Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1857: Pretending to be interested in Justin Bieber - A Body Language Signal of Insincerity

Justin Bieber walked into a Parisian Plexiglas partition yesterday, knocked himself on the head and unfortunately he ended up with a concussion. No videos or pictures of this event here though - they would probably show some good examples of the startle reflex of those standing near him. The reason this story is included here is "the reporter's dilemma" - because when you're a reporter there are plenty of stories you have to pretend to be interested in. It would be very difficult to report the news or be an anchor for this reason. It's one of the jobs (there are others) that engender sociopathic behavior. After all - we want actors to suspend our disbelief - we want them to lie to us - this is part of their social contract (Ekman). We want news people to tell us the facts though - we want honesty. When reporters pretend to be interested (among other emotions) - they are being insincere and thus they provide for us a very available forum to identify many insincere body language displays. Such is the case here.

Kareem Wynter a CNN/Showbiz Tonight correspondent (lady dressed in yellow on the right) displays a very common nonverbal many times throughout this piece on Justin Bieber. Take note of her upper eyelids. She repeatedly opens them very widely in a feigned attempt to display interest and enthusiasm. This is an act and a very common nonverbal signal of insincerity seen daily all around us. It's a body language equivalent of using three or four exclamation marks when only one - or perhaps a well-chosen (and sincerer) word would convey thoughts and emotions more accurately. Beware of this nonverbal.

An interesting side-note here is Ms. Wynter's forehead is significantly hypo-reactive. It is very likely that she has had botox treatments. The inability to fully express oneself in one area (here because of lack of forehead function) very often leads to a Hyper-response in another area (her eyelids).

Other emotions seen with eyelids opened in this "White & Wide" configuration are: Fear, Moderate to Severe Anger (Rage), Surprise and sometimes Psychological Shock (Emotional Overload).

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis #1856: Egypt's Former President's Fall from Power - Hosni Mubarak After Sentencing

This recent image of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was taken just after his sentencing. Earlier today he received a life sentence for his role in the killing of pro-democracy protesters during the Egyptian Revolution in the spring of 2011. Approximately 840 protesters were killed and over 6000 were injured. This photo was taken while Mubarak was in a helicopter as it dropped him off at a prison hospital. It is reported that the former Egyptian leader refused to leave the aircraft for over 30 minutes.

Although this is not an optimal photo and his eyes are covered in sunglasses, Hosni Mubarak is displaying enough to reveal a classic facial expression of Disgust. With his lower lip protruding and his upper lip raised together, tightening of the "mustache area" with bilateral nostril flaring clinches this body language tell. Mubarak's forehead is also relaxed with a lowering of his eyebrows and dynamic contraction wrinkles on the bridge of his nose. If we had a full view of his face we would also expect to see some contraction-furrows on his chin and a temporarily increase of crow's feet on the lateral sides of each eye.

Hosni Mubarak does not believe he is guilty and consistent with this emotional mindset; he's displaying classic nonverbal signals of disgust. We can read his mind.

See also:

Analysis # 1552: The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle & the Buffett Rule

Analysis # 1841: Disgust in Response to Rep. Barney Frank's Hoodie Joke

Analysis # 1773: Junior Seau's Body Language During His Last Interview

Analysis # 1816: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Contempt & Mary Richardson Kennedy's Social Smile

Analysis # 72 & 73 : Christine Lagarde's Disgust & Incredulity

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1855: Sincere Kisses & Closed Eyes

In this image Gunner's Mate, Steven Joyce kisses the hand of his wife (Damara) just prior to his ship, the USS Carr, is deployed to the Persian Gulf. During hugs and kissing, if there is true and focused affection present, the eyes naturally close. Both Steve and Damara are displaying strong body language of sincerity with their eyes closed. Ninety percent of our sensory input is visual - and forty percent of the mass of the human brain is dedicated to vision. When we close our eyes, we don't need as much blood, oxygen, neural processing, etc. - to the visual portions of our brains - and thus we can dedicate a bit more of these limited resources to the other four senses (taste, smell, touch and hearing) as well as the cognitive and the emotional centers of our brains. It's as if were trying to temporarily amplify the emotions and squeeze every bit of feeling from these special moments. When we (naturally) close our eyes - we can drink in more emotion.

