Friday, November 23, 2012

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2201:
Jack Taylor's 138 Points for NCAA Record -
Body Language of Visual Recall and the
Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression





Jack Taylor of Grinnell College played a basketball game for the ages earlier this week. On Tuesday 20 November 2012, he set a NCAA record of 138 points. During this interview he demonstrates a multitude of the classic nonverbal display of visual recall - looking up to the left. Many times when recalling his monumental performance his eyes look up to his left. This very quick eye movement is an epiphenomenon of processing visual memory. And although not completely reliable, when using visual memory, looking up to one's left is a body language signal seen in the vast majority (95+%) of right-handers  (those with left-handed dominance look up to their right during visual recall and ambidextrous individuals could be either). Care must be taken to "norm" this nonverbal pattern before making a judgment - lest a major body language misdiagnosis be made.

Another great nonverbal display exampled in this video is seen at the 0:28 mark. Although the video quality is of inferior quality, a clear microexpression of the "Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression" (R2E2) is seen concomitant with the Taylor's verbal "... confidence ...". Some will confuse the R2E2 nonverbal with that of disgust - it's a very different emotion however. In an attempt to build rapport, empathy and co-rationalization (both to oneself and to those be spoke to) it is seen very commonly in the settings of negotiation, sales as well as romance. Characteristically both the rate and pitch of the spoken word(s) increase at the moment this classic body language is displayed.



___________________________________________________________________________________