Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2632: "The Sound of Music", Carrie Underwood and a Key Body Language Limiting Element (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

 

Carrie Underwood starred in a live rendition of the classic, "The Sound of Music" (Musical, Rogers and Hammerstein, 1959 and the five time Oscar Winning Film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, 1965).

Ms. Underwood is an acclaimed and highly awarded singer; however she has come under significant criticism regarding her acting in this live "Sound of Music" performance.

The use of Botox significantly reduces the ability of the face to express emotion.

Acting, of course, is not simply remembering and delivering a line.
Many forget and/or dramatically undervalue body language when it comes to acting. 

Vocal qualities (paralanguage) also are not nearly as easy replicate on demand as some would imply.

When a person is acting well - their paralanguage, verbal and nonverbal communication are all congruent. When any one of these are out of alignment it stands out dramatically - and it's labeled as bad acting.

Julia Roberts has been famously quoted, "It's unfortunate that we live in such a panicked, dysmorphic society where women don't even give themselves a chance to see what they'll look like as older persons. I want to have some idea of what I'll look like before I start cleaning the slates. I want my kids to know when I'm pissed, when I'm happy, and when I'm confounded. Your face tells a story... and it shouldn't be a story about your drive to the doctor's office." The same phenomenon holds true for acting.

Whether a multiple academy award winner, a rookie or somewhere in between, the paralyzing effect of Botox dramatically reduces the ability to display the body language necessary for adequate, let alone excellent acting.

In all four of these examples here, Ms. Underwood's forehead and mid-face are very significantly hypo-reactive. Anyone who has serious aspirations towards acting should strongly consider not using Botox. 



See also:

Negotiation Secret # 591: A Classic Tell -  Tongue, Eyes, Brow and Forehead; David Moyes

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2512:  Matthew Cordle's YouTube Confession  and the Death of Vincent Canzani  "I Killed a Man" - What His Body Language Tells Us ...  It's NOT what you think!

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2310:  Oscar Pistorius' Body Language in Court - Part II  Central Forehead Contraction, Frown & Pupil Dilation ....

Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1439:  Central Forehead Contraction & Inward Lip Roll  Devon Davis & April Davis 

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2171:  Charlie Bit My Finger!  One Body Language Signal Always Seen With Significant Pain

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2503:  Fort Hood Shooter and his Tell-Tale Body Language  Common to many Mass-Killers -  Nidal Malik Hasan gets the Death Penalty



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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2324: Carrie Underwood regarding alleged Feud with Taylor Swift

In this short video excerpt of an interview of Carrie Underwood, Gayle King asks, "Is there such, is a feud between you and Taylor Swift?" Ms. Underwood's responds, "No, not that I know of - at least." She has been asked this question many times before and was prepared for it - and thus she does a fair job of suppressing her emotions in her response. If this were the truth, her answer should have been "No" or "Absolutely not", or another definitive negative expression, etc. Instead Ms. Underwood adds, "not that I know of" and then spurts out "at least". When the truth is "no" these paralanguage qualifiers are not needed and their presence is highly suspicious for deception.

A few minutes later, Ms. King catches Underwood off-guard when she asks for her favorite Taylor Swift song. Gayle is displaying subtle joy in this image (it is better exampled in the video). She also partially closes her upper eyelids here. This added eye nonverbal is commonly seen in this variety of duping delight - when we catch someone in a moment of deception - part of the "I gotcha" expression.


 

Ms. King also blinks with momentary increased frequency during this same question - and with the blinks being of longer duration. These blink variations are commonly part of a negative judgment  cluster - that of contempt. Her subtle smile is displayed more so in this image.

Here Ms. Underwood is captured in a "smile of deception" - which is of course very common in children whom are caught in lesser-consequence lies. Of course this phenomenon persists into adulthood but it is less obvious. When it becomes partially suppressed with perceived adequate deception on the part of the liar – it becomes what is called duping delight (Ekman).

Here, Underwood says, "My favorite Taylor Swift song, Oh my gosh ....". Touching her neck is a clear nonverbal signal of anxiety.  Repeating the question and the exclamation are both ways of “buying time” in an effort to think of an answer.

This is the moment when Underwood remembers a specific song. She is surprised & excited that she recalls one. Her eyes open wider and her mouth adopts a mild surprise configuration. Her anxiety then drops immediately along with her left hand.

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See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2244:  Taylor Swift's Body Language, Botox &  Anger on 60 Minutes

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1171:  Not So Fast Swift ....  Taylor's False Surprise

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2271:  Golden Globe Awards - Best Original Song Adele & Taylor Swift - both Nominated, One Winner  One Body Language of Sincerity  Another of Contempt then a Suppressed Smile

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication # Analysis 1492:  Ben Bernanke's Duping Delight &  Partial Emblematic Slip

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2093:  Ann Curry's Tearful Goodbye -  Matt Lauer's Classic "Tongue-in-Cheek" and Duplicitous Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1897:  George Zimmerman's Reenactment of  Trayvon Martin Shooting

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2150:  Body Language Advice for  President Obama and Governor Romney in Tonight's Debate


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