NSB Logo Pamela Barnum Pamela Barnum

Pamela Barnum

Speaker Featured

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Trust Strategist and Body Language Expert

Pamela is a former undercover police officer and federal prosecuting attorney.

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. She 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. In her recent TEDx Talk, “What Drug Dealers Taught Me About Trust” was viewed more than 200,000 times in the first six months.

Keynote Speeches

Virtual Keynotes & Webinars
Contact us for more information about this speaker & their virtual presentations. Click here for some of the most popular formats for virtual events.
Strategic Communication: "LIFE" Skills for Leaders

Studies show that the higher the level of trust, the more successful the outcome. Nonverbal communication is a significant data source used to make decisions around trust. Using her expertise and insider techniques, Pamela will help you and your organization enhance trust and negotiation skills with innovative LIFE techniques.

Attendees will learn to:

Lead with intentional communication and nonverbal cues.

Influence with the ability to recognize, understand and manage deception cues and how others perceive us.

Fascinate in a way that communicates confidence and trustworthiness in every situation.

Empower with empathy enabling us to engage in perspective-taking, which is critical to emotional intelligence.

Crack the Code on Deception

The ability to read people can make or break deals, negotiations, and relationships. Learn how to decode the clues of deception so you can make better decisions about who to hire, fire, and partner with. Participants will learn how to crack the code on deception using real-world techniques to spot lies and assess people straight away.

Forget about what you’ve learned from watching police and lie detection dramas on TV because those equip you to detect deception as much as a medical drama equips you to perform surgery.

During this one-of-a-kind keynote or workshop led by former undercover police officer and federal prosecutor Pamela Barnum, participants will learn techniques used by real law enforcement and federal agencies to detect deception, build rapport, and establish trust.

Key points:

  • Identify the difference between anxiety and deception so they can get to the truth faster and more accurately, ensuring accuracy and avoid wasting both time and money.
  • Improve self-awareness in order to manage and access personal bias. This is diversity training with real and measurable results.
  • Spot nonverbal cues for deception. Learn how to filter out what’s really being said so you can make informed decisions.
Control Perception

Research shows that your credibility, confidence, likability, and trustworthiness are evaluated within seconds. This means that even if you’ve practiced your words perfectly, and you say all the right things, if your body language isn’t aligned with what you say; you lose.

Our brains react to nonverbal messages before anything else. That’s how we’re wired.

The impact of your nonverbal communication lies in the perception of what others think. People make an emotional decision about what they see, and it takes a long time, and a lot of evidence to change their minds. By then, the damage is done.

Understand and interpret the nonverbal signs you’re communicating as well as the signs others are sharing so you can build rapport and develop trust with anyone.

Key points:

  • Translate body language clearly and accurately using an Agenda Filter.
  • Use insider techniques used by law enforcement to build rapport quickly and easily with anyone, even in challenging environments.
  • Express empathy and confidence with their body language, turning first impressions into winning impressions.
Five Benefits of Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is an important component for living a happy and fulfilling life. Understanding the benefits of self-confidence is an important step toward living you best life. Here are five key-rewards of self-confidence:

  1. Experience less fear and anxiety
  2. Increase your motivation
  3. Have more resilience
  4. Your relationships will improve
  5. The Authentic You Will Shine Through
Major, Minor, and Micro Nonverbals – The New Body Language Skills You Need to Win in Sales & Negotiations

Master the art of decoding and interpreting nonverbals so you can improve sales, negotiations, and relationships. Most body language programs focus on large body movements or micro facial expressions, and as a result, leave a lot of information behind.

Learn the secret second language that’s been reserved for experts and law enforcement. During this dynamic interactive keynote, participants will learn how to use and interpret major, minor, and micro body language movements to negotiate better deals, close more sales, and build trusting relationships.

Excellent communication skills are necessary for success. Learn the secrets of an undercover police officer and federal prosecutor to build rapport, influence with elegance, and win trust in any relationship.

This intriguing session encourages audience participation, easy action steps that can be used immediately, and a lot of fun for everyone in attendance!

Key points:

  • Use and understand major nonverbal signals to make the sale, negotiate better deals, and build trust in their relationships.
  • Improve self-confidence with minor body language techniques.
  • Interpret simple micro nonverbals with ease.
5 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Confidence

Think about a situation in your life when you invited self-confidence to the party, but insecurity showed up instead. It’s completely normal to feel uncertain sometimes. Read the biography of a person you admire, and self-doubt was certainly part of their story. Behavior never lies. Your words can shout, “I’m confident!” but if what you do each day reveals a lack of confidence, what you say won’t matter. Below are the WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CONFIDENCE TODAY:

  1. Surround Yourself with People Who Believe in You
  2. Get Physical
  3. Feed Your Mind
  4. Prepare
  5. Let Go of Perfectionism

Audience reviews:

  • Pamela delivers trust strategies in a way that engages, entertains, and inspires the audience to take immediate action. Each participant who attends will learn how to build real and sustainable trust using body language techniques that can be used in any situation. - Jamie Minton CEO, Luminary Events
  • Pamela Barnum was incredibly fun, exceeded our already high expectations! The audience was fully engaged and LOVED her! The feedback on her body language presentation was incredible and any organization would be blown away by the knowledge, education and expertise she brings to the event. - Ariana Kane Event Planner, The Shin Dig
  • Pamela is an energetic and engaging speaker who gives the audience real-world business strategies they can implement immediately. - Sonia Stringer Founder, Savvy Women Leadership Academy

Speaker Biography

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 living with a false identity, and your success depends on building trust and detecting deception with some of the most dangerous people imaginable. 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.

When Pamela graduated from law school, she left policing and accepted a position as a federal prosecuting attorney. She spent countless hours in the courtroom, perfecting her proficiency as a trust strategist and body language expert.

Following a successful 20-year career in the criminal justice system, Pamela studied corporate negotiations in graduate school. Now, she shares her expertise with others, teaching them how to improve their communication skills to increase trust inside corporations, associations, and law enforcement agencies.

As a body language expert and trust strategist, Pamela delivers techniques once thought of like a “secret second language” that participants can begin using immediately.

Take decades of experience, including working deep undercover in narcotics, followed by a rewarding legal career, and you get real-world strategies that help participants crack the code on trust and improve professional relationships using proven field-tested techniques.

Pamela shares her experience, research, and expertise with humor, candor, and energy, blending actionable strategies with memorable stories.

She is also a featured expert and contributor in print media, radio and television news programs in Canada and the United States. She has appeared in person in front of audiences ranging from 50 – 12,000 and on countless virtual stages.