There was a multitude of interesting body language tells displayed by President Trump and others attending his first State of The Union Address last night. One of these many signals was displayed during his discussion of his proposed immigration plan.
Beginning at 1:05:12, the President continues, "It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based immigration system -- one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country."
Beginning at 1:05:17 (with the word "admits"), and for the duration of this sentence, you'll note that Donald Trump leans on the podium/lectern with his right elbow.
A President (or anyone else) should never lean on the podium/lectern. Although this behavior may appear to some to be a just type or swagger or sloppy-nonchalance, it's not. Rather, this nonverbal display is a MAP surrogate (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier). His dynamic of leaning on the lectern indicates the President's confidence is low when it comes to the third pillar of his "Merit-based" immigration plan.
Summary: Leaning on the lectern/podium is poor form. More importantly, it signals anxiety and low confidence in the topic being discussed. In this example, the President slips into a beta emotional tone when discussing "merit-based" immigration - and thus is betraying one of (what he feels is) his Achilles' heels.
Tonight President Trump gave his first State of the Union Address. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis concentrating on (the second pillar of) the "four pillars" portion concerning his plan for immigration.
Beginning at 1:03:34, the President says, "The second pillar fully secures the border". This is followed by (partial) audience applause. Next (beginning at 1:03:57) he says, "That means building a great wall on our southern border ..."
However, just prior to this "great wall statement", during 1:03:52, President Trump exhibits a strong facial expression (image immediately above) - it's an amalgam of two emotions:
Only a second later, during 1:03:53, the President transitions to a facial expression of primarily Disgust.
Donald Trump also Falsely Adjusts his Jacket. This dynamic is a hyper-alpha power display - a modern culture analog of muscle flexing.
Three seconds later, during 1:03:56, President Trump then displays classic Forward Lip Pursing. Forward Lip Pursing indicates a Clandestine Plan and/or a Clandestine Disagreement. Those who make this facial configuration believe they're the "Alpha" in the presence of "Betas". Moreover, they believe they will have a good chance of success when implementing their plan. Whenever you see this expression, you can be 100% sure information is being withheld. This is a red flag. Protect your flank.
You will also note, during much of his address tonight, the President's head/neck were tilted backward. This was not only done when he was looking up to the balcony (which, of course, is understandable and expected) - but when his eyes were looking forward as well. Such prolonged and frequent head tilting indicates and projects arrogance. Anyone who desires to build rapport and leadership with an audience should not adopt such a posture.
Summary: President Trump's nonverbal behavior during the State of The Union Address tonight, indicates he has contempt and disgust toward the subject of immigration and immigrants (contempt can only be felt toward another person/people). More specifically, his displays in this portion highlight his particularly negative emotions toward immigration from Mexico.
Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old resident of Toronto, Canada is a grandfather - and was a self-employed landscaper - as well as a Santa Claus at a local mall. He also stands accused of committing at least five murders.
From a nonverbal perspective, there's one facial expression which Sociopaths (those with Antisocial Personality Disorder) display frequently. Bruce McArthur is making such an expression in this image. It's components are:
• Elevated Central Forehead Contraction (elevated CFC)
• Mouth Smile (Usually partial or even slight [as is seen here] and simultaneous with the CFC)
It's profoundly important to stress that we all - all 7.5 Billion of us - make this facial expression from time to time. Most of us (about 96%) however don't make it that often. We may all display this expression when we're feeling:
• Arrogant
• Disbelief (a special subset of disbelief - more specifically, when we're feeling a Smug Incredulity)
• Contempt
As normal human beings - we're all allowed to feel these emotions - but not too often if we're emotionally and mentally healthy.
It's also very important to stress that all three of these emotions can be manifested by other facial expressions.
But Sociopaths (Antisocial Personality Disorder), bad actors, and TV pundits will display this facial configuration with much greater frequency compared with the general population.
If one thin-slices this behavior, it's fascinating to note that within the acting profession - men (both straight and gay) display this behavior mistake much more often than women. However, a common denominator of both sociopaths and bad actors - is indeed bad acting. While sociopaths are fair-to-good actors - they're almost never great actors (of course, there are occasional exceptions). If you know what to look for, you can suss them out.
