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People may try to hide their emotions, but the neck often betrays those sentiments.

The platysma muscle, and in particular platysmal bands, are very revealing.

An Adam's apple jump should not be ignored when assessing others.

When people think about body language, they almost always think about the face. We study smiles, eye contact, eyebrows, and fleeting expressions. Yet just a few inches below the face is one of the most revealing—and most overlooked—areas of the human body: the neck.

Throughout my career studying nonverbal communication, I have found that the neck often reveals what the face attempts to conceal. A practiced smile may hide disappointment. A controlled expression can mask tension. But the neck is remarkably honest. It responds automatically to fear, embarrassment, uncertainty, attraction, discomfort, and relief.

Over the decades, I learned to pay closer attention to what is happening beneath the chin—the neck is remarkably revealing, and I'm not just talking about how it shows our age.

The neck deserves our attention not only because of what it communicates, but because of what it is. It is the narrow passageway connecting the brain to 90 percent of the body. The spinal cord, major blood vessels, airway, esophagus, and numerous muscles and nerves all share this compact, intricate space where everything must work perfectly. Every breath we take, every sip of water, and every bite we swallow depends upon structures housed within the neck.

From an evolutionary perspective, that makes the neck extraordinarily important and vulnerable. An injury to this area can be catastrophic. Consequently, the brain monitors and protects it with exceptional vigilance. Whenever we feel threatened, uncertain, or emotionally aroused, the neck is often among the first areas to respond and that we respond to.

Parts of the body richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels tend to be especially reactive to emotional changes. The face is one........

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