Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2583: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle - Is Your Cell Phone Being Tapped? (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Guido Westerwelle is shown in this short clip interviewed by Christiane Amanpour. He speaks about the NSA's alleged tapping of Angela Merkel's mobile phone in reference to fighting terrorism. Beginning at 0:13 seconds the German Foreign Minister says, "... You cannot, ah fight, ah terrorism by ah, ah taping the Chancellor's (Angela Merkel's) cell phone."

Amanpour: "Do you think your phone has been taped?"

Westerwelle: [Hand and partial Face/Head Shrug at 0:23 seconds] "I cannot exclude it, but I'm, ah prepared to everything."

At 0:23 Westerwelle displays a partial shrug. A shrug is an emblem - a body language term for a nonverbal display, the meaning of which is precise and known within a specific cultural group, city, country or region. Emblems can indeed be universal or nearly universal.

The meaning of a shrug can be, "I don't know", "I don't care" or "What does it matter?" (Ekman). Most people falsely believe a shrug to be manifested only in the shoulders, yet here Westerwelle shoulder's do not shrug - they move only secondarily because of his "hand shrug" and his head/neck tilt.

The thumbs are nearly always pointed up during a hand shrug and the fingers may be intertwined or in some form of a steeple (although the hands can be previously at rest and not in contact).

Although the German Minister's forehead has very little reaction, a shrug may often involves the forehead - which contracts across its entire width along with a concomitant elevation of the eyebrows. The eyelids will also commonly closed along with a thinning/tightening of the lips and a protrusion of the lower lip with a modest jaw jut. The corners of the mouth are typically vectored downward.

Flaring of the nostrils can also be seen. Indeed the toes/distal end of feet can even elevate along with the knees and a slight splaying of the legs (more commonly when sitting).

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2571: Angela Merkel, the NSA and Cell Phones - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2572: Angela Merkel's, Mobile Phones and Eavesdropping - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2580: Angela Merkel's Fingers, Emotions and Mobile Phone

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2533: Angela Merkel's Low Steeple "Trademark" - A Major Body Language Mistake

Negotiation secret # 301: Angela Merkel's Expressions of Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2567: Keanu Reeves, "Man of Tai Chi" and a Beta Posture 

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 743 and 744:  Sarkozy's Shhhh!  and a Partial Emblematic Slip 

________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2033: Lie Detection, Sergey Lavrov and Syria

In this image, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is pictured during a recent press conference regarding the Syrian peace process. Both Russia and China are in disagreement with the other members of the U.N. Security Council on whether or not the departure of President Bashar al-Assad is essential.

Facial touching (Manipulators, Adaptors or Pacifiers AKA MAPs) is one of several body language signals which may indicate deception. Most (but not all) self-touching indicates an increased level of anxiety. This is particularly true when it involves the face - especially the mouth, the nose, one eye (touching/rubbing two eyes indicates a different thought-emotion entirely) or the ear/near the ear. These areas will itch due to local micro-changes of the vascular & nervous systems which are in-turn caused by anxiety. This itching is not imagined. It is very real. Such nonverbals are performed subconsciously. Of course, there are events other than deception which may trigger anxiety (and there are other signals of anxiety as well). However when these signs are secondary to lying, it may be that the person displaying these signals is hearing or witnessing what he/she believes to be a lie - or (statistically more commonly) due to a falsehood that is self-perpetrated. This is especially true when point-in-fact questions are being answered or similar statements are being made. If this were the scenario in which Minister Lavrov is pictured, and you were picking a jury, you would not want to include Sergey.

___________________________________________________________________________________