Our Bodies Reveal the Truth: Award-Winning USU Study Explores Nonverbal Cues in Financial Counseling

Utah State University professors Lucy Delgadillo and Glen Haas recently received an award for their research exploring how financial professionals can use nonverbal cues to build greater trust and rapport with their clients.

According to Delgadillo, who teaches family finance and financial literacy in USU’s Department of Applied Sciences, Technology & Education, identifying nonverbal cues can help financial professionals connect with their clients on a deeper level.

“As human beings, communication is intrinsic to our nature; it's inevitable,” she said. “Even in silence, we convey messages. Non-verbal cues are genuine expressions of our inner thoughts and feelings. While we may maintain a composed demeanor, our bodies reveal the truth.”

Delgadillo collaborated with Haas, a professional practice assistant professor in USU’s Department of Sociology and a retired police commander, to author the research paper titled What Can We Learn from the FBI that Will Help Us Build More Effective Financial Sessions: 50 Nonverbal Communication Skills in 50 Minutes. Their combined experience in reading human behavior — Delgadillo as a former journalist and financial counselor, Haas as a former law enforcement professional — shaped their findings.

“In police work, body language isn’t just about observation — it’s a tool,” Haas said. “Officers can de-escalate situations or unintentionally escalate them through posture, facial expressions, or hand movements, while also using subtle cues from others to build cases and understand intent.

“These same principles apply to financial counseling or other instances where understanding and aligning nonverbal cues can strengthen trust and communication with clients. Dr. Delgadillo's use of techniques and tools from one discipline to address issues in another unrelated discipline is very inventive. I think she clearly demonstrates the value of looking beyond our subject areas to solve key issues."

From their work, Haas and Delgadillo developed a presentation and shared their findings with financial education professionals at the 2024 Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) Symposium late last year.

Their presentation explored some of the surprising ways people communicate without words, like subtle changes in their lips and feet. Participants learned about 50 nonverbal cues that may indicate when they are building or losing empathetic connection and how to establish trust and intimacy in financial sessions.

Their work received the Outstanding Symposium Research to Practice Award from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), in partnership with AFCPE. The award honors the conference session that best translates scholarly research into actionable strategies for professionals.

“Nonverbal communication, especially body language, can send a strong message despite what your words say,” Delgadillo said. “Being aware of these nonverbal signals and ensuring they align with the intended message is crucial, especially in a context where building trust and rapport is important.”

Delgadillo and Haas have plans to release the full research paper in 2025.