Body Language Analysis No. 4727: Dan Scavino's default expressions – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

When a person wants to look important but they have low confidence – they'll often adopt a facial expression involving widely open eyes (eyelids).

Another common default in those who lack self-confidence, but who want to appear the opposite is a facial expression of a seemingly constant elevated forehead. 

This usually (but not always) primarily involves the central forehead. A look of concentration, concern, or pseudo-deep-thought often accompany their elevated central forehead.

Think of the guy in the gym or at the bar who's trying to look important. 

And sometimes you'll even see both of these components – widely opened eyes simultaneous with an elevated forehead.

Those who lack confidence in themselves but who want so deeply to be thought of as important are dangerous – because they'll do just about anything to belong to the cool-kids club.

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Body Language Analysis No. 4061: Pennywise,"IT", and Bill Skarsgård's Demonic Smile - Why is IT so Scary? - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

 



During his recent guest appearance Conan, Bill Skarsgård - made a particularly creepy face for his host. Mr. Skarsgård plays "Pennywise" in the recently released adaptation of IT - a film based on Stephen King's 1986 novel.

But why is his face so frightening? While he does have an unusual ability to protrude his lower lip, this is not the freakiest part of his face.

What you probably first noticed are his eyes. Human beings are the only primates with white sclera on the front surface of their eyes. This gives us a heightened ability to accurately gauge how widely opened are other peoples' eyes. Skarsgård's upper eyelids (and to a lesser degree his lower eyelids) are opened much wider than baseline. You don't have to be an ophthalmologist to notice this either - you truly feel it. More specifically - you feel it in your Amygdala.

First, your eyes see his eyes - and send signals to two areas of your brain - your amygdala (which is the brain's fear center) and the visual cortex (the brain's primary and higher-order area of sight processing). You're wired this way so that you don't have to intellectualize everything you see. If something is dangerous, the amygdala (usually) overrides the visual cortex. One take-home point with this anatomy lesson is to never ignore any feelings of fear. Just feel and react. If you think too much - it often will be too late.

Widely opened eyelids will also have a dramatically reduced frequency of blinking. Again, you don't have to count someone's blinks - you just feel it. This also sets off our internal alarm bells, as diminished blinking signals a high adrenaline surge. Those individuals with such high hormonal bursts, with great predictability - are dangerous. So without even thinking about it, we avoid people who don't blink as often as they should.

Another feature on Skarsgård's face which elevates our fear level is his relaxed forehead. At first this may seem ironic, however, when the eyelids are opened wide, the vast majority of times, both the forehead and the eyebrows also move upward. But not in this case - the actor's forehead is relaxed. Our brain senses this out-of-context pattern - which adds an extra creepiness factor.

Now look at his mouth - it's pulled primarily laterally, and only slightly upward. With sincere smiles, the corners of the mouth have a definite upward vectoring while contracting the cheek muscles. And even if his lower lip were not protruding outward, his mouth projects a peculiarly feigned feeling.


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4060: Ted Cruz's Default Facial Expression

Body Language Analysis No. 4058: Cara Mund, Miss America 2018

Body Language Analysis No. 4056: Ed Sheeran and a Hesitancy to Disclose

Body Language Analysis No. 4054: Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer in the Oval Office

Body Language Analysis No. 4048: Lady Di - Ambassador of Empathy

Body Language Analysis No. 4033: Prime Minister Theresa May Regarding Charlottesville Violence, "I see no equivalence" 

Body Language Analysis No. 4001: Jodie Whittaker, Dr. Who, and Flirting from a TARDIS

Body Language Analysis No. 3965: Manspreading, Madrid, and a Business Faux Pas

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3872: "Fearless Girl" Statue in Manhattan's Financial District


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3581: Hillary Clinton, Likability and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Earlier today on CNN's "State of the Union", Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Jake Tapper. During this dialog, Secretary Clinton displayed a pair of her nonverbal tendencies which work against her - contributing to her lower likability as well as lowering the public's trust in her.


Although Mrs. Clinton's interview style has improved, and she's had decades of experience in front of the camera, she continues to make the very freshman mistake of over-using her forehead as well as opening her eyes too wide.



There are certainly times when the eyes should be opened wider, even much wider than baseline (and it's normal physiology and psychologically to do so) such as during fear, surprise and moderate-to-severe anger (rage).

