Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4746: Todd Blanche's reaction to Donald Trump – and Trump's diminished Impulse Control on the final day of Trial – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

 

The above image was captured on 28 May 2024 just prior to the beginning of proceedings on the final day of Donald Trump's election interference trial. 

The expression on Trump's face in this image is, surprisingly, relatively neutral, however ...
 

... Trump's left-hand-over-his-right-fist configuration was a common behavior exhibited by him during the trial:

Trump is right-handed. Covering one's dominant hand, clenched in a fist – with the non-dominant hand is classic body language behavior indicative of trying to cover, sequester, and control one's temper. 

Todd Blanche's fingers are interlaced – indicative of frustration, impatience, and sometimes anger. While it's important to not interpret body language in isolation, people often adopt this hand pose when they're trying to appear 'leaderly' and composed: 

 

 

Todd Blanche's facial expression tells us much more. Note his eyelids are closed. This is a still image, so this could be simply coincidence (caught during a normal blink) but most likely it's not:

Closing one's eyelids frequently and/or for 'extended blinks' in this context indicates impatience, frustration, disbelief, and possibly anger.

Now look at Blanche's mid and lower face – it displays an amalgam of:

• Frustration **
• Impatience **
• Disbelief **

• Regret *****

In particular, note his mouth and cheek asymmetry – with more expression on Blanche's right side – 'hiding' on the side away from Trump. 

Also note the 'bunching up' of the area above his upper lip, together with his flared nostrils, and moderately clenched jaw.

SUMMARY: This image of Todd Blanche shows a good nonverbal encapsulation of much of his overall experience as Donald Trump's attorney:

• Regret

• Disbelief 

• Frustration

• Impatience

Trump displays diminished impulse control – covering his right (dominant hand) fist with his left hand. A thin veil of restraint. 

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

 

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Body Language Analysis No. 4277: Donald Trump's First Person Shooter/Terrorist's POV Display at the NRA Convention - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

On Friday 4 May 2018, President Trump gave a speech at the NRA's national meeting in Dallas, Texas. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of a crucial portion of that speech. 

President Trump (continuing at 22:07), "... But they died in a restaurant and various other close-proximity places. They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists - that had guns. They took their time - and gunned them down, one-by-one. Boom! Come over here. Boom! Come over here. Boom! If you were - in those rooms - one of those people - and the survivors - said, 'It just lasted forever'. But if one employee - or just one patron had a gun - or if one person in this room had been there with a gun - aimed at the opposite direction - the terrorists would have fled or been shot and it would have been a whole different story - I mean - ..."

In this passage, Trump was speaking about the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015 in which 137 people died (including 7 terrorists) and 413 were wounded (80-99 critically).

Note that each time he said, "Boom!", President Trump displayed a dynamic handgun illustrator (not to be confused with a pistol steeple).

22:25

22:27

22:29

On each of these occasions, Donald Trump was stepping into the point-of-view of the terrorists. He was reenacting a bit of the Paris event from the perspective of the killers. In stark contrast, when he posited the idea of one of the hostages being armed and aiming their weapon back at the terrorist - the President did NOT configure his hand in a similar fashion.

This was not the first time Donald Trump used a handgun illustrator. You'll recall that on 23 January 2016 in Sioux City, Iowa he said, "... My people are so smart. And you know what else they say about my people? - The polls. They say, 'I have the most loyal people'. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, Okay? It's like incredible!"

On that occasion, he pointed his handgun illustrator directly at the television camera (image immediately above).

Although there are exceptions (e.g., law enforcement, some military, actors, comedic scenarios) a handgun illustrator is an extremely rare nonverbal display for anyone in a leadership position to use - particularly high office holders.

Regardless of the culture or country, even the much more common index finger (forefinger) pointing is hyper-aggressive and highly offensive (which Trump also repeatedly displays).

Yet multiple simulated gun-firing gestures - from the point of view of a real ISIS/ISIL terrorist/event - reenacting killing which actually occurred - and particularly when contrasting these actions with a LACK of a similar gesture for his armed (good-guy) hostage theoretical person(s) - absolutely calls into question the President's psyche - and particularly how he views himself.

SUMMARY: This is a Rorschach-type moment - with his nonverbal behavior substituting for ink-blots. The President's nonverbal behavior in this video strongly suggests that he relates more to the minds' and actions' of the terrorist-killers than those of his would-be hostages-turned-heroes.

