Sunday, November 17, 2013

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2609: John Kennedy in 1959 on "Face The Nation", "Are You Running for President?" - What His Body Language says (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Every November in the United States, people become fascinated with all things JFK - and this year being the 50th anniversary of his assassination is certainly no exception. In this flashback video of then U.S. Senator John Kennedy on "Face the Nation", there are two brief segments - one from 1958 and a second from 1959 in which the same commentator William Lawrence asks Kennedy to declare his intentions regarding his candidacy for the 1960 Presidential election.

Note: Since the original writing of this post, the video has since been deleted from its internet source.

At 1:18, Lawrence begins, "... Senator when are you going to drop this, um, public pretense of non-candidacy and frankly admit that you're already seeking the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 1960?"


This is the first frame of Kennedy when the second camera shows his face in response to Lawrence's question.

John Kennedy's face shows all the components of Full Sincere Smile:

The Senator's eyelids are partially closed - although he did have longstanding droopy skin above his right upper eyelid (dermatochalasis), his lids are further and partially closed here.

Another very important feature of a sincere smile is the dynamic concave-up furrows in each of Kennedy's lower eyelids. This is an absolute requirement for any sincere smile.

The primarily upward vectoring of the muscles of the cheeks is another requirement of a sincere smile and indeed is the cause of the above mentioned temporary lower eyelid creases.

Only the Senator's upper teeth are visible here - and with the exception of viewer or camera position, outright laughter or prolonged posing - the bottom teeth should not be seen during a sincere smile.

Finally we see no contraction of any muscles within Kennedy's forehead (This of course excludes any passive wrinkles). If any forehead contraction is seen - the smile is NEVER a sincere one.

A sincere smile (even a partial, suppressed one as long as it is sincere) - coupled with blushing is highly indicative of concealment of the truth upon being confronted. This is related to the same phenomenon which occurs during "Duping Delight". Even though this image is black and white and of low resolution - what signs are present in this example indicating the future President is also blushing?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2134:  A Watershed Body Language Moment:  Nixon - Kennedy Debates 1960

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1085:  Low Confidence vs. High Confidence  Kennedy and Eisenhower 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2601: "Governor Christie, Are You a Tea Party Republican?" Why His Answer Tells Us Whether or Not He Will Run for President in 2016  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2474:  Mayor Bob Filner's False Smile -  Insincerity, Body Language and San Diego 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2546: Miss America Nina Davuluri, A Beautiful Woman - but What of Her Smile? 

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 353:  Brad Pitt's Smiling Eyes -  Sincere and Insincere Smiles

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2482:  Alex Rodriguez's Sincerity  Body Language of a One-Sided Smile

Dating & Romance Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1010:  What Makes the Twinkle in Her Eye?

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