Another time we often see eyelids opened wider than baseline is during moments of emphasis. In such settings, both the widely opened eyes as well as the accompanying elevated and contracted forehead muscles serve as a nonverbal exclamation point.

Yet when a person opens their eyes too much and too frequently, it's human nature to look at his with suspicion - for it very often is the case the person is trying too hard to convince you of something. In fact when you see such nonverbal behavior - that's exactly what you should ask yourself, "Why is this person trying so hard to win me over?" And the next time you're buying a house, a car, an insurance policy, making an investment, hiring someone or going on a date - if you see this type of body language hyperbole - consider it a red flag.

Of course, when running for President, there are many times extra-emphasis is absolutely indicated, but if one does this too much it will server to drive down a person's sincerity quotient (e.g., trust) and likability.

When Mrs. Clinton was serving as Secretary of State, she rarely displayed this eyelid/forehead over-use - and her favorability ratings were significantly higher. After she left that office, the reemergence of behavior was a telltale signal of her intention to run for President. 

Take Home Point: Over-use of the forehead muscles and eyelids the are opened widely too frequently indicates a person is trying too hard to convince you of something. It will lower likeability, favorability and sincerity.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3580: Muhammad Ali, Donald Trump, Repulsion and Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3578: Megan Fox, Body Language and Dismissive Emotions 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3247: Barack Obama's Response to Question regarding Revoking Bill Cosby's Presidential Medal of Freedom

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2701: Cuddling, Romance, Affection and Foot-Shunning

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3572: Bernie Sanders on Jimmy Kimmel - regarding Donald Trump Debate

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2994: Mike Jones to Barack Obama - "Mr. President, Don't Touch My Girlfriend"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2134: A Watershed Body Language Moment: Nixon - Kennedy Debates 1960

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3361: The Johnson Treatment - Body Language and Personal Space

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3563: Ariana Grande, Lip Stick, Microexpressions and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

The beginning moments this Ariana Grande guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! captures a fantastic example of a microexpression of fear superimposed over a subtle expression of fear.

At 0:12, Jimmy Kimmel continues: "... but you put such a dark -"

Ariana Grande: "Yeah."

Kimmel: "...almost blood-purply colored on your lips"

Grande: "Yeah."

Kimmel: "... with the bright red suite."

Grande: "It's a lot, but I think it's appropriate."

Kimmel: "It's fabulous."

0:16.2



















Microexpression of Fear (above) just as Kimmel says, "... blood purply colored ...".  Note her mouth corners pulled back (very brief) and Ariana's eyes opened wider than baseline

0:16.7


















In this second image we see another microexpression just before Kimmel says, "... lips ...". This is virtually identical to the example above, except that Ms. Grande's eyes are not opened quite as much (though still wider than her baseline).

The microexpression component is seen with the corners of her mouth pulling backwards twice (it may look like a miniature smile to some) - however it's very short-lived (please watch the video on normal speed and then on half speed to best appreciate this). Superimposed on this evanescent mouth nonverbal - we can see the longer duration change of Ariana's slightly widely opened eyes.

Grande is fearful that her lipstick wasn't the right color.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3562: Police Officer Tim Purdy, De-Escalation and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3547: Kate Middleton on Cover of Vogue's 100th Anniversary Issue

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3543: Donald Trump, "It Felt Like I Was Crossing The Border Actually"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3509: Bernie Sanders meets Birdie Sanders 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3487: Scott Pelley to Hillary Clinton, "Have you always told the truth?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3481: Gordon Ramsay Tries Girl Scout Cookies for the First Time

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3451: Angelique Kerber defeats Serena Williams in Australian Open

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3416: LeBron James Catches a Golden State Fan "calling" him a Cry Baby

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3524: Paddleboarder's Encounter with Spinner Shark - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

As luck and the internet would have it, this new viral video stands in dramatic contrast to yesterday's post where the fictional great white shark of Jaws required acting fearful - and it fell short. In this video, we see Maximo Trinidad paddleboarding off the coast of Jupiter, Florida where he had a close encounter with a (real) spinner shark.

During 0:16 we see Mr. Trinidad's eyes (eyelids) opened very widely, his central forehead contracted and elevated along with his inner (medial) eyebrows.

