Mark Bowden (English author)

Mark Bowden is an English communication keynote speaker, author, and authority on communication, body language and human behavior. He set up a communication training company, Truthplane. He has advised leaders and sales organizations, and his techniques have been used by people such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Bowden has recorded a TEDx talk, "The Importance of Being In-Authentic". He is an instructor for the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program and the President of The National Communication Coach Association of Canada.

His work is derived from evolutionary psychology, behavioral psychology and embodied cognition. His methodology is the GesturePlane System, advocating the specific use of open palm hand gestures in the "TruthPlane" (the horizontal plane at navel height) to build trust and credibility in communication. This concept was introduced in his 2010 book, Winning Body Language.

Career

Bowden was trained at Middlesex University, London, graduating 1991 (BA Hons, Performing Arts). Bowden is a body language analyst who provides commentary for national news networks and also delivers keynote speeches on communication for corporate audiences. During US Presidential and Canadian Federal elections and debates, along with subsequent diplomatic meetings, he has commented in the press and on network news on the body language of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, and Andrew Scheer. Bowden contributes to GQ magazine on modern male culture and behavior. In 2025, Bowden was named one of the "Top 30 Communication Professionals" worldwide by the research organization Global Gurus.

Film, theatre and TV

From 1991 to 2007 Bowden appeared in:

  • The 1992 UK London West End premiere of Six Degrees Of Separation at the Royal Court Theatre and the Comedy Theatre
  • Hamlet (1998)
  • A Midsummer Nights Dream (1999)
  • The False Corpse (2005)
  • The Behavior Panel - YouTube (2020)
  • The Behavior Panel - Merit Street Media (2024)
  • [...] Performance (2024).

Books

  • Mark Bowden and Tracey Thomson, Truth and Lies: What People Are Really Thinking (HarperCollins, 2018)
  • Mark Bowden, Tame the Primitive Brain: 28 Ways in 28 Days to Manage the Most Impulsive Behaviors at Work (Wiley, 2013)
  • Mark Bowden with Andrew Ford, Winning Body Language for Sales Professionals: Control the Conversation and Connect with Your Customer―without Saying a Word (McGraw-Hill, 2013)
  • Mark Bowden, Winning Body Language: Control the Conversation, Command Attention, and Convey the Right Message without Saying a Word (McGraw-Hill, 2010)