The multiple handgun illustrators use in this context is highly correlative with dramatically reduced or complete absence of empathy - as well as impulse control disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and (on occasion) antisocial personality disorder.

Group Appearances and One-on-One

Online Courses Available 

702-239-8503

Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4276: Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr. Meets His NBA Idol Dwyane Wade

Body Language Analysis No. 4275: Rudy Giuliani's Interview on Fox News

Body Language Analysis No. 4273: Natalia Veselnitskaya and The Trump Tower Meeting - "I am an Informant"

Body Language Analysis No. 4271: Donald Trump's Hand Holding While Pulling of Emmanuel Macron

Body Language Analysis No. 4264: Criminal Profiling • Sketch of Man Who Allegedly Threatened Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) Over Her Affair with Donald Trump

Body Language Analysis No. 4004: US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher asks NASA scientist about Civilizations on Mars

Body Language Analysis No. 3986: Anthony Kennedy, The Supreme Court, and Predicting Empathy

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3930: Emmanuel Macron, Hacking, and Anger

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3374: Paris Attack Suspect Named - Salah Abdeslam - Body Language

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Body Language Analysis No. 4270: Donald Trump Brushes Dandruff off Emmanuel Macron - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Donald Trump is hosting Emmanuel Macron in the first State visit of the American's President's Administration. On Tuesday, while with his French counterpart, President Trump displayed multiple nonverbal faux pas - one of which is analyzed here.

Beginning at 0:00, President Trump says, "Mr. President, they're all saying what a great relationship we have and they're actually correct, it's not fake news - finally it's not fake news - so, it's a great honor - great honor that you're here. But we do have a very special relationship - in fact, I'll get that little piece of dandruff off [mumble, laugh] little piece - We have to make him perfect. He is perfect. So it is really, ah - it is really great to be with you and you are a special friend. Thank you. Thank you."

During 0:16 - 0:18, President Trump brushes an alleged piece of dandruff off of Macon's left lapel - three times with his right index finger - and then his with the rest of his hand off of his left shoulder - and follows it up with a touch on Macron's left elbow (0:20).

This short display is rife with body language blunders - and messages.

• The act of brushing dandruff, lint, dirt, etc. off another person is called "grooming" - and the vast majority of the time, such an act between adults (non-relatives) signals affection and/or physical attraction. This is particularly true when this violation of personal/intimate space is performed without permission - which is exactly what Trump did here.

Yet, it's not that simple ...

• It's highly doubtfully there was dandruff on Macron. Trump most likely fabricated this flaw in order to rationalize violating the French President's personal/intimate space.

• If there truly was dandruff on Macron's lapel, why call attention to it? Even if you were alone with another person - doing so would very often be ill-advised. And this act is particularly true - with a Head of State - in the Oval Office - in front of reporters - on live television.

So why did President Trump do this?

• To verbally embarrass Macron
• To physically violate Macron's personal space/intimate space
• To exert dominance over him
• It's a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

But most importantly:

• This violation of Emmanuel Macron's personal/intimate space, in large measure, is yet another manifestation of Donald Trump's Impulse Control Disorder. Although in this example it's not sexually-motivated, this behavior is very similar to what then Candidate Trump exemplified when, captured on the Access Hollywood tape, he said:

"I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything."


Summary: While such a public display of grooming is typically a sign of affection and/or sexual attraction - whether the dandruff was fictitious or real, Donald Trump's grooming of Emmanuel Macron was motivated by Trump's desire to embarrass, dominate, and belittle him. The American feels threatened by the French leader. It's also indicative of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Although some people may find Trump's action amusing, it's of profound importance - for this violation of Macron's personal/intimate space is one more glaring symptom of Trump's impulse control disorder.