See also:

Analysis # 771: Ann & Mitt Romney's Affectionate Hug

Secret # 2: Hugs as a Measure of an Impending Break-up

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis #1843: United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice in Response to Syrian Government's Houla Massacre

Yesterday, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice gave a press conference at the U.N. regarding the latest developments in attempts at peace in Syria. This was precipitated by a massacre of 108 civilians in Houla over the weekend, including 34 women and 49 children.

Ms. Rice is a strong and well-spoken leader. Although she is both petite (1.60 M or 5'3") and attractive, she projects a presence and strength far greater than her stature or looks typically afford in our male chauvinistic World. One not-so-obvious reason for this is her nonverbal communication skills. Note at the very beginning of the video, and again during the 4:22 - 4:33 segments, when the camera focus is wide, Ms. Rice is standing with her feet approximately shoulder width apart (we can tell she stands like this throughout the press conference if we look at her shoulder height compared with the backdrop - note how this doesn't change - if she stood with her feet together she would appear taller). Too many female (and male) "leaders" stand with their feet very close together. While this feet-together stance does project femininity, and there are times Susan may very well want to stand in such a configuration, in many contexts it projects lack of confidence, low levels of assertiveness, diminished power and even acquiescence. Delivering a speech or press conference, particularly at the U.N., certainly is not a time to look demure. Woman in most cultures are not used to standing in such a manner by social convention. Thus their unconsciousness's directs them most times to stand with their feet together. Obviously, standing with feet too far apart projects the wrong signals too - and this body language is certainly not advocated either. Positioning the feet a shoulder's width apart projects the right level of assertiveness, power and confidence that any leader, male or female should stand when in such a prominent leadership role. Despite standing with feet apart, one critique offered here to Ms. Rice - is not too stand with her toes pointed inwards. This is an additional layer of nuance to look for when dissecting and quantifying the confidence of others. Note that at the 4:30 time-mark, she re-adjusts her right foot and rotates it outward - simultaneously dialing up her assertiveness. It is very important to emphasize that these positions of the legs & feet not only appear more confident, assertive, powerful, etc. to anyone watching - they also will literally change brain chemistry and physiology such that these emotions will truly be increased. This will subsequently be reflected in one's voice, word choice, fluidity of thought and action.

See also:

Analysis # 1553: Ann & Mitt Romney's Body Language at NRA Meeting

Secret # 919: How Newt Stands Influences Voters

Secret # 1095: al-Assad Feels a Weak Link with Russia

Secret # 719: When to Stand with Your Feet Close Together

Secret # 103: High Confidence vs. Low Confidence Stance - Who's Leading Who?

Secret # 337: Michele Bachmann's Low Confidence Stance

Another tool used by Ms. Rice in this press conference is a lectern with an open design, utilizing a thin central beam. This affords us a full view of the Ambassador. We trust someone when we can see more of them. Thus the open-lectern is a rapport building tool that all leaders - corporate or government - male or female - short or tall should use. The less we can visualize - the less we trust. Very few lecterns are designed with a person of short stature in mind.  Even if Miss Rice were a 1.91 M (6'3") man, an open lectern would still be a very wise idea - but being so petite, this also allows her to control her environment in a way that a tradition wide lectern does not. She is building rapport, sending signals of openness and honesty by this simple but crucial detail.

Secret # 903: The More I see of You .... Plexiglass Podiums

Secret # 33: Transparency in Words and Actions

Ambassador Rice does use the traditional index finger (aka forefinger) point. She should avoid using this body language gesture as virtually all cultures find it offensive. The forefinger point is a rapport destroyer. A much better alternative is to point with loose fingers (not fully extended), palm pointed upwards, elbow bent (arm not fully extended either). This mode of pointing engenders a much more cooperative and nonthreatening feeling while still projecting confidence and authority.

