Body Language Analysis No. 4314: Donald Trump, The Supreme Court, Abortion, and Punishment - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

In the light of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's announcement of his retirement from the Supreme Court, the interview included here is profoundly important. In March 2016, Chris Matthews spoke with then-candidate Trump in a town hall type setting. One of the questions Mr. Matthews pressed Mr. Trump on was that of abortion - and specifically, because Trump believes abortions should be illegal - what was his view on the issue of punishment for women who undergo abortions?

In this image (captured from the above video during 2:16) - when Mr. Trump was attempting to formulate his response to Chris Matthews' question of, "... Do you believe in punishment for abortion - yes or no - as a principle?".

Donald Trump commonly displays several nonverbal signals which are distinctly beta (and feminine). One of these is exampled here. This display is much more commonly seen with women and gay men - but when it's displayed by a straight man, it projects a low-confidence/unsure/beta emotional tone.

Note the position of Trump's right wrist. It's extended (bent backward) close to its maximum. When a straight man displays this body language, it sends signals of low confidence. Moreover, when coupled with an upper arm that's positioned very closely to the torso (as we also see Trump doing), this nonverbal behavior cluster transmits even deeper beta and unsure emotions.

Notice also, Trump's eyes are looking up - fixated in the distance (middle-distance). This is a common direction of gaze and focus behavior associated with the formulation of an answer.
 

Then, just a couple of seconds later (2:18 - 2:20), once Trump makes up his mind ("... there has to be some form of punishment - Yeah. There has to be some form."), he first positions his hand in a vertically straight, ready-to-chop fashion, and then proceeds to quickly chop his hand in a very assertive (even hyper-assertive), decisive, alpha manner. Trump commonly uses this gesture - however, it's not typically temporally juxtaposed with a hyper-beta display as he does here. 

SUMMARY: Donald Trump had not thought through this question prior to Chris Matthews asking it. The candidate's nonverbal behavior displayed here - a low confidence signal followed rapidly by a high-confidence signal - is a window into the unsure mind of a person formulating his decision in that moment. We are seeing cognitive dissonance followed by a decision and absolutism. Upon deciding, Mr. Trump rapidly emotionally morphs into the bravado of hyper-confidence.

Moreover, in this particular context, his hand-chop also projects the additional visual metaphor of severe punishment for abortion.

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4312: South Korea Defeats Germany at The World Cup

Body Language & Emotional Intelligence - Analysis No. 4311: Jeff Sessions, "We never really intended to do that"

Body Language Analysis No. 4309: The Little Girl in Red, "Tender Age" shelters, and Empathy

Body Language Analysis No. 4307: Jeff Sessions cites Bible Passage to Justify Separating Children From Parents

Body Language Analysis No. 4302: G7 Leaders Surrounding Donald Trump

Body Language Analysis No. 4286: Aaron Schlossberg's Racist Rant

Body Language Analysis No. 4262: Wendy Vitter, the U.S. District Court, and Brown v. Board of Education

Body Language Analysis No. 4244: Stormy Daniels' 60 Minutes Interview

Body Language Analysis No. 4016: Anthony Scaramucci - Faux Pas and Harbingers

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3518: Donald Trump's Feminine and Beta Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Donald Trump has several nonverbal signals which are distinctly beta (and feminine). One of these in particular is discussed below. This body language tell is much more common in women and gay men - but when it's displayed by straight men, it projects an unsure, beta emotional tone.

In this image (captured from the above video during 2:16 - when he was trying to formulate his response to Chris Matthews' question of, "... Do you believe in punishment for abortion - yes or no - as a principle?"). Note the position of Trump's wrist. It's extended close to its maximum. In a straight man, this body language sends signals of low confidence. Moreover, when coupled with an upper arm positioned very closely to one's torso, this nonverbal cluster transmits an even more beta and demure mindset.

Then from 2:18 - 2:20, once he makes up his mind ("... there has to be some form of punishment - Yeah. There has to be some form."), Trump first positions his hand in a vertically straight, ready-to-chop fashion, and then proceeds to quickly chop his hand in a very assertive (even hyper assertive), decisive, alpha manner. This is also a common nonverbal gesture of Trump's.