Group Appearances and One-on-One
Online Courses Available 
702-239-8503
Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com


See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4269: Michael Cohen and the Joker Smile 

Body Language Analysis No. 4267: Donald Trump and Pretending to Pray 

Body Language Analysis No. 4264: Criminal Profiling • Sketch of Man Who Allegedly Threatened Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) Over Her Affair with Donald Trump 

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

Body Language Analysis No. 4231: Sam Nunberg Interview (Part III) • Diminished Impulse Control, Frustration, and Anxiety 

Body Language Analysis No. 4198: Lupita Nyong'o, Black Panther, and Attention to Detail

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3873: Brie Larson's Eyes, The Bachelor, and the Edge of Consciousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3823: Nina Dobrev, Flyboarding, Laughter and a Rapport/Bonding Amplifier

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

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Body Language Analysis No. 4231: Sam Nunberg Interview (Part III) • Diminished Impulse Control, Frustration, and Anxiety • Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

This is the third analysis of Sam Nunberg - breaking down his body language displayed during some of his interviews on 5 March 2018. Although he did testify for nearly six hours before a grand jury on Friday - at the time of this exchange, he was openly declaring his intent to defy Robert Mueller's subpoena.

For a myriad of reasons, the video above is very much worth taking the time to watch in its entirety. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of a particular display Mr. Nunberg used repeatedly during this interview.

Please see the cross-referenced links at the bottom of the article for the earlier analyses of the former aide to Donald Trump.

One nonverbal display Sam Nunberg used at multiple times during this MSNBC interview was the Face Wipe (e.g, 3:02 - 3:03, 16:09, 18:28, 28:35 - 28:36).

Characteristics of a Face Wipe include:

• Usually performed with one hand 
• More frequently involves the lower half of the face - often covering the mouth
• Often done quickly
• Frequently performed somewhat roughly
• Little or no regard for vanity
• Displayed significantly more often by men

A Face Wipe is an indication of an amalgam of various combinations of the emotions of:

• Anxiety
• Frustration
• Emotional Processing (attempting to reconcile emotions with a new, sudden reality)
• Diminished Impulse Control

It's crucial to emphasize that when a person begins to use the Face Wipe, their capacity to control their emotions is running low. This occurs for various reasons:

• Importance/ramifications of the subject matter
• A sense of time urgency
• Disinhibition
  A. Primary, longstanding/underlying Impulse Control Disorder
  B. Secondary to alcohol/drugs
• Guilt

Summary: This recent interview of Sam Nunberg includes multiple examples of a body language display known as a Face Wipe - indicating a temporary diminished impulse control. With high probability, he was under the influence of alcohol and/or medication during this and other interviews. Many people openly expressed concern for Mr. Nunberg - including those who were interviewing him.


Group Appearances and One-on-One
Online Courses Available 
702-239-8503
Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com


See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4229: Sam Nunberg (Part II) • Roger Stone, Robert Mueller, and Lies

Body Language Analysis No. 4225: Sam Nunberg Interview - Part I • Roger Stone, Donald Trump, and Russia

Body Language Analysis No. 4230: Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, and the Home Field Advantage

Body Language Analysis No. 4215: NRA's Dana Loesch at CPAC: "Many in Legacy Media Love Mass Shootings" 

Body Language Analysis No. 4205: Chloe Kim, Albert Einstein, and Creativity 

Body Language Analysis No. 4171: Stephen Miller's Creepiness & Jake Tapper, Volume II

Body Language Analysis No. 4164: Emmanuel Macron's Rapport Destroyer 

Body Language Analysis No. 4105: An interview with Sophia the Robot at the Future Investment Institute

Body Language Analysis No. 4145: Steve Bannon stumping for Roy Moore (and against Mitt Romney) in Alabama


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Body Language Analysis No. 3975: Travis Kalanick and Sheryl Sandberg - and Uber's Need for Empathy, Sincerity, and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Travis Kalanick was forced to resign as the CEO of Uber Today. After a tumultuous year, the company's shareholders made it clear his continued leadership in that office was both unsupportable and unwise. Uber board member, Arianna Huffington is pushing for Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg, to replace Mr. Kalanick.





Whenever you evaluate another person's personality, whether it be in the act of interviewing, being interviewed, a negotiation, a testimony, dating, or any kind of business interaction - we all - to some extent, size-up the many qualities of the other person's character - both consciously and unconsciously. Perhaps the two most important attributes are sincerity (which although wider in scope, also includes honesty) as well as their empathy level.

There's no doubt that Travis Kalanick and Sheryl Sandberg are both creative, intelligent people with many skills. Yet after viewing several interviews of Mr. Kalanick and Ms. Sandberg, if you are skilled at nonverbal communication and emotional intelligence assessment, you should be able to discern that Kalanick's empathy and sincerity quotients are low while Sandberg's are both quite high. Moreover, Mr. Kalanick also displays indications of poor impulse control - which is not exhibited by Ms. Sandberg.

