The relationship between the United States and China has always been an important one - yet with the crescendoing threat of Kim Jong-un and North Korea's nuclear weaponization, with each passing day, it becomes more crucial. Last week Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in person for the first time.
It's been widely noted and almost as widely satirized, that, when shaking hands, President Trump has very consistently, pulled the other person's hand quite close to him - forcefully - often to such a degree to even disturb their balance.
Yet what is much less appreciated is another highly negative component of his handshake mistake. Note in the image above, President Trump initially engages Xi Jinping's hand at a level approximately even with each man's upper abdomen. But immediately afterward (image below) Trump not only pulls Xi's hand close to his body - and he also raises the Chinese leader's arm much higher (mid-chest) than is comfortable or traditional (in any culture).
Summary:
During a handshake, both the act of
1. Pulling of the other person's hand-arm close to oneself
as well as
2. An upward vectoring of the other person's hand-arm unit
are both Hyper-Alpha displays - attempting to project power and control. Moreover, when a person's handshake choreography consistently follows this pattern - it's one very strong signal of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3901: Jared Kushner in Iraq - PR Faux Pas and an Absence of Empathy
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3899: President Trump regarding Poison Gas Attack in Syria
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3897: Roger Stone, Donald Trump, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3885: Vogue's 73 Questions with Selena Gomez
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3839: Andrew Garfield, Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling - Embarrassment, Protection, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3598: Gary Johnson, Donald Trump's Wall and Body Language
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3574: Selena Gomez's Body Language Reaction to Fans in Montreal
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3502: Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant Pranks a College Team as ‘The Transfer’
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