Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2197: President Obama & Secretary Clinton at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) You Want to Pray for What?!

President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha earlier this week in Bangkok, Thailand. During the 1:22 - 1:26 segment, he can be heard saying to his Buddhist guide, "We're working on a budget on this .... We're going to need a prayer for that." Some great nonverbals are displayed here. Freeze frame at 1:26. President Obama looks up to his right - this is the quadrant where 95%+ of right-handers look when they are visualizing the future - or visually constructing a past event which they did not witness and are thus envisioning for the first time. Many will say here, "But Obama is left-handed". True (partially), but in "norming" him over many videos - the President's brain "behaves as if he were right-handed." So Barack really ambidextrous tendencies - somewhat further exemplified because he wears his watch on his left (unusual for left hand dominant people). The President is visualizing the future - the upcoming difficulty with the budget and the impending "Fiscal Cliff".

His Buddhist Monk guide immediately looks down to his left - the quadrant where the vast majority of right-handers look when they are undertaking internal dialog and arranging syntax. At the same time, the Monk displays a classic body language tell of anxiety when he rubs/scratches his right brow. This has even greater significance because he's displaying this nonverbal MAP (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) with his dominant hand. It's as if we can read his mind and he's saying, "Mr. President, if we are to pray, should we not pray for Peace". The Monk is experiencing emotional dissonance. He is wrestling with just how he will answer Mr. Obama.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2186:  Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus,  Jon Stewart, Body Language and the man who would be President ... 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1829:  Dara Torres Interview with Piers Morgan - Embarrassment,  Visual Recall, Sexual Anticipation Lip Biting &  Sincerity Quotients 

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1869:  One Body Language Signal a President Should Never Display

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2189:  Jill Kelley's Body Language - Dialing Up Her Alpha ....

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