In this close up image of the same moment, Maximo's mid-face is tensed with dramatic nasal flaring and the corners of his mouth pulled out (laterally) and slightly downward.







See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3523: Jaws - "You're Going to Need a Bigger Boat"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2701: Cuddling, Romance, Affection and Foot-Shunning

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3511: Ted Cruz Statement Regarding Allegations of Extramarital Affairs - Body Language and Statement Analysis

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3504: Raúl Castro Lifts Barack Obama's Arm at Press Conference

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3454: Donald Trump - Buying the Farm after 2nd Place Finish in Iowa Caucuses

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3515: Jimmy Kimmel asks Ted Cruz, "Who Do Like Better, Obama or Trump?"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3468: GOP Debate, Antonin Scalia, John Dickerson and Ted Cruz on Supreme Court History

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3499: President Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3457: Chelsea Clinton refers to Bernie Sanders as "President Sanders" - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Whom among us hasn't misspoke before - even with regard to very important issues? Most of us however, are not running for President or speaking directly on their behalf - particularly in such a public forum.

In the above video, while campaigning for Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton mistakenly refers to Senator Sanders as "President Sanders". And while republicans or those supporting Bernie Sanders, may find her mistake humorous - in the context of this blog, the video of this recent incident is included as a real-world teaching example of body language.

Beginning at 0:04, Chelsea says, "... We also need to strip away the immunity that President Sanders  - [inaudible] - excuse me, that Senator Sanders, I hope not President Sanders [crowd laughing and jeering ], that Senator Sanders, that Senator Sanders voted for ..."

0:10 as she says, "... President Sanders ...", Chelsea's eyelids open in a "White and Wide" configuration - a  classic example of a nonverbal manifestation of fear.

A fraction of a second earlier (earlier during 0:10 as she said, "... I hope not ..."), we see Chelsea's eyebrows drawn downward and together along with a contraction and lowering of the central forehead muscles in a classic expression of critical evaluation.

Ms. Clinton's sitting forward/re-adjusting/sitting-up in her chair is a very telling body language signal - and not surprisingly, it's indicative of anxiety - but more specifically anxiety which calls upon one's psyche to up-regulate (e.g., to "step it up").


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3456: Martin Shkreli Pleads the Fifth before Congress

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3454: Donald Trump - Buying the Farm after 2nd Place Finish in Iowa Caucuses

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3453: Marco Rubio's Hyper-Alpha, Backfiring Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3021: Barack Obama's Executive Action on Immigration - What the President's Body Language Said Before He Even Spoke

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3442: Jennifer Lawrence Scolds Journalist at Golden Globes

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3255: Donald Trump and a Body Language Signal of Social Fear and Hesitancy 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2274: The Eyes & Mouth of Fear - Body Language of Ahmed Dogan during Attempted Assassination

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 1106: Subtle Fear Display of al-Assad

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3446: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Body Language


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3302: Hillary Clinton, the Recent MSNBC Interview, Low Likability and Diminished Trustworthiness (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Hillary Clinton recently gave an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC. It was just her third national interview since announcing her candidacy for President.

Mrs. Clinton has a lifetime of political experience. And despite the fact she didn't win the democratic nomination for President in 2008, Hillary has had a lot of victories. Much like a successful attorney, physician, teaching or corporate professional, etc. - very often once a person has fairly high level of political success, their behavior up to that point becomes validating - even thought a fair amount of is not necessarily good. Thus it also becomes significantly solidified and difficult to change (e.g., What will get me further is just more of what got me to this level - right? Wrong.).

With respect to increasing her chances of winning the Oval Office - this of course doesn't mean that Mrs. Clinton needs to change everything, but she does very much fall into this success-habit-validation trap. We all do it to some degree. This phenomenon may prevent us from improving - and even seeing our weaknesses. Moreover when you're high in any given food-chain, your subordinates become very hesitant in speaking truth to power - and like you - they largely won't even see these faults.

It's no secret that Mrs. Clinton has problems with her likability and trustworthiness. She's hit a plateau here and has even experienced declines.

