Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3825: President Trump's first Expression after Being Introduced - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

What were the first emotions expressed by President Trump after he was introduced yesterday?

Many people in his shoes would exhibit a sincere smile, a social smile or a perhaps a nervous smile. But joy and happiness (or even an attempt at these) were not the expressions (nor the emotions) which Donald Trump displayed (nor felt) when he was introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) - just after he was sworn-in and immediately prior to his inaugural address. The first emotions President Trump felt and displayed upon being introduced were that of regret and anger (captured below from 0:24).

In the real world, emotions do not always appear in their textbook, pure and isolated forms. Often two or more emotions are experienced simultaneously. Although, because the motion-capture nature of this telephoto video image (immediately above) is of a bit lower resolution, several key features on Mr. Trump's face in this moment delineate the emotions of both regret and anger. This combination can be also thought of as "bitter-anger" or "bitterness".

Note the lateral, backward and down retraction of the corners of Trump's mouth - this cluster is highly characteristic of regret. The thinning of his upper lip along with the jutting forward of his jaw are highly indicative of anger. Moreover, the muscular tension/contraction of the area above his upper lip and below his nose (termed the "mustache area" regardless of the level of facial hair) - along with the flaring of his nostrils - also projects anger. A third anger indicator is the particular type of tension of his lower eyelids and the partial closure of his upper and lower eyelids. Remove for a moment any political bias you may have - if you have no formal nonverbal training at all, but otherwise have good interpersonal and social skills - these emotions should jump out at you.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3824: Donald Trump's Inaugural Speech - Three Ways of Pointing

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3822: Betsy DeVos Confirmation Hearing

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3820: Mr. Trump: "Who would you trust more, Angela Merkel or Vladimir Putin?"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3807: Sarah Paulson's Fear of Flying

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3790: Senator John McCain Believes Russian Election Interference Could 'Destroy Democracy'

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3728: Barack Obama Tells Donald Trump to Stop Whining

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3664: Benjamin Netanyahu, Viktor Yanukovych and Vladimir Putin

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3601: Casey Neistat & Candice Pool - Water Spit Challenge

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2320: Estonian Skier Andrus Veerpalu - Denies Performance Enhancing Drugs - What his Body Language Tells Us

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2586: Harrison Ford in "Ender's Game" - Microexpression and Macroexpression of Regret - Harrison's Brand and the Stanislavski Method 


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3824: Donald Trump's Inaugural Speech - Three Ways of Pointing - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States today. During his approximately sixteen minute inaugural address, he used a very low variety of hand gestures. And while this low nonverbal vocabulary is typical for Trump - it was particularly so today.

There were two hand-arm gestures which President Trump over-used - and indeed one which he should absolutely NOT have used.

Above we see what has become known in some countries as "The Political Point". In other countries (e.g., Greece, Turkey, Russia, Brazil and others) this gesture is an obscenity - while in others (France, Belgium, Tunisia) it indicates "worthless".

In many countries (including the US) where the tip of the forefinger (index finger) is touching the tip of the thumb with the other digits extended, it indicates "okay", "everything is all right" or "I agree with you". Yet these are recognizably different scenarios from most political speeches.

In the past 25-30 years, many politicians have come to use the political point nonverbal signal instead of index finger pointing while speaking. In general this is a very good idea - for it's one of many types of what are known as "alpha-beta hybrids". It fits in this category because it's not as aggressive and not as hyper-alpha (and offensive) as is pointing at someone (or group) with one's forefinger - yet it still projects a good level of authority, strength and determination.

The trouble with the political point is that most politicians who use it, tend to over-use it - and that is what President Trump did today. Any time someone uses any nonverbal signal too frequently, it's a bad idea. It's very much as if someone spoke a certain word too often. It backfires. It looks unpolished. It makes people emotionally uncomfortable. It sends the wrong message. Of course, this same principle applies to almost everything in human behavior.

Another intriguing factor about the political point - is that outside the realm of politics, the political point is almost never used - and that makes people suspicious. And in this light, it also sends signals of insincerity.

Pointing upwards is another body language gesture which Donald Trump used too often today. It's another nonverbal symbol used in lieu of pointing directly at someone. Moreover, this illustrator is significantly more alpha when compared with the political point and therefore it should be used with less frequency and more discreetly. This "Pointing Up" should essentially be choreographed into one's speech and used for short durations during very specific and important words.

The third variation on pointing which Donald Trump used today, should NOT have been used at all. Index finger (forefinger) pointing is UNIVERSALLY offensive (across all cultures). Even those people who agree with your point of view and who like you, will become ill-at-ease when you point at them. Rather than using the index finger point, the new president should have pointed with a relaxed-palm up gesture, held at the lower chest level (with his elbow and shoulder extended, but not fully).


See also:

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3821: Alicia Keys Sings for Charlie Rose - Sincerity Amplifiers

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3819: Turkey's Parliament, Presidential Powers and Constitutional Amendments

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3811: Hayden Panettiere, Stephen Colbert and Personal Space

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3770: Fidel Castro, Ed Sullivan and Mirroring

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3697: NYC Bombing Suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami in Custody - Body Language, Threat Assessment and Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3634: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Democratic National Convention, Emails and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3568: Hillary Clinton, (Low) Likability, Rapport (Destroying) and Body Language


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