Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2757: Phillip and Phil Martelli, St. Joseph Hawks, March Madness and Mirroring - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)





Note: The original video has since been removed by CBS (referenced in the images below) - the replacement video (above) does however include some of the nonverbal mirroring behavior exhibited by this affectionate grandson-grandfather bond.

This is an adorable story of Phillip Martelli and his grandfather. Phil Martelli is the men's basketball coach at St. Joseph College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The St. Joseph Hawks are in this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) and will play the University of Connecticut on 20 March.

Young grandson Phillip accompanies and mirrors his grandfather's behavior. Human beings will naturally mirror another person they love, like or admire in some way. This is a built-in rapport building mechanism with which we are born.

Occasionally a person will deliberately (consciously) mirror in an effort to gain influence such as in a sales or negotiation scenario. When this is done, great care must be used not to mirror too exactly in space or time - lest the other person recognize the nonverbals; in such circumstances it will backfire and thus destroy rapport.

Although obviously not the case here, when two people fall in love, they will mirror each other's body language in addition to their word choice and paralanguage qualities. Thus in most contexts (all but when it is consciously and deliberately "acted"), mirroring is a signal of both high sincerity and high empathy.

Most sociopaths become fairly adept at mirroring - however they're not perfect. If one knows what to look for - their lack of sincerity and choreographed behavior can be spotted. Those with autism are deficient in their natural ability to mirror.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2755: Vladimir Putin on Time Magazine, An Iconic Body Language Image

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2545: Michelle Rodriguez at Comic-Con 2013, Mirroring and Dialing Up Her Alpha

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2199:  Thailand, Body Language,  Barack Obama and Yingluck Shinawatra -  Mirroring and Foot Point

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2343:  Jodi Arias, the Courtroom and the  Body Language of Mirroring

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2196:  Cross Species Body Language Contagious Yawning of Dogs Mirroring Humans - An Indicator of What Dog Lovers Already Knew - Canine Empathy

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 801:  Mirroring Down Under - Barack Obama and Julia Gillard

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2281:  Inaugural Luncheon Anxiety  Barack Obama's Body Language  Michelle's Mirroring 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2756: Chris Brown - Kicked Out of Rehab & Going to Jail - Body Language 










































































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