Summary: The ability to accurately vet is a skill for which there is no substitute. Yet such competence is rarely learned or taught. Qualities which should always be determined are the candidate's:

• Empathy Quotient
• Sincerity Quotient
• Susceptibility to Poor Impulse Control

With each these three characteristics, Sheryl Sandberg's scores are far superior to Travis Kalanick's. Ms. Sandberg's leadership will greatly benefit Uber - but will certainly be Facebook's loss.

How skilled are you at qualifying and quantifying these attributes?

Group Appearances and One-on-One
Online Courses Available 
1-702-239-8503
Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 3974: Elle Fanning, Robert De Niro, and Easter

Body Language Analysis No. 3972: Vladimir Putin, Oliver Stone, and a Facial Expression Red Flag

Body Language Analysis No. 3970: Kamala Harris and Jeff Sessions, Part II - Deception, Alpha, and Beta Behavior

Body Language Analysis No. 3968: The Grenfell Tower Fire, Empathy, and Emotional Processing

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

Body Language Analysis No. 3932: Raúl Labrador's Town Hall statement, "Nobody dies because they don't have access to healthcare..."

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3060: Bradley Cooper, Air Guitar, Neil Young & the R2E2 Expression

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3292: Empathy, Yawning and Dogs

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3864: Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick Arguing with an Uber Driver regarding Falling Fares


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

Salah Abdeslam was captured alive today during an anti-terrorist raid in the Molenbeek region of Brussels, Belgium.

Abdeslam was an alleged key participant in the Paris Attacks of 13 November 2015 which killed 130 and wounded 368.

Two almost always over-looked characteristics of terrorists, mass shooters and perpetrators of other violent acts are the chronic displays of either contempt and/or disgust. This is profoundly important: those who plan and commit mass violent acts will have nonverbal facial characteristics of disgust and/or contempt on a CHRONIC basis.

As human beings, we all feel contempt and disgust on occasion - this is completely normal behavior. Yet those who display such a facial expressions on a long-term basis signal to the world a huge red flag.

In this image of Salah Abdeslam we see facial expressions signaling both disgust and contempt. It's very important to point out that while certainly only a small percentage of those individuals whom display either or both of these facial expressions over longer time periods will go on to commit terrorist acts - all of these individuals will have significant impulse control (anger management) problems.

An additional facial nonverbal signal seen in this image is a subtle loose forward lip purse. The loose forward lip purse is a signal of clandestine planning or clandestine disagreement. Those who display a loose forward lip purse will voice a mild (or often no) disagreement, yet their true thought-emotions are being held back for an end-run. Beware. They are telling you one thing but thinking/planning another. This nonverbal is never to be ignored in a personal relationship, professional scenario or personal-safety setting.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3500: Gal Gadot's last name used to be "Greenstein" - Body Language Tells

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3482: Donald Trump Refuses to Disavow David Duke and the KKK

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3470: Taylor Swift's Speech at 2016 Grammys

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2231:  A Common Facial Expression of Mass Killers - Using Body Language as a Threat Assessment Tool

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2858: Hope Solo, Domestic Violence, Arrests and Wedding Rings

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3390: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Henry Cavill is portraying what emotions?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3354: Rape Victim (13 year old girl) Demands to Make a Statement at the Sentencing of Perpetrator


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3420: Bill Cosby's Mug Shot - Body Language Tells (PHOTOS)

This is Bill Cosby's mug shot. He was arraigned today on a felony count of aggravated indecent assault which allegedly occurred in 2004. Andrea Constand, who at the time was the director of operations for Temple University's women's basketball team, alleges Cosby used medication and wine to incapacitate her and subsequently sexually assault her. Over 50 women have come forward in the last several years to allege similar sexual assaults and misconduct by Cosby.