One (of many) nonverbal faux pas that Hillary (and many others) commits is opening their eyelids too widely during conversation, interviews and speeches. It's extremely crucial to note that she displays this illustrator chronically. Nearly every time she's trying to emphasize an issue - Mrs. Clinton's eyes open wide. This is NOT natural and leaves people emotionally uncomfortable. It's somewhat analogous to, when with the written language - a person places multiple exclamation marks at the end of a sentence. They do so when they feel their words lack sincerity. Simultaneous with the widely opened eyes, we also see elevated eyebrows and forehead musculature (the entire width of forehead).

Note: we all make this same expression from time to time, but it's the chronic nature here that is important.

The over-use of this eyelid-eyebrow-forehead nonverbal cluster backfires - and will be interpreted as patronizing, condescending and even arrogant. While certainly not the only influencing factor, Mrs. Clinton must absolutely stop this if she is to improve her likability and perception of honesty with the electorate. No healthy person wants to feel as if someone is talking-down to them. Mrs. Clinton or any politician/"leader" need to be extremely aware of when they're sending such signals - and Hillary is not.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3301: Sarah Palin re: Bush vs. Trump regarding speaking Spanish - "When you're here, let's Speak American!"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3202: FIFA's Jack Warner Cites 'The Onion' in His Own Defense - Insincerity Body Language Tells 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2945: Roger Goodell's Interview regarding Ray Rice - Denies NFL saw Video before Monday 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3053: Giada De Laurentiis, Insincere Smiles and Divorce


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3246: Suicide Squad - What Makes Jared Leto's Joker so Frightening? Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

The trailer for "Suicide Squad" was published on YouTube yesterday. The film is due to be released on 5 August 2015. And The Joker is getting scarier and scarier. But what's the primary reason Jared Leto is so frightening? It's not his green, greasy hair (yet still a bit unnerving). It's not the metal in his mouth (though this certainly adds to his "freak factor"). It's not even his lipstick (a bit heavy though, don't you think?). It's his nonverbal signals.

What is extra creepy regarding the body language of Jared's Joker? Specifically two key components send strong signals of theatrical sickness - his widely opened eyes and their coexistence with a mouth smile.

Take detail notice of Leto's upper eyelids - they're open very wide - so widely in fact as to show the "whites of his eyes" (the sclera) between the edge of the central upper eyelids and the irises (aka irides or the colored portion of the eyes). This little strip of white is sometimes referred to as "scleral show". At physiologic and emotional baseline the margin of the upper eyelid should be ~ 2 mm below the upper margin of the iris - yet his are 1-2 mm higher (a net difference of 3-4 mm). This measurement may sound subtle, yet human brains (and many animal brains) are designed to recognize this nuance without conscious thought (though our conscious and edge-of-consciousness minds' often rationalize this warning sign away - discounting it thus adding danger and disadvantage).

What are the main emotional conditions which cause the eyes to be opened widely?

1. Mild to moderate anger the eyelids are partially closed - yet in severe to extreme anger (rage) they open widely.

2. Surprise

3. Fear

4. As form of emphasis (often an edge-of-consciousness action)

Sometimes joy-happiness follows surprise - and on such occasions a mouth smile can be seen with widely opened eyes. Also during moments of emphasis (more common in the context of melodrama, manipulation or hyperbolic personalities) the eyelids can also be open wider with mouth smiles. Yet in these scenarios the two facial components don't appear together for but short moments - ergo number five ....

5. When these two components of emotion (eyes widely opened with a mouth smile) are both seen together repeatedly or they're observed to coexist for longer durations - one should strongly suspect a sociopath (Antisocial Personality Disorder).

Another helpful way to think about this combination of facial expressions (a facial cluster) is that it feels contradictory to the observer - and thus it also feels creepy. As mentioned, with relatively rare and evanescent exception - a mouth smile does not appear commonly with widely opened eyes. And it doesn't make those people seeing it feel normal - and it shouldn't. It immediately sends up alarm bells in our psyche - yet surprisingly it doesn't do so as often as you may think. Here lies the danger - for here there be dragons.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3245: Gov. Scott Walker Jumps into the 2016 Presidential Race - Body Language Amplifiers and Misdirection

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2959: The Hunger Games Mockingjay - What makes Donald Sutherland (as President Coriolanus Snow) look so Evil? Body Language Trailer Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2355:  Adam Lanza's College ID and the  Body Language of Eyes Chronically Wide Open

