Monday, January 30, 2012

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 926:
When Not to Ask for the Sale































While the man on the right side of this image is asking President Obama to consider a decision, based on POTUS's nonverbal signals, this is an example of a completely wrong time to do so. It is rare to see a head-of-state display arm-crossed body language and certainly Obama is no exception. This arm posture is a strong indicator that Barack is emotionally closed-off and even defensive to the alternative being discussed. 

The configuration seen here on the President's mouth can, based on the other nonverbals it is clustered with - signify honest consideration, but this is not the case here. In such scenarios a completely different appearance of the eyes would be displayed (e.g. eyelids opened slightly wider than normal with a wrinkling/contraction of the forehead). In this nonverbal cluster-context - Obama's mouth indicates doubt and incredulity. 

Barack Obama is looking down and to the right, which is highly consistent with strong emotional overtones (although Mr. Obama is left handed and this phenomenon is more highly correlative with right-handedness).

If you want another to make a decision in your favor, ask for the sale, win a vote, get a date or ensure you client is acquitted, etc. - it behooves your cause to know when ..... exactly when ..... to ask. Pitching at the wrong time is an incredibly common mistake. How's YOUR timing?

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