Secret # 1224: Two-Handed Index Finger Point

Secret # 1652: Crude Oil, Speculators and Counting with Thumb First

Analysis # 1705: Francois Hollande & the French Presidential Election - The Pistol Steeple and Emotional Dissonance

Secret # 1233: Putin's Pointing Pen 

Analysis # 793: The Index Finger Point - A Rare Exception

Although it is difficult to see throughout most of the video, Susan Rice commits several hand to hand touches in front of her central lower chest & upper abdomen. While some very brief uses of a low steeple would be helpful here to project power and authority, they should be deliberately choreographed and used only for a second or two during particularly important statements. Otherwise, the conventional steeple can backfire and send signals of arrogance. I don't believe Ms. Rice committed this nonverbal faux pax here, although again, it is difficult to see because of the tight camera angle. She also would be well advised to not touch the opposite hand or commit brief self "hand-holds" that so many people do when speaking (watch almost any news reporter for both this bad body language blunder as well as the dramatic over-use of the conventional low steeple).

At the 5:21 Mark, just after an audience/press member asks Ms. Rice, "Was there any country that immediately dismissed the idea of sanctions, or do you see an opening for discussion there?", she exhibited a prolonged bilateral blink (indicating a desire to block the subject from her mind - and there of are indeed diplomatic road blocks here), a looking away (at 5:22 - a similar emotional tone and cause as the prolonged blink) and a more than moderate contempt nonverbal (5:22 - 5:23). Susan Rice has strong contempt to countries (and leaders) that are blocking the effectiveness of any sanctions (a' la Vladimir Putin).

The Ambassador uses the basketball steeple and the palms up gestures very well - much better than the vast majority of speakers/politicians/leaders in any given venue. This gives her confidence and connects her in both an intellectual and especially an emotional manner with her audience - even the small minority who may disagree with her. In short, although not perfect, Susan Rice's body language is very good and sends signals of strong leadership as it also aides dramatically to build rapport and consensus.

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1841: Disgust in Response to Rep. Barney Frank's "Hoodie" Joke

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) spoke at the Graduation ceremony Sunday at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Hubie Jones, a civil rights pioneer was also honored at the ceremony and Rep. Frank made a joke which many in the audience found offensive. In an obvious reference to Trayvon Martin, Frank joked that, "... and Hubie, I think you now have a hoodie you can wear and no one will shoot at ya ..."

One of the students included in the news video (above) interviewed after the ceremony displayed multiple excellent examples of body language tells of disgust as she also vocalized her opinions of Barney Frank's joke (0:54, 0:55, 0:57 - 0:59 and 1:00 - 1:01). Particular nonverbal facial signals of disgust (most, but not all of which are seen in this example) include: wrinkles (muscular contraction) on the bridge of the nose, accentuated and deepening nasal-labial furrows on the side of the nose, protruding of the lower lip, raising of the upper lip with (+/-) protrusion, tightening of the area between the upper lip and nose (the "mustache area"), flaring of the nostrils, lowering of the eyebrows, crow's feet formation/accentuation on the lateral sides of the eyes, dynamic chin wrinkling and a relaxed forehead.

See also:

Secret # 271: Disgust with very Little Mouth Component

Secret # 1496: Tiger Woods' Disgust and Biofeedback

Secret # 273: Anger and Disgust in Azerbaijan

Secret # 925: Liam Hemsworth's Disgust and Anger

Secret # 72 & 73: Christine Lagarde's Disgust and Incredulity

Analysis # 1548: Trayvon Martin's Death - George Zimmerman and his First Court Appearance

Analysis # 1491: Barack Obama on Trayvon Martin "If I Had a Son, He'd Look Like Trayvon"

Analysis # 1696: George Zimmerman's Testimony - Fear, Incredulity, Regret & Contempt

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1840: Brian Banks and The Innocence Project - Auditory Recall, Contempt, Self-doubt and Syntax

In 2003, as a sixteen-year old, Brian Banks was falsely accused of raping a classmate. Under his attorney's advice, he plead "No Contest" to rape charges rather risk a trial - and ended up spending more than five years in prison and the remainder of the time under parole as a registered sex offender with an ankle tracking bracelet. After his former accuser contacted him via Facebook and with assistance from The Innocence Project, he was able to prove he never committed the crime and this past Thursday - his conviction was overturned and he was exonerated.