These two body language signals, used in close temporal proximity are a momentary window into the unsure mind of a person formulating his decision (with cognitive dissonance) - and then, upon deciding - has a rapid emotional transformation into the bravado of hyper-confidence.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3517: Before His Walk Back, Donald Trump "There Has To Be Some Form of Punishment" to Women who have Abortions

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3267: Jeb Bush, Emotional Dissonance and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2595: Barack Obama's Emotional Dissonance, Low Confidence and the "Turtle Retreat" - He Does Not Want To Be There

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3360: Donald Trump's Body Language Dissonance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2313: Elisa Lam Video in Elevator at Cecil Hotel - What Her Body Language Tells Us .... 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2910: Becky Hammon, First Female Full-Time NBA Assistant Basketball Coach and an Under-used Body Language Illustrator

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3210: Matteo Renzi, Christine Lagarde, Barack Obama and Up-Regulating Alpha Emotions 

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1019: Gingrich's Hands - Low Confidence and High Confidence Tells

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1241: A Low Confidence Pledge of Allegiance 



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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3203: Caitlyn Jenner on Vanity Fair - Did Annie Leibovitz Project what she intended? - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

A huge percentage of the time professional photographers pose their subjects in body language which is off the emotional-context mark - way off. They may be good at lighting, knowing the best angle, picking the right filter or lens - but relatively few professional photographers have any significant amount of nonverbal knowledge. The same is true for advertising professionals. The wrong expressions and body language are often used despite teams of people, months of effort and millions or even tens of millions of dollars spent (or more).

If Annie Leibovitz is trying to capture a successfully transitioning Caitlyn Jenner - from a body language perspective - she hits the mark. Of course a magazine cover presents a very different and artificial scenario vs. interpreting body language in real-time and real-life, however Jenner's arms behind her back with her hands clasped - projects a strength, confidence and alpha emotional tone - which is certainly in her character. It also sends signals of significant openness - and who in World history has made a more open transition? While of course currently there are other important reasons for such a configuration, by keeping her legs tightly crossed - Jenner still transmits femininity (as do her bare shoulders).

By rotating Caitlyn's head to one side (projecting coyness), tilting her head/neck downwards - makes it so that in order to have eye contact with the camera, she must look up - which necessitates more widely open eyes (This is true with her right eye, while Jenner's droopy left lid [ptosis] gives the secondary effect of "bedroom eyes" here - adding to the sexuality). The combination of Jenner's head & neck tilted down - yet upwardly gazing with Leibovitz's slightly downward camera angle, also projects a "come hither" look - which is often emulated in every day flirting and romance.

The one suggestion I would make regarding this specific photo, is to not have Kaitlyn's back a corner. This component gives the feeling of her being bad, trapped or "cornered" - and is a visual metaphor suggesting a decision that is punishment or forced, rather one of free will - which of course is an important sentiment and distinction.

See also:

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3165: Bruce Jenner's 20/20 Interview, Part I

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3167: Bruce Jenner's 20/20 Interview, Part II - Confidence, Vulnerability and Sincerity

Dating & Romance Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1010:  Rashida Jones - What Makes the Twinkle in Her Eye?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3190: Taylor Swift's Body Language of Feigned Surprise

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3127: Hillary Clinton's Press Conference and a Body Language Down-regulator of Sincerity 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2821: Sara Bareilles, A Broken Wing, Emotional Comfort, and High Heels - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

This interview of the very talented Sara Bareilles just prior to the 2014 Grammy Awards contains a truckload of body language tells - a few of which are described below.

At 0:46 Chris Booker begins, "You don't seem nervous."

Bareilles answers, "I oddly enough don't feel nervous right now ...."

The "Broken Wing" of Bareilles' loose and flexed left wrist (0:49 - 0:50) indicates she is telling the truth about her lack of anxiety. The presence of this body language illustrator only occurs when a significant amount of emotional comfort is present. Although it is occasionally seen displayed by straight men - this nonverbal is much more common in women and gay men.

At 1:27 - 1:28, just after Booker says he has seen Sara perform at least 20 times, we see Ms. Bareilles scratch just to the right of her nose with her left hand. This MAP (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) seen in this nonverbal-verbal cluster context is a clear signal that she does not believe Mr. Booker.

 

At 2:05, just after Sara says, "... Oh, it certainly does not feel like a night off, let me tell ya that - No. Not when anybody is saying that I should wear high heels. That is not a night off for Sara Bareilles [brief chuckle then tongue jut] ..."

The tongue jut can indicate several thought-emotions depending on the other nonverbals with which it is clustered. Here it indicates that Sara REALLY hates wearing high heels. It is identical to what the tongue does when an infant spits out her puréed carrots. In other nonverbal scenarios, what else may the tongue jut signal?

What does Sara's lip pout indicate at the 2:06 mark?









Many other nonverbals are present in this video. How many do you see?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2669: Sara Bareilles and the Body Language of the Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2493:  Jewel in Disguise at Karaoke Bar,  Body Language Cues to Lack of Nervousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2808: Andrew Garfield, The Spider Man Theme Song and Anxiety - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2665: Nick Saban's "Tongue in Cheek" Body Language - What Does It Mean?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2547: Amanda Knox's ex-Boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Piers Morgan Interview, Body Language Tells and Avoiding the Othello Error

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2690: Peyton Manning Explains the Meaning of "Omaha" Call - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2820: Yusuf Yerkel, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Assault - Body Language

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