Summary: An elevated central forehead contraction (CFC) coupled with a simultaneous mouth smile (usually only a partial [often somewhat subtle] smile, and by definition an insincere, mouth smile) - and WHEN IT'S DISPLAYED FREQUENTLY - is behavior which has an extremely high correlation with antisocial personality disorder (sociopathic behavior). If frequent, this is an ominous Red Flag. No psychologically healthy individual will display this facial expression frequently.
Multiple requests for a re-posting of this article (from 2017) have been made in the last several days. It's included here in its entirety (with updated cross-reference links at the end of the article).
Beginning at 0:14, the journalist says, "Here, Donald Trump Jr. is told, that they want to schedule a meeting with him and the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow [pause]. The Russian government attorney..."
During 0:26 - 0:28, as the journalist repeats, "The Russian government attorney", Ms. Veselnitskaya, suppresses a smile, exhales through her nostrils, shakes her head from side-to-side, and blushes (image above).
This body language cluster - particularly the suppression of a sincere smile with blushing - is a very strong indicator of guilt. It's nonverbally screaming, "I've been caught!"
Please watch this segment several times as the still image does not capture her entire display.
Later in the interview, the journalist says, "... they had the impression, it appears, that they were going to be told some information, that you had [microexpression of fear]- about the DNC ..."
During 1:43, just after the journalist says "had" - and during the first syllable of "about", Natalia Veselnitskaya's superficial neck muscle (the Platysma) flexes very briefly - (this is best seen on her right neck) - in what is known as a microexpression. This particular microexpression is that of fear. As with the earlier tell, this is subtle but very revealing and must be viewed in the dynamic context of the video. At first glance, you may confuse this with a swallow ("hard swallow") - but it's not - watch carefully. Colloquially, this nonverbal display is known as, the "Neck of Fear".
Summary: Natalia Veselnitskaya's nonverbal behavior in this interview tells us, with a very high degree of confidence, that she acted as an agent of the Russian Government when she met with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort on 9 June 2016. More specifically, she exhibited deception and fear during this interview.
During 0:06 - as Graham Norton is exclaiming, "You're nearly finished ..." and Tom Cruise realizes it's now time for him to have to discuss his broken ankle. He then displays a False Shirt Cuff Adjustment. This is a signal of Alpha Up-Regulation or "Dialing Up One's Alpha" - typically seen in people (usually men) who already have an alpha personality - however during moments when realize they must "Step it up" further/"Step up to the plate".
During 1:09 - 1:11, Tom Cruise displays a Tongue in Cheek combined with a Jaw Confessional. This moment shows classic Emotional Dissonance - for he is embarrassed that he messed up the stunt (as evidenced by the Jaw Confessional - quick and brief lateral movement of the jaw) - yet he feels very much like "He's Just Won" - because he now gets to show us a video of him running/toughing it out despite his broken ankle (the Tongue in Cheek tells us this). Thus this is a moment of a manufactured (false) self-deprecation combined with braggadocio (e.g., "Aw, shucks folks - it was nothin'.").
During 1:14, just after Simon Pegg says, "... I can't watch this ...", Tom Cruise touches Rebecca Ferguson on her knee.
As she touches him on his upper arm (with her full palm).
Rebecca Ferguson proceeds to prolong her touch of Tom Cruise - as she holds onto his elbow. Simultaneously, he displays a False Sock Adjustment on his left leg (he broke his right ankle). This is another example of alpha up-regulation.
This empathy/affection display of Ms. Ferguson - together with another example of Cruise "Dialing Up" his alpha - betrays their mutual affection.
During 2:04 - 2:06, Rebecca Ferguson, rapidly shakes both of her hands, vertically with fingers splayed. This is a display signifying the desire to ward-off a painful emotional or physical experience - either for oneself or for another person. When it's done for another person - it's indicative of a high-empathy display.