There are many body language tells in this video, but a few in particular are worth noting. At multiple times during this interview, Banks eyes move very quickly (saccades) in a quick darting motion directly to his left. While not 100% reliable, in a relatively high percentage of right-handed people, a saccade straight to the left indicates an auditory recall (in these examples they are the spoken word, either something he or someone else said, e.g. his past attorney - however, the recall of other sounds such as music, etc. may also display this nonverbal epiphenomenon). Examples of his eyes moving in this manner are seen at 1:42, 2:29, 2:42, 2:52, 2:54, 4:00, 4:02, and 4:08.

Analysis # 1712: Negative Nonverbals & The Recency Effect, President Obama's Campaign Ad "Go"

Analysis # 1835: Darion Franchitti Wins His Third Indy 500 - His Disingenuous "Thank You"

There are other times when Brian Banks looks down-to-his-left (most notably at 1:22-23, 1:42, 2:52, 2:53, 3:32, 4:00, 4:02 and 4:13). Once again, while not 100% of the time, with most right-handed people, saccades in this down-left direction indicate internal dialog, syntax and word-thought-sentence construction. There are some occasions when it appears he looks both straight left and down-to-his-left as well.

At three times in this interview, Brian Banks gave both subtle and microexpression examples of contempt. These are seen at 1:58, 2:00 and 4:15. These particular displays appear as a trace amount of a one-sided smile and may also appear as a unilateral snarl. Tightening of the "mustache area" between the upper lip and nose occurs and often co-exists with one nostril flaring. Contempt is a very specific emotion where a person places another person or group beneath him. It is also possible to have self-contempt.

Secret # 457: A Contempt Amplifier

Analysis # 1824: Mexican Candidate Natalia Juarez - Subtle Contempt

Analysis # 1816: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Contempt & Mary Richardson Kennedy's Social Smile

At the 3:25 mark, Mr. Banks gives an auditory "whewww" exhale with a co-existing puffing of the cheeks (aka the "puffer fish"). This highly specific verbal-nonverbal cluster can occur just after (indicating relief with usually a quicker exhale - with more relaxed lips) or just before (typically a slower exhale with tighter lip configuration indicating fear and anxiety) a major stressful event. In this case, Brian was re-living the psychological relief that after his accuser contacted him, it allowed him to clear his name.

Secret # 53: Charlie Rangel's Puffer Fish

Secret # 1122: Tiger, Pebble Beach and the Puffer Fish
 

A final interesting body language tell is seen near the end of this interview. Although I'm sure that most would eventually desire to (and see the wisdom of) arriving at a point where we would no longer harbor anger towards our false accusers which Mr. Banks speaks about, his shoulder shrug at the 3:59 mark when he says, "... No, I'm not angry ..." shows us that he doubts his own words. He wants to get to this emotional mindset, and he's on his way - but he is not fully there yet. He still harbors anger - and who could blame him?

Analysis # 1818: Political Correctness, a Partial Emblematic Slip and at a Falcon, Colorado Elementary School

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1834: Chelsea FC vs. Bayern Munich and the G8

The above image, and the higher resolution section from it seen below, was taken on 19 May 2012 at the G8 Summit at Camp David, Maryland. These World leaders are watching the penalty shootout (tied 1-1 in regulation) in the final match of the 2012 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Championship between the London-based Chelsea Football Club vs. the favored FC Bayern Munich. Contrasting their body language and the look on their respective countries leaders' faces tells the whole story. With his arms & hands lifted high, the U.K.'s Prime Minister David Cameron expresses vicarious fiero at Chelsea's 4-3 shootout win. Angela Merkel's normally hyper-expressive face displays more subtle body language in this photo. Her eyelids are partially closed in a particular configuration and in this cluster-context are indicative of subtle anger (think of Clint Eastwood in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"). Unlike the partial closure which accompanies a sincere smile, with this anger nonverbal, there are no dynamic, concave-up furrows seen in her lower lids.

