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. 3484: Chris Rock's Opening Monologue at the 2016 Oscars - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Chris Rock emceed the 2106 Academy Awards Sunday night. And had there had been any doubt - Rock immediately dealt with the elephant in the room - Is Hollywood racist? Here is a portion of his opening monologue (beginning at 2:20 in the above video):

"Is it, is it 'Burning-Cross' racist? No. Is it, 'Fetch-me-some-lemonade' racist? No - nah, nah, nah, it's a - it's a different type of racist. [edit splice]You're damn right Hollywood's racist! - But it ain't the racist that you - that you've grown accustomed to. Hollywood is - 'Sorority-Racist'. It's like - 'We like you Rhonda - but you're not a Kappa'."

During 2:40 - 2:41, as he said "... We like ...", Chris Rock displayed a Pseudo-Prayer
with mild Hand-Chopping
component (see video for this motion dynamic). 






The pseudo-prayer is an example of a nonverbal signal known as an Illustrator-MAP Hybrid (MAP is an acronym for 'Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier'). The vast majority of quality comedians have a high level of intuitive feel for body language - equal or superior to that of most experienced actors - and Chris Rock is a master at both.

In his monologue, within the context of Chris Rock's metaphor 'Sorority Racist' - for a moment he channels a condescending sorority sister - and here, the pseudo-prayer gesture hits precisely the right tone. He's using this nonverbal display in an acting scenario. In contrast, many people who fancy themselves as leaders (or those in leadership positions) will use the pseudo-prayer and thus will destroy rapport rather than build it. Rock's comedic intuition (or perhaps choreography) is spot-on however, capturing (in this one-sentence skit within his monologue) the thinly veiled arrogance of this (in any other context) body language faux pas.

An important additional nuance is exampled by the additional superimposed up-and-down, hand-chopping motion - which Mr. Rock does here to a mild degree. This serves to amplify the patronizing emotional tones above and beyond what this body language signal already conveys.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3483: Kate Winslet's Reaction to Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar for Best Actor

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3478: Donald Trump Jr Does Not Like his Father's Statement, "I Love the Poorly Educated"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3467: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dies

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3457: Chelsea Clinton refers to Bernie Sanders as "President Sanders"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3324: Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin Shake Hands at UN Luncheon

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3436: Is Hillary Clinton Intimidated by Donald Trump? Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2086: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Love and Sincerity

Flirting and Romance Secret No. 39: Affectionate vs. Non-Affectionate Hug - Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3257: Donald Trump at the Texas-Mexico Border - Body Language of a Hyper-Alpha (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Donald Trump jetted to the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday. The republican candidate who's leading most of the polls appeared in this video with the Mayor and the City Manager of Laredo.

It's of course common knowledge that Mr. Trump more than any other candidate - republican or democrat - spouts dramatic and aggressive language. What many don't realize however, is that his body language is also more invasive and provocative. Verbal and the nonverbal signals are intertwined. Assertive and hyper-assertive verbal language are linked to alpha and hyper-alpha body language. Passive and demure verbal language are also yoked with beta body language. The trick is (most of the time) to strike a happy medium. There are times of course, when projecting dominance and strength are important - but (surprise) Donald (way) over-does it.

What follows are five nonverbal hand-arm displays (Illustrators and one [Self-Pointing] sometimes also transitions to a MAP [Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier]) which are all common in political candidates (and other hyper-alpha personalities). These are much more plentiful (in the political context) prior to primaries - when republicans are running to the right and democrats are leaping left. After the primaries though, the nonverbal (and verbal) language is nearly always less extreme.

The "Dominant Spider"

This is much more common in males and is extremely frequent in those with narcissistic personality disorder.

"Palms Forward"

A refuting and dismissive illustrator


Much more common in those with impulse control problems

"Palms Down" illustrator

When the fingers are separated - the palms down is less alpha vs. when the fingers are together.

Depending on the frequency and context, "Self-Pointing" may of course be indicative of self-deprecating emotions and messages. Trump however is using the self-point in a braggadocio manner here. During this press conference (during 4:53 - 4:54), he even refers to himself in the third person. In most scenarios, frequent self-pointing is highly correlative with narcissism.

Of the five examples shown here, the "Hand Chop" is the most frequently seen illustrator among alpha personalities - and there's certainly no exceptions when it comes to politicians (the palms down is a close second).








