By now most all of you have seen several clips of the hidden video of Mitt Romney speaking at a fundraiser this past spring (displayed here in two segments from their source at Mother Jones via YouTube). What can be learned from the limited amount of body language that is visible to us?
With respect to nonverbals, only Mitt's hand movements can be seen with any clarity. Hand/arm gestures (not including self-touching configurations) are termed "Illustrators" (although there are additional types of illustrators which don't involve the hands or arms). These nonverbals are used to emphasize and highlight the accompanying verbal messages. Mr. Romney has a strong tendency NOT to use illustrators very much. During his speech responding to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision regarding the "Affordable Care Act" (aka Obamacare), Mitt Romney never used his hands - even once. However during an interview explaining when exactly his CEO status at Bain Capital changed - he displayed illustrators in great abundance (for Mitt this was an exception). During his RNC acceptance speech his illustrator use was somewhat intermediate (3 or 4 out of 10).
When a speaker uses nonverbal illustrators in a congruent manner with his verbal messages, they are in general, being more honest, more assertive, more impassioned and they build more rapport (the topic of illustrators can be extensively nuanced). Their audience will also have greater recall. If a person suddenly diminishes their illustrator use - or uses them very minimally, they tend not to be trusted and will have more difficulty building rapport.
During much of this candid video of Mr. Romney's fundraising speech, Mitt used illustrators throughout as he speaks - indicating a high level of sincerity and passion. Mr. Romney very much meant what he said.
See also:
Analysis # 2046: Romney, Sincerity, Truth and Bain Capital
Analysis # 2061: David Cameron Defends London Olympics against Mitt Romney's Remarks - Alpha Dominance and Illustrators - Matching Hands and Feet as Sincerity Amplifiers
Analysis # 2063: Mitt Romney and Ed Miliband - Under Used and Backfiring Uses of Hands
Analysis # 2078: Mitt Romney's Taxes and Harry Reid's Accusations
Analysis # 2052: Dialing Up Empathy and Sincerity - Mitt Romney's & Barack Obama's Response to Aurora, Colorado "Batman Shooting"
Analysis # 2104: Mitt Romney's Convention Speech - Part II
Analysis # 2061: David Cameron Defends London Olympics against Mitt Romney's Remarks - Alpha Dominance and Illustrators - Matching Hands and Feet as Sincerity Amplifiers
Analysis # 2063: Mitt Romney and Ed Miliband - Under Used and Backfiring Uses of Hands
Analysis # 2078: Mitt Romney's Taxes and Harry Reid's Accusations
Analysis # 2052: Dialing Up Empathy and Sincerity - Mitt Romney's & Barack Obama's Response to Aurora, Colorado "Batman Shooting"
Analysis # 2104: Mitt Romney's Convention Speech - Part II
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