Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3745: Kris Bryant Smiles Throughout the Entire Last Play of Game Seven - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

In the early morning hours Thursday, Kris Bryant fielded Michael Martinez's grounder and then threw him out. This play gave the Chicago Cubs their first World Series Championship since 1908. Their victory over the Cleveland Indians transcended sports - and, for the last two days our decades and hearts have melted together...

From a nonverbal perspective, given the level of adrenaline present - both from context of the moment and also for professional sports in general - it's quite unusual to see such a high-caliber athlete sincerely smiling (aka Duchenne Smile) in real time - during an entire play in which he/she is directly participating. This is a classic example of what some people term, "mixing hormones".

Although the resolution is less than optimal, once we slice this play a bit thinner - we can see his smile is somewhat suppressed.

But not for long ....

After Martinez is out the play is finally completed and, Bryant expresses much more than a "just" a smile. What we see here is an expression of "Fiero".

"Fiero" is a term used to describe an emotion which does not have an English-language translation (this relative lack of English emotional descriptor nuance is unfortunately much more common than one may guess). The word was coined by Isabella Poggi (and Italian Psychologist) and describes the intense feelings of triumph when a problem is solved or great accomplishment is made. Fiero is an emotion which is very commonly seen in sports, however it occurs in all forms of human endeavor.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3744: Donald Trump - "Stay on Point", Hats, Eye Contact and Trust

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3742: Evan McMullin, Donald Trump and Winning Utah

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3740: Donald Trump Thanks Anthony Weiner

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2405: Anthony Weiner's Running For Mayor of New York - His Body Language & His Sincerity Quotient

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3702: Hillary Clinton: "Why aren't I 50 points ahead (of Trump)?''

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3602: Samantha Cameron's Beta Behavior - How Not to Stand Beside the Prime Minister

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3657: Abbey D'Agnostino, Nikki Hamblin and the Olympic Spirit

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3621: Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton



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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3502: Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant Pranks a College Team as ‘The Transfer’ - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Kris Bryant recently pranked Mesa Community College's baseball team by going undercover and pretending to be "Roy" - a transfer student-athlete from Europe. Bryant is a starting Third baseman for the Chicago Cubs and the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year. These types of pranks are hilarious to partake in and witness first-hand. For those of us watching for body language tells (or for entertainment value), more cameras would have certainly been helpful here.

This image was captured during 2:36 in the above video while the college team players are discovering that a Major League Player is in their midst - and they've been duped.

Note the player second from our left. He has his had on his friend's/teammate's shoulder as they are smiling along with some mild laughter.

From a psychological point-of-view, both smiling and laughing during such events are primarily rapport-building experiences while the humorous aspects are secondary. Laughter and smiling will be amplified and prolonged by making eye contact with others (also seen here). Leaning toward the other person acts as a further bonding agent while touching another person during smiling and laughing. Touch another person during these moments further Amplify these the rapport-bonding experiences.

Straight men tend to touch each other on the shoulder or upper back in these scenarios, while women and gay men have a tendency to touch the other person's forearm or hand - as well as more pronounced upper torso/head leaning and near touching of foreheads.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3501: Salah Abdeslam of Paris Attacks is Captured - Body Language Traits Shared by Terrorists

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3498: Donald Trump Mocks Chris Christie when criticizing John Kasich

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2670: Janet Yellen Confirmed by Senate for Federal Reserve Chair

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2016: Hillary Clinton, Roosevelt Island, Building Rapport and Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3452: A Ted Cruz Rapport Destroyer 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2276: Michelle Obama's Eye Roll .... What was she thinking? and What Did Boehner's & Barack's Body Language Say?

Romance, Flirting & Dating Body Language Secret No. 1893: Nonverbal Communication of the Facial Platter 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3389: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama meet in Paris - Body Language Faux Pas 

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