Interestingly, Barack Obama, standing between Cameron and Merkel, is both the leader of this G8 Summit and also friends with David. While his obvious vocalization shows his partiality to Chelsea FC - we can see he's experiencing emotional dissonance - for his hands are self-restrained behind his back as his subconscious attempts to maintain some level of neutrality so as not to offend Angela.

See also:

Analysis # 351: Some Subtle and some not-so-subtle signs of anxiety, discomfort, anger, fear, etc.

Analysis # 1696: George Zimmerman's Testimony - Fear, Incredulity, Regret & Contempt

Analysis # 1211: Tiger's Eyes - Subtle Signal but Severe Anger

Secret # 405: Carli Bruni's Dagger Eyes

Secret # 353: Brad Pitt's Smiling Eyes - Sincere and Insincere Smiles

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Nonverbal Analysis # 1836: Boston Ousts Philly and the Origin of the "High Five"

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett give each other a "High Five" in last night's game as Brandon Bass looks on. The Boston Celtics went on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the seventh game of the series to advance to the Eastern conference finals against the Miami Heat. The origin of the "High Five" nonverbal dates back to the final game of the regular season in 1977 when Los Angeles Dodger Dusty Baker hit his 30th home run off of Houston's J.R. Richard. His team mate, Glenn Burke ran up to congratulate him and lifted his hand high in the air. Baker did the same with his and met Burke's in a slap - and the high five was born. Most, but not all, body language in which the arms & hands are lifted high, particularly suddenly - are signals positive emotions.

See also:

Body Language at the FIFA World Cup - Fiero After Accomplishment

Secret # 1511: Hands Held High, Fiero & Oosthuizen - An Albatross at the Masters

Fiero after Accomplishment

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1835: Dario Franchitti Wins His Third Indianapolis 500 - His Disingenuous "Thank You"

Dario Franchitti won his third Indianapolis 500 today. During an emotional interview after the race, he speaks of his friend Dan Wheldon - last year's winner who perished this past October in the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This video is loaded with body language, however there's one tell in particular that should catch your attention. At the 0:43 mark, just as Franchitti finishes saying, "... thank you to this Target team ...", he displays an nonverbal classic "ear screw" with his left index finger in his left ear canal as he looks down to his right. This ear screw is a clear signal that this particular "thank you" is insincere, and he's discontented with someone on the "Target team" or the team as whole. Although we cannot see his eyes, his head & neck move down and to his right. It would be highly unusual if his eyes were also not gazing in this same direction. Looking down and to one's right (particularly for the right-handed) is an extremely common saccade during negative emotional moments.

See also:

Secret # 1236: Kofi Annan Does Not Believe

Secrets # 394 & 496: Rick Perry's Nonverbal Mistakes in Iowa

Secret # 199: When a Lie is Told, Heard or Visualized by Vladimir's Eye

Secret # 29: Eye Rub When Someone Else is Speaking - Angela Doubts Vladimir

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1834: Signals of Emotional Processing & Emotional Overwhelm

Sammie Hicks is a ten year old girl who lost her hearing in both ears as a toddler. Recently she underwent a cochlear implant which has allowed her to hear in a near-normal capacity. This video shows the moment when the implant was switched-on and her body language-emotional response immediately afterwards. Her tears are met with a sudden mouth covering and eye covering - first to a lesser degree and then more dramatically. When people experience or witness something dramatically good or ill, it takes a while to emotionally process this new information. This is often nonverbally expressed with mouth and bilateral eye covering (a variation of a Manipulator, Adaptor or Pacifier aka MAP). In Sammie's case this is experienced directly, but it can be experienced secondarily via empathy. In fact, when you watched/listened to video for the first time you probably covered your mouth in a similar fashion, with your eyes tearing-up, contracted your central forehead, tilted your head/neck to one side and touched your upper chest/neck with your dominant hand - all clustered signals of strong empathy.

See also:

Secret # 1212: Sudden Mouth Covering

Secret # 221: Spontaneous Mouth Covering & Empathy

Secret # 21: Surprise + Fear + Empathy

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