.”
However, the businesswoman admits things have changed since she entered the field 45 years ago.
“Things have changed recently. It may be beneficial to have a course to back up your experiences with understanding body language.”
There are tons of resources online such as helpful YouTube videos and LinkedIn courses.
Bear in mind some clients may ask for proof of education in this field.
Top tips from a body language expert
Carole reckons anyone looking to get into the body language training should have secure finances.
She said: “I made many mistakes relating to the business including initially doing everything myself, trying to save money.”
“It’s best to get others in at the start, get a loan rather than fund yourself. Make sure you are not a person who gets easily distracted or depressed as neither will help you.”
Carole says to ignore the nay-sayers who try to argue you can’t get far in life without a degree.
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“I have a good income. I have studied and gained all sorts of accolades along the way. Working for yourself proves you can understand others, adapt, lead and control your life.”
“Look at those who are really successful like Steve Jobs, and Richard Branson not all have degrees.”
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