It's important to show strength, confidence and assertiveness yet without being hyper-aggressive, arrogant and condescending. Hyper-alpha body language will polarize. Those who already agree with you will be drawn towards your cause. All others will run in another direction.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3256: Katie Holmes on Jimmy Fallon - Body Language Tells

Ted Cruz to Announce his Candidacy for 2016 Presidential Race - Why He Will Never Win - Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3134: Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3154: Marco Rubio's Body Language Tell

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3227: Bobby Jindal's, "... I am tanned ..." remark - What does his Body Language tell us? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3200: Martin O'Malley announces Candidacy for 2016 Presidential Race - Body Language of Emotional Processing 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3235: Jim Webb Announces His Presidential Bid .... and some Body Language Weakness 

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

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2409: David Cameron & François Hollande - Variations on the Hand Chop & Palm Orientation (Video, Photos)

The following six images are isolated from the above video where U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is shown during his portion of a dual press conference with French President François Hollande. The two were meeting in Paris four days ago (22 May 2013) - the same day as the terrorist attack and brutal killing of U.K. soldier, Lee Rigby - although all of the images below are from portions of this speech when he was speaking on other issues.

David Cameron is a very good speaker with a similar level of nonverbal skills. He does at times though tend to use the "Vertical Hand Chop" excessively (and its variations). This is in part due to his tendency to speak in a rapid, staccato style - as if he were a barrister on the attack in court (but certainly not in all court matters) - or during particularly vigorous defense of an idea before Parliament. In such scenarios this may at times be very beneficial. In other contexts however, his speeches are more effective and he builds more rapport when he slows down and use a bit less alpha (sometimes hyper-alpha), and over-repetition of this hand chop.

The vertical hand chop is an alpha body language illustrator. There are versions of it which "amp up" the alpha qualities - as well as other modifications which give it more beta characteristics.

Here Mr. Cameron is chopping rapidly. Using this gesture with a higher speed increases its alpha and conversely, slowing it down increases the beta. Any leader should always contextualize the nonverbal with the verbal and the relative importance of the subtopic within the speech as a whole. Speeches have many of the characteristics of a good song. They have a crescendo & decrescendo qualities, verses, speed changes, etc. and all nonverbals should match the desired effect.

In this photo Mr. Cameron uses the hand chop with open - fingers. This configuration makes it less alpha and more beta.

Here we see Mr. Cameron using the vertical hand chop with his fingers tightly closed.

Increased tension in the hands is highly correlative with increased facial tension. Compare the U.K. leader's face and hand (high tension) in this image to that immediately above - where both are much less tense. This increased tension is consistent with more anger and increased relative priority with what is being discussed verbally (which of course is not always evident when only listening to the words). Such patterns are not only seen in political speeches - but are seen repeatedly evident in sales, court, mediation or negotiations.

Notable is how Cameron turns his palm partially up, with his fingers open in this gesture towards Hollande (and thus France). When displayed correctly, palms-up gestures are much more engendering of openness and collegiality - while still conveying authority and intelligence.

This is very much the opposite of the image immediately above, with Mr. Cameron using his palm turned partially down. His fingers are still open however.

Note again the contrast of the tension on the P.M.'s face here compared to when his palm is more up-turned.

Here Mr. Cameron is speaking about how strong Anglo-French cooperation on sharing tax information regarding corporations operating within Europe "...has helped to unlock a European agreement that I think will make a real difference for the future...."

Here his palm-partially oriented down and his twisting of his hand & wrist act as a visual nonverbal metaphor for the "unlocking" of which he speaks (a body language analog of an onomatopoeia). This configuration again also conveys the relative importance he feels about this subject and his/U.K.s role in it.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2061:  David Cameron Defends London Olympics against Mitt Romney's Remarks - Alpha Dominance and Illustrators - Matching Hands and Feet as Sincerity Amplifiers

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 493:  Contrasting David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy - Alpha & Beta Behaviors

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2064:  David Cameron & Boris Johnson - Wincing at Wimbledon

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 1019:  Cameron's Critical Cluster

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1287:  Barack Obama & David Cameron - Mirroring

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2037:  When Chanel Suits Don't Match the Body Language -  Christine Lagarde's High Anxiety

