Sunday, August 2, 2015

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3265: Donald Trump, Exaggerated Mouth Movements and Narcissistic, Hyper-Alpha Personalities - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)





If you contrast these two videos of Donald Trump on David Letterman's Show - other than the obvious aging of both men - one thing should jump out. Note the mouth and lip movements of Mr. Trump. They are much more dramatic in the 2015 video vs. the one from 1987.

Hyperbolic mouth and lip movements are exhibited by those who perceive themselves to be the alpha - superior in some capacity compared to those with whom they're speaking. It's a commonly overlooked signal of arrogance and patronizing emotional mindsets.

Most of the time this condescending nonverbal phenomenon is contextual. For example, if a college professor was speaking to a lecture hall full of freshman - he or she may very well display such dramatic facial movements. Yet an hour later when the same person is speaking to a colleague who is their intellectual equal, this illustrator would be noticeably absent. A further important distinction is seen when a person uses such excessive nonverbals on a long-term basis. Chronic displays of hyperbolic mouth, lips and other facial movements, with rare exception, are reliable signals of narcissistic personality disorder.

Of course some people may say, "That's just the way Mr. Trump speaks. It's idiosyncratic to him." And while this is true for a small subset of people - it's not so for Donald Trump. For not only are his mouth and lip movements exaggerated - but in some cases they are wrong configurations relative to words being spoken (e.g. melodrama). And when we contrast these videos of Mr. Trump taken approximately 28 years apart, although we can see its subtle signs in the earlier video, it's obvious there has been a considerable progression toward these magnified movements.

Not surprisingly, narcissism often grows with wealth.





Most of the time this nonverbal signal is quite subtle (such as in the college professor example cited above). But you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who exhibited these particular mouth, lip, facial exaggerated movements more than Donald Trump.























These two images are from an interview with NBC's Katy Tur on 8 July 2015.





















See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3264: Hillary Clinton, Likability, Perceived Trustworthiness and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3167: Bruce Jenner's (pre-Caitlyn Jenner) 20/20 Interview, Part II - Confidence, Vulnerability and Sincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2982: Politicians Should Never Do This If They Want To Be Elected - Hillary Clinton's Body Language Faux Pas

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3227: Bobby Jindal's, "... I am tanned ..." remark - What does his Body Language tell us? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3210: Matteo Renzi, Christine Lagarde, Barack Obama and Up-Regulating Alpha Emotions 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3025: Vladimir Putin, Alpha Hand Signals and "The Claw" 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3148: Tidal's (Re)Launch - Jay Z, Kanye West, Deadmau5 & Madonna - Four Different Standing Configurations - Four Different Thought-Emotions 
 
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