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3149: Edward Snowden on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance (HBO) - Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication No. 3110: Scarlett Johansson gets invaded by John Travolta - An Awkward Moment from the 2015 Oscars 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3224: Jordan Spieth, the U.S. Open, and a Classic Fear Expression - Body Language (PHOTOS)

This is a great example of a fear expression on Jordan Spieth. Just after he was awarded the trophy upon winning the U.S. Open yesterday - its top accidentally fell off. In this moment the corners of his mouth are classically pulled backwards and laterally as well as slightly downwards. The World's top-ranked golfer's jaw is also clenched. His mid-face and lower eyelids are tense. Flaring of his nostrils is pronounced. Because his head and neck are tilted down and forward, the tissue on front of his neck has adopted an evanescent pseudo-double (multiple) chin configuration (more so than simply bending forward creates). If his head were more upright, this "neck of fear" would have had a more common "tenting" and taught appearance.

How can you differentiate this lower-level social fear expression from that of a more threatening fear - such as would be seen with a physical danger scenario?


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3223: Jordan Spieth, the U.S. Open, Annie Verret, Kissing and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2338:  Why Does Keit Pentus-Rosimannus feel Fear?  Body Language of Estonia's Minister of Environment 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3135: Ariana Grande Does a Spot-On Celine Dion Impression on Jimmy Fallon - Body Language Signals of ....

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2344:  Jillian Michaels Body Language  Neck of Fear & Mouth of Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2827: Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIlroy - She was the Alpha, He was the Beta

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3154: Marco Rubio's Body Language Tell

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3152: Hillary Clinton First Campaign Ad - "Getting Started" (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

To no one's surprise, Hillary Clinton launched her candidacy for President today. Between Mrs. Clinton's official campaign and outside super-PACs, estimates of $2.5 Billion in donations are realistic. Yet despite this very substantial funding, Hillary's very first ad included some stunningly novice nonverbal faux pas.
 

This image is the very first frame from the very first scene featuring Mrs. Clinton (at 1:31).

Why on Earth is her back to the camera? This is about as basic as body language gets - turning your back to anyone projects disrespect, non-importance, destroys rapport and loses votes.

In this second Hillary-scene within the same ad, Mrs. Clinton is in a conversation with a gentleman in a restaurant or public gathering. Notice her torso - as well as her hips and feet although they're not visible, we clearly can see they're all pointed substantially away from him. This sends strong signals of low importance, disrespect and low mental-emotional engagement. It's essentially saying, "I'm here in body, but not in mind" and "I'm only here because I have to be here." (A Marshawn Lynch impersonation?).

A common over compensatory side-effect of such feigned and insincere presence is staring. Note that Hillary's eyes are locked on his - which does not "feel" natural (even to a child). Eye contact within the context of a healthy conversation has a random-movement pattern to it - and should for about 60-70% of the time, be centered around the other person's eyes, but not staring at them (Exceptions for this include romantic moments, other times of high affection - or during portions of an apology - of which none apply here). Moreover Hillary's upper eyelids are opened significantly wider than her normal baseline. This adds to the staring effect and projects a feeling of anger (What's another possible cause to her very-widely opened eyelids?).

Hillary's arm and shoulder are also blocking any sincere conversational-connection (which any good ad person should be attempting to engender within the context of a political advertisement). So although we're NOT this guy - we are feeling a vicarious rejection via Hillary's cold shoulder. Ouch.

Any candidate for high office will not win unless a majority of the electorate feels they are "likeable" - and a huge portion of such likeability has its foundation in body language. This is not to say leaders must pander or be weak in any way. But we simply want to - and need to like our leaders. To feel this way is fundamentally human. And if we feel they aren't respecting or liking us, we're not going to give them our votes. 

Media Inquiries and Group Appearances 

One-on-One and Online Courses Available 

Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

702-239-8503

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3151: Barack Obama and Raúl Castro Shake Hands - Body Language

Negotiation Body Language Secret No. 483:  Tiger & Zach Johnson - handshake on the 18th - not so fast

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2765: Obama, Romney, Russia and Facial Asymmetry - Contempt at The Hague

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3134: Ted Cruz to Announce his Candidacy for 2016 Presidential Race - Why He Will Never Win - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3106: Amazing Selfie Proposal - Body Language Components of Surprise

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3056: Jeb Bush Interview - 14 Dec. 2014 - Body Language Tells

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