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1834:  Chelsea FC vs. Bayern Munich and the G8

NonverbaNonverbal Communication Analysis # 1705:  François Hollande & the French Presidential Election  The Pistol Steeple and Emotional Dissonance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1720:  Critical Evaluation, Disbelief & a Partial Emblematic Slip  Valérie Trierweiler & François Hollande 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2048:  The Arm Grip, Shoulder Touch and Back Touch Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 531:  Sarkozy's Mouth Tells Us What He's Feeling

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1868: John McCain's plea before the Senate for Direct American Involvement to Stop Syrian Government Killing its own People

After yet another massacre of innocents by government directed forces, this time seventy-eight to one hundred killed, forty of whom were women and children in the village of Mazratt al-Qubeir, John McCain (R-AZ) makes the case for direct American involvement in Syria before his colleagues in the United States Senate.

Direct your attention to Senator McCain's changing hand positions throughout this segment and how they are related to what we hear him say. The former Presidential Candidate's body language is very congruent with his tone, words and volume (indicating his high "Sincerity Quotient" here) - but many times in our own business and personal lives we don't see this agreement. Said another way, many times the body language will say one thing and the words/tone will say another. Whenever there is a disparity - always believe the body language. Word choice is much more consciously controlled. Tone of voice is often misleading as well - although tone is more reliable than words. Body language is extremely difficult to consciously control - so it is the most reliable when assessing for sincerity and/or deception. Even if, for example, you're able to alter the nonverbal display of your hands - the underlying emotion will "leak" out in your face or elsewhere.

Note how McCain's hand positions adopt more palms-up configuration when he is making a plea or talking about Syrian Civilians' needs - and his tone and volume match the nature of his words (again - in your own lives you'll see many times where they don't match). When his words change to criticism of the Obama Administration he adopts a vertical hand-chop. His tone and volume are much more harsh. So the take home point here is - when you see the hand chop, with kind words - don't trust the words. There is alpha-assertiveness and dominance behind the hand chop. Depending on the other signals you may see clustered with the hand chop (particularly on the face) it may also signal anger and force. 

Also notice towards the end of this video when John McCain is discussing more graphic and personalizing examples of fresh wounds, death and rape - his hands display considerable anxiety as he rolls up some paper into a tighter and tighter roll.

John McCain has suffered a peripheral cranial nerve (aka facial nerve) palsy on his left face several years ago (if no cause is found for this specific type of palsy, it is known as "Bell's Palsy"). This palsy makes his facial nonverbals difficult to interpret. 

See also:

Analysis # 1267: John McCain, Sarah Palin and Bell's Palsy

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 1011: Seeing the Big Picture Tactics vs. Temper Jan Brewer and Barack Obama

This Blog is non-partisan. I critique and analyze the nonverbal communication of many politicians (and others), not limited to party or country.

Go figure! Politicians sometimes cannot see the big picture. Their actions are often laden with the self-destruction of school aged boys on a play ground. They're supposed to be statesman/stateswomen - master communicators, but this is rarely so. Enter Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. It is well known that she and President Obama have widely different political views. She's a republican, he's a democrat - no mystery here. But if your goal is to win another to your way of thinking, the classic finger-point, hand-chop in the President's face as he gets off Air Force One as a substitute for a warm greeting - is not the way to accomplish it. Jan Brewer is either very naive or political grand-standing here. Regardless of your political leanings, although such stunts may help one with their political base, this will rarely persuades swing voters - and NEVER the opposition - on the contrary, it makes them more resistant to change. It also makes you look unrefined.

The President, rather than pulling away, leans forward and embraces her left arm/elbow. This is the nonverbal equivalent of speaking in softer tones and at lower volumes when someone is raising their voice or even yelling at you. It works. The human instinct very much expects the equivalent of an arms race escalation of negative body language. It is very disarming when the opposite occurs. Obama, somewhat more skilled and experienced, uses his nonverbal acumen to dial-down Brewer's temper .... with an equal effect on his own. Biofeedback in two directions. Amazing stuff body language is. The use of calming nonverbals in oneself begets calming nonverbals and emotions in both the sender and the receiver. Had Brewer been a 300 pound, six-foot-four-inch male governor with a goatee instead, I'd like to think he'd have the same counter-move ..... but maybe not.

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