Pamela Barnum

Pamela Barnum is a Trust Strategist, Body Language Expert, Former Undercover Police Officer and Federal Prosecuting Attorney.

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Imagine what it would be like to live as a different person with a different name, identity, and background. For months at a time, you’re pretending to be a drug dealer, and your success and safety depends on building trust and detecting deception with some of the most dangerous people you could ever imagine. That’s precisely what Pamela Barnum did for years working undercover in the Drug Enforcement Section. She learned real-world techniques for building trust and interpreting body language.

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While working full-time as an undercover police officer, Pamela completed law school and accepted a position as a federal prosecuting attorney. She spent countless hours in the courtroom, perfecting her techniques in deception detection. Observing witnesses, judges, and juries for years helped Pamela decode the clues of deception. 

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In graduate school, Pamela studied corporate negotiations and applied those skills to the nonverbal communication techniques she learned over two decades while working in the criminal justice system.

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Pamela has applied her experience and knowledge to teach others how to detect deception and interpret nonverbals in their personal and professional lives. Pamela has spoken in front of audiences ranging from 50 to 12,000 in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Her recent TEDx Talk, “What Drug Dealers Taught Me About Trust” was viewed more than 200,000 times in the first six months.

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