During 2:32, just before the close-up view of Cruise breaking his ankle, the actor displays another example of a nonverbal "Warding Off" signal. Note how, even though his mouth is opened very widely, his lips are stretched very tightly - with none of his teeth being visible. Additionally, his eyelids are momentarily shut/nearly shut - also in a moment of muscular high-tension.
In this instant, Cruise is re-living the event and a portion of his own accompanying physical pain. If he were instead, displaying this body language for another person - (as was Rebecca Ferguson with her finger-splayed, hand shaking) - it would be another signal of high empathy.
During 2:47, Ms. Ferguson touches Mr. Cruise on his knee once again - as Cruise, more prolongingly, touches Ferguson on her mid-back, and just above her right elbow, and ...
.... a couple seconds later, during 2:49, he also reciprocates by touching her knee one more time.
Rebecca Ferguson then touches his shoulder and back with her hands, as she momentarily forehead-touches Tom Cruise's shoulder (3:17 - 3:19). Such forehead touching is a highly reliable nonverbal signal of strong affection.
Yet again, Cruise then touches Ferguson's knee for the third time in just over two minutes. Outside the world of sports, with rare exception, the only two reasons an adult touches another adult on the knee are:
• A Power (Hyper-Alpha) Display or
• Sexual Attraction
Summary: Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson have both affection and sexual attraction for each other.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump was booed at the World Economic Forum in Davos when he referred to the Press as "Fake". What follows is a partial nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage analysis of this exchange.
A jaw confessional is a reliable nonverbal signal telling us what is about to be said is an embarrassment, a confessional, or an apology. What Donald Trump said next was, “But, but overall - I mean the bottom line - somebody said, 'Well, they couldn't 've been that bad because here we are.'”
Additionally, from a paralanguage perspective, this example illustrates another common tell: Whenever Donald Trump says, "somebody said" - it's really the President's own ideas/thoughts/opinions - and, in his effort to make these seem more objective - he quotes a theoretical "somebody". This is further evidenced by his use of "we" and "we're" (which is also a form of "Forced Teaming" [de Becker]).
Summary: Donald Trump's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior in this video indicates he does NOT think the press or news is "fake". Thus, when the President makes accusations/uses terms such as "fake news" and "fake media" - he is being deceptive.
JOURNALIST: Mr. President, did you seek to fire Mueller?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. Fake news, folks. Fake News.
JOURNALIST: What's your message today?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Typical New York Times - fake stories.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Trump?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Message is peace and prosperity - that's what we have. We have a tremendous crowd - and - a crowd like they've never had before. Klaus actually told me. It's a crowd like they have never had before at Davos - including all of you people like they've never had before - so that's good. I assume they're here because of Klaus.
JOURNALIST: How - Do you think your message will be well-received?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think it's going to be very well received - it's a very positive message, ahhh - The United States is doing fantastically well. Better than we've done in - decades. The stock markets are incredible. Businesses are coming back into the United States. I think it's going to be great message that people are going to like hearing. 'Kay? Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Did you try and f, ah, fire - Robert Mueller?
• Loose Tongue Jut: A loose tongue jut is indicative of the thought emotions of: "I've been bad", "I've done a stupid thing", and "I've been caught" (Navarro).
Take care to not confuse this with a "Tight Tongue Jut" - which has a completely different meaning.
• Tight Lip Display: Note Donald Trump's upper lip momentarily pulls tightly while enveloping his upper teeth. This is a signal of a hesitancy to disclose information as well as thoughts and feelings which are kept clandestine.
Please watch each of these at regular speed and then at 1/2 speed as the still images don't fully capture the dynamics of this nonverbal cluster display.
During 0:09, as Donald Trump says, "Thank you. Fake news, folks. Fake News" - the President displays another crucial nonverbal signal - that of classic disgust.
Moreover, the gesture of placing his hand, vertically, palm-out, up to his face - in this context is a hyperbolic/melodramatic, sarcastic, pseudo-secretive gesture. If he truly believed this news was false - then this is one illustrator he absolutely should NOT have used. In this setting, it affirms deception.