Evaluating this image from a nonverbal perspective, there are two primary emotions seen here:

1. Disgust: nostril flaring, mid-face tightening, corners of his mouth vectored downward, lower lip
    pulled downward

2. Anger: lowered eyebrows, eyebrows pulled together, tightened eyelids (primarily lower lids),
    lips horizontally oriented and tightened

Some may say that Bill Cosby makes this and similar expressions on a chronic basis. Those who chronically display disgust, contempt and/or anger have dramatically increased likelihood of having an impulse control disorder (commonly known as having a short temper). Moreover those who perpetrate premeditated violent acts (assault [sexual or otherwise], mass shootings, terrorist acts, etc.) will virtually all make expressions of contempt, anger or disgust at a frequency much greater than average.

Threat assessment training and practice should always take this and other nonverbal behaviors into account in personal, professional or public protection.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3419: George Pataki, Asymmetry, Trust and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3019: Bill Cosby, Rape Allegations, AP Interview - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3022: Bill Cosby's Decades-Long Trademark Look - What Does It Tell Us? 

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3062: Phylicia Rashad interview regarding Bill Cosby

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3384: Donald Trump Repeats Controversial 9/11 Claims 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3406: Republican Debate, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and a Body Language Tell for Insincerity 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2312: Bruce Willis' Body Language - Contempt vs. Suppressed Smile vs. Pseudo Smile vs. Sincere Smile 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3393: Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik, San Bernardino Shooting and Predicting Violent Behavior - Body Language (PHOTOS)

 
Syed Rizwan Farook

Contempt (~60%) with Disgust (~40%)

This is a quite significant level of contempt/disgust
(~7 out of 10).

Do your best to avoid anyone with this, or a similar expression.

The partial eyelid closure, while alone may often be a nonspecific nonverbal sign (or even not related), when it coexists with contempt, disgust and/or anger - the partial eyelid closure acts as an amplifier.



Pictured here are Syed Rizwan Farook (above) and his wife, Tashfeen Malik. They are the alleged perpetrators in the recent (2 Dec. 2015) mass shooting in San Bernardino, California where fourteen people were killed and twenty-one were injured. Approximately four hours later, both alleged criminals were killed in a shoot-out with the police.

Those who commit terrorist activity, mass shootings and other acts of violence will nearly always display CHRONIC expressions of Disgust and Contempt (also often there is a component of anger present). Every normal, healthy human being will occasionally feel and thus manifest the strong emotions of disgust and contempt - so it's important to stress, the CHRONIC nature of this correlation.

It's also imperative to note that while certainly not everyone who makes these expressions FREQUENTLY will go on to commit violent criminal behavior - there is an extremely high correlation of significant problems in the controlling of their temper (Impulse Control Disorder).

Any training in threat assessment should always take heed of this crucial nonverbal warning signal.

Tashfeen Malik

Disgust expression
(~3 out of 10)
together with
a trace to mild level of Contempt
(~1 out of 10)




















See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3392: Donald Trump to Republican Jewish Coalition - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2231: A Common Facial Expression of Mass Killers - Using Body Language as a Threat Assessment Tool

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3354: Rape Victim (13 year old girl) Demands to Make a Statement at the Sentencing of Perpetrator 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2954: Attempted robbery at gunpoint caught on GoPro 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2656: Threat Assessment during Robbery - Body Language of Perpetrator 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2312: Bruce Willis' Body Language - Contempt vs. Suppressed Smile vs. Pseudo Smile vs. Sincere Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2976: Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's Propaganda Minister Showed this Chronic Display

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3369: University of Missouri Protesters Obstructing the Press (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Monday's events at the University of Missouri were in the national spotlight for several reasons. Tim Wolfe, the University President had resigned in the morning secondary to mounting pressure he had received for his alleged poor handling of multiple racist incidents on the campus in this autumn.  Students, including the football team - who with the support of their coach had refused to play, were the primary activists which brought this change. When members of the press attempted to photograph, video, interview and document the events (including the celebration of Wolfe's resignation) - they were met with intimidation and force.

The intent of this post is not to comment on the original inciting racist events, Wolfe's apparent mishandling of them - or the call for his resignation. Rather it is to showcase the nonverbal behavior exemplified here - specifically with respect to violation of personal and intimate space. 

At 2:17, Janna Basler,  assistant director of Greek Life & Leadership at the University of Missouri, appears to be  pushing Tim Tai. Immediately after this image was captured, Mr. Tai says, "Don't push me."

