Spoiler Alert!
Kit Harington was a guest recently on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. During his appearance he let leak a few secrets from The Game of Thrones - and one much speculation is included within the above video clip.
After revealing this key component of the story line, the Harington mentions that when he was first told of this secret himself - there were very few people he was "allowed" to tell - which, of course, did not include his parents.
What follows is a highlight of one particular nonverbal of Jon Snow's, er, ah, Kit Harington's - which is very common - yet not understood in the least by the vast majority of people.
Harington continues his instructions of secrecy at 0:43, "... and now you know. And you can't tell your Mum, you can't tell your Dad, you can't tell your brother, you can't tell your friends - no one."
Fallon: "No one knew?"
Harington: "No one knew."
Fallon: "You didn't tell anyone else?"
Harington: "I told Mum and Dad straight away, yeah ..."
0:54.7 - fully developed R2E2
Harington displays a Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression (aka an R2E2) just after he says, as he says, "I told Mum and Dad straight away, yeah ..." (during 0:54 - 0:55).
The R2E2 may be displayed as a microexpression - or a bit longer as it is here - primarily manifested for about one second, yet with a slow "trailing off" for about another second (thus an example of a macroexpression).
The vast majority of those who claim to know body language will misinterpret R2E2 displays as disgust or, as it appears closer to in this example - contempt. How can you differentiate R2E2s from these other two emotional displays?
The R2E2 is an expression which is extremely common. Whenever you see it though, you should ask yourself:
- Does this person truly believe what they're saying?
- Of what precisely are they trying to convince me?
- What's their underlying emotion?
- What's their underlying motive?
- Why are they trying so hard to persuade me?
It's common that the R2E2 can be indicative of, and clustered with other signals of patronizing behavior - sort of a subtle pat on the head - a nicer version of, "please just shut up and listen". These often include situations when there is an expertise disparity between the individuals/groups.
What are some professional settings where the R2E2 is seen more frequently?
- Sales professionals
- Law enforcement
- Politicians
- Attorneys
- Physicians
- Pundits
- Con Artists
- Serial Sexual Manipulators
- Narcissists
- Antisocial Personality Disorder (colloquially termed, "Sociopath")
0:54.4
This expression, 0.3 seconds prior to the example above is sometimes all you see of the Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression.
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3558: Jack Whitehall, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Lawrence and Body Language
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3512: Emilia Clarke in "Me Before You"
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2868: Queen Elizabeth II, Lena Headey and Game of Thrones
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3260: Cara Delevingne vs. Emilia Clarke in an Eyebrow-Off (plus some Schwarzenegger and Gyllenhaal) Body Language
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3551: Donald Trump, Body Language and an Alpha-Beta Hybrid
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3548: Reince Priebus at White House Correspondents' Dinner
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3540: Johnny Manziel's Ego
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3516: Hillary Clinton, Finger Pointing, Fossil Fuels, Bernie Sanders and Lying
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