Summary: Based on Donald Trump's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior in this exchange, he did indeed give the order to fire Robert Mueller in June of 2017.
Yesterday afternoon, The New York Timesbroke the story that in June of 2017, President Donald Trump ordered White House counsel, Donald McGahn to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr. McGahn refused the President's order, while threatening to quit - which resulted in Trump backing down.
While most everyone can identify facial expressions of extreme emotions - it's fascinating the high percentage of otherwise socially adept adults who cannot accurately recognize moderate, let alone mild, or subtle examples of most emotions.
The primary emotion captured in the above image of Robert Mueller is that of mild-moderate disgust. This is evidenced by his tightened and elevated "mustache area" (region above the upper lip and below the nose) - while the corners of his lips are vectored downward. The flaring of his nostrils (here, mildly so) is also a characteristic of disgust.
What is Robert Mueller's secondary emotion in this moment?
Tom Hanks was recently a guest on The Graham Norton Show. In a response to a question regarding meeting the real people whom he plays, Mr. Hanks dramatically misspeaks (during 1:00).
About 2.0 seconds later (during 1:02), Mr. Hanks displays an excellent example of a microexpression of (self) disbelief as his left eyebrow raises.
Simultaneously, he also proceeds to look rapidly left, then back to his right and forth is a classic "Double-take" display of surprise. Please watch the video as this dynamic process isn't able to be captured in a still photograph.
Rapidly (also during 1:02), both eyebrows then raise - along with the entire width of his forehead, and both of upper eyelids. His mouth, although it's not widely opened (e.g., thus a more moderate/suppressed surprise), it still takes on a momentary horizontally-oriented oval morphology.
Tom Hanks' blushing is difficult to visualize as it is largely camouflaged and blended in with the orange background of the stage.
But Hanks also proceeds to cover his mouth with his left fist (1:13). This is a variety of facial covering often seen with embarrassment. More specifically, during moments of emotional processing - although our intellect may know what's just happened, our emotional brains will take a few seconds/minutes (sometimes longer) to fully digest the moment.
A few seconds later (1:18) we can see a further nonverbal phenomenon - where Hanks' right hand is mirroring his left hand's fist configuration. This right-left hand-mirroring behavior connotes a stronger emotional intensity.
Summary: Although Tom Hanks is an excellent actor, he's not acting here - his disbelief, surprise, double-take, embarrassment, and emotional processing displays are all sincere.
Forefinger finger (Index finger) pointing is offensive in all countries and across all ethnicities. Such practice should be highly discouraged in all but the rarest circumstances.
Whenever a politician is choosing a journalist for a question, too often they will point with their index finger. But, alternatively, and far superior to forefinger pointing, would be using all the four fingers and the thumb, with one's palm facing upward, the arm partially extended - such that the wrist, elbow, shoulders - and finger joints are all relaxed. Pointing in this palms-up fashion is rapport building, while index finger pointing is rapport destroying.
But most of President Trump's pointing fits entirely into another type of behavior.
Does it raise your flag when a person - who doesn't know you very well - uses words such as: "We", "Our", "Us", "Let's", etc.? It should. This fits into a type of behavior known as "Forced Teaming" (de Becker) and it's a common technique of manipulative individuals. In scenarios which are out of context to mutual familiarity and/or agreement, such verbal forced teaming is an attempt at making you feel as if you belong to the same clan, team, etc. If you're part of any group/belief system, then you'll be significantly more likely to follow established rules/orders - and much more apt to be manipulated.
If you know what to look for, you'll also spot concomitant paralanguage and nonverbal forced teaming analogs.
Donald Trump frequently points to a random person in a crowd, a member of Congress, or his cabinet. When he does so, it's a body language form of forced teaming. It makes the other person feel as if the president temporarily raises them to the level of a peer - even if they literally and logically know it's not actually true. This makes it significantly more difficult to say, "no" to him - and much more likely that he'll be successful at winning others over to his way of thinking.
Summary: Donald Trump's frequent pointing is a common manipulative technique of nonverbal forced teaming.