Here (5:52) and unidentified student appears to be pushing against Tim Tai as he is also seems to be grabbing for Tai's camera with Janna Basler in facing Mr. Tai. Just after this Tai again says, "Don't push me."




 

At this moment (6:08) the crowd is deliberately moving forward with their collective focus pushing on Mr. Tai as he says, "You're pushing me."

6:28

Melissa Click, who at the time was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at University of Missouri, and has now resigned - is shown here grabbing the camera of Mark Schierbecker.




This is of course a small subset of all the events at the University of Missouri on Monday, and as Mr. Tai has said, "A lot of hardworking journalists were physically blocked from doing their jobs – I just happened to be on video. I didn't ask for notoriety." It should also be noted that photo and video credit for all those included here goes to Mark Schierbecker.

Many attorneys would conclude that the physicality shown involved in the direct touching, pushing, poking, etc. of Schierbecker and Tai constitutes assault. They both exhibit much greater than average emotional control by not, in some capacity, physically retaliating.

When personal space is encroached (at approximately 18 - 48 inches) and even further into our intimate space (from touching out to 18 inches) in the context of a typical subway ride, we tend to subdue our emotions, facial expressions and our other body language. Our arms and legs tend to be held significantly closer. We put on what is essentially physiologic crowd mask as our proxemic tolerance increases.

Yet in many other scenarios - and whenever emotions are even slightly elevated, our tolerance for such physical closeness with others diminishes significantly. We grow uneasy. Our adrenaline escalates along with our tempers. The probability of physical altercation becomes logarithmically more likely. That is what very clearly occurred here. These multiple and deliberate acts of encroachment coupled with the phenomenon of herd mentality (even if direct touching and pushing had not occurred) would have in most circumstances led to physical altercation. Deliberately entering into others' personal or intimate space (even once, let alone multiple times) is interpreted as a threat. This is not hyperbole, but normal physiology. To ignore or trivialize this behavior is naive at best - and more typically violence-provoking.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3368: Donald Trump, Insincerity and Starbucks

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3303: Gorilla watching pics of other gorillas on Man's Phone at Zoo - Body Orientation, Personal Space and Emotional Comfort

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3209: G7 Summit - Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and Matteo Renzi - and a Major Body Language Faux Pas

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3244: Serena Williams' on-court interview at Wimbledon

Body Language, Flirting and Romance Secret No. 39:  Affectionate vs. Non-Affectionate Hug 


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3357: Justin Bieber leaves/walks off the stage in Oslo - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

During a concert on Thursday in Oslo, Norway, Justin Bieber became angry when his audience prevented him from fully wiping the stage floor. After a moment, he said, "Guys, never mind (turned and walked off the stage), I'm done, I'm not doing the show ..... I'm not doing the show."

While not from an optimal angle or resolution, the above video captures the event. We certainly see very little of Bieber's face with any clarity - however there were several significant nonverbal tells.

Note how Mr. Bieber removes his jacket and throws it on the stage floor and then proceeds to remove his hat and microphone.

When a person removes - and then throws - articles of clothing (or items which they may be carrying, etc.) in a sudden manner after a declarative and angry statement (as did Bieber) - this action can be accurately thought of as a surrogate act of violence (In less dramatic examples of this same behavior, the article  is not thrown - despite its quick removal). This display is of course, a manifestation of a loss of impulse control.

In a business or personal scenario, a person may not show very much facial expression or body language signs of anger (which we would see here if we were standing close to Bieber) - yet they may quickly remove their jacket, hat, earpiece, etc. - as if they became suddenly hot (and indeed sometimes their body temperature does rise). Often this may look out-of-context. Yet this venting/anger substitution display helps to diffuse negative emotional energy - thus allowing them to better control and camouflage their negative emotions. In some circumstances, people may even maintain a social smile on their face during negative surrogate activity. So if you see such behavior, (even though they may very well not walk out of the room in melodrama) - a red flag should go up.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3356: Anna Faris and Chris Pratt are Dressing their Son Up as a Dinosaur for Halloween

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2697: Justin Bieber Arrested, in Court - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3327: Chris Harper Mercer - School Shooter - Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Oregon - Body Language Red Flags

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2039:  Fight Outside Florida Courtroom -  Jaw Jut Prior to Violence 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3131: Kim Jong-un, his Uncle Jang Song-thaek and a Warning sign of Potential Violence


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