During deep, sincere laughter or in moments of a true smile associated with particularly pronounced levels of joy (not a slight smile), there is one nonverbal component which is rarely appreciated and almost never discussed - Jaw Retraction.
In the above Jimmy Kimmel Live video, Elizabeth Moss, the star of "The Handmaid's Tale", laughs deeply at multiple times. During 4:04 (image below), the actor can be seen laughing while she turns her head to her right - allowing us to see her head in profile. Note the degree to which her mandible (Jaw) pulls backward.
When you want to smile sincerely (or laugh deeply) - the best way to do so (even if you don't feel particularly happy) is to initially "smile with your eyes". This must include closing your eyelids partially - or almost fully. Next, without letting your "smiling eyes" relax, begin retracting your jaw. When these two crucial nonverbal components are performed in this specific order, you'll be very pleasantly
surprised as to just how readily this will precipitate joy.
Megyn Kelly recently interviewed Russian President, Vladimir Putin. The video above is but a portion - and it's crammed full of nonverbal tells. Some particularly interesting ones are discussed below.
Beginning at 2:51, Megyn Kelly asks, "President Putin, there, there are reports today, in the American press that, that the Trump Administration took active steps to ease sanctions on, on Russia, almost immediately after Trump took office. Ah, was this possibility ever discussed between the Trump team and your representatives prior to President Trump being inaugurated?"
President Putin displayed multiple hard swallows and other similar signals of a dry mouth/dry throat during this interview. A particularly notable hard swallow occurred during 3:11 - 3:13, as Megyn Kelly finishes her question.
It's extremely common for the throat to become suddenly dry during high anxiety. We subconsciously swallow to stimulate the production and distribution of needed saliva.
During 3:16, just as he speaks the first words of his answer, Vladimir Putin performs a "Butt Adjustment" - wherein he lifts his posterior off of his chair 4-5 centimeters. This dynamic is very strongly indicative of high anxiety.
The Russian President also momentarily closes his eyes and displays an elevated central forehead contraction (CFC). Given the context of his simultaneous neutral mouth display, this cluster is highly correlative with insincerity.
Then Putin displays what is known as an "Ear Screw" (3:17 - 3:18) as he inserts his index finger into his ear canal (external auditory meatus). This nonverbal signal, in the context of his declarative "No" answer, has a very high correlation with deception.
Note, again, another eyelid closure at the same time as an elevated central forehead contraction (insincerity).
A few moments later the camera pans out into the audience. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, can be seen sitting in the distance in the front row. The above image is included as a reference photo - it was taken at a different time in the interview. Minister Lavrov is third from the left (with glasses).
Beginning at 3:38 Putin is continuing his answer, "... Our ambassador has met someone, and what is an ambassador supposed to do?That'swhat he gets money for ...".
At 3:45, just as the Putin's interpreter says, "... That'swhat ...", you will see Sergey Lavrov, also sit up and forward in a Butt Adjustment (High Anxiety Tell) - as well as display a Forward Lip Purse. A forward Lip Purse is a signal of clandestine disagreement and/or a clandestine plan. Minister Lavrov's body language is very bluntly calling out own his leader - Vladimir Putin - in a deception.
What significant paralanguage red flags did President Putin also use?
Summary: Based on the nonverbal and paralanguage tells displayed during this interview, there is a high probability President Putin is being deceptive and that the easing of US Sanctions on Russia were indeed discussed between Donald Trump and/or his surrogates and Vladimir Putin and/or other Russian government officials prior to President Trump's inauguration.
As is typical, there's a lot of nonverbal behavior being exhibited in a short amount of time. In this post, however, only the first 1:03 is being evaluated. Please watch just this portion first - and then return. Here is the corresponding dialog:
DANA BASH: "Mr. Vice President, a lot of voters supported the President, a, a, and you, a, because they liked the fact that he was explicit, that 'The US is going to stop being the World's policeman'. Ah, but now, it hasn't even been a hundred days and we've seen military strikes in Syria and Afghanistan - y, y, you talking pretty tough, ah, vis-à-vis, ah, North Korea. Maybe holding out the possibility of military strikes with or without China's help - what do you say to voters, back home, who say, 'Wait a minute, this is not what I signed up for?' "
MIKE PENCE: "I say to voters that President Trump, is a man of his word, and he is the kind of strong leader that is going to pursue vital national interests of the United States of America, ah, and has demonstrated an ability and willingness to use force where necessary. Ah, the President's decision, ah, to launch, ahmm, Cruise Missiles into Syria - to the very airbase that launched that horrific chemical attack against men, women, and little children was the right decision...."
Now watch it once more, this time paying close attention to the frequency of Mike Pence's blinking.
The same dialog will be repeated here, only with VP Pence's blinking notated with red asterisks, *. These are placed in between or in midst of words - regardless of whether Ms. Bash or the Vice President is speaking - but only Pence's blinks are notated.
The camera did not show the Vice President's face the entire time, however, when Pence was on camera, it will be notated by an underline in the following dialog:
DANA BASH: "Mr. Vice President, a lot of voters supported
the President, a, a*, and you*, a, because they liked the fact that he* was
explicit, that* 'The US is going to stop being the World'spoliceman'.
Ah, but now, it hasn't even been a hundred days and we've seen military
strikes in Syria and Afghanistan - y, y, you talking pretty tough, ah,
vis-à-vis*, ah, North Korea*. Maybe holding out the poss*ibility of
military strikes with or without China's help - what do you say to
voters, back home, who say, 'Wait a minute, this is not what I signed up
for?' "
MIKE PENCE: "I [begins to shake his head-neck from side-to-side] say to voters that President
Trump [pause, deep inhalation, shoulders raise], **is a *man *of his w*ord,
a*nd he is the k*ind of strong leader *that is g*oing to pursue* v*ital
national interests of the U*nited States of America, ah*, and has
demonstrated an ability and willingness to u*se force where necessary.
Ah, the President's d*ecision, ah, t*o launch, ahmm, C*ruise M*issiles into
Syria - to the v*ery airb*ase that launch*ed that horrific ch*emical attack
a*gainst men, w*omen, and* l*ittle ch*ildren was the r*ight decision...."
The highest frequency, by far, of Pence's blinking is 11 blinks in 5 seconds (during 0:36 - 0:41) when he is saying (regarding President Trump), "**is a *man *of his w*ord,
a*nd he is the k*ind of strong leader *that is g*oing to pursue* v*ital...". The subject associated with the next most frequent blinking is that of the chemical attack on the men, women, and children of Syria.
The rate of blinking in humans varies. However, for a healthy adult male, it's once every 7 - 9 seconds which is 7.5 blinks per minute. Yet, the Vice President's blinking rate during this statement regarding President Trump was about 27.3 blinks per minute. This increase is not a coincidence.
Summary: Assuming no medical condition is present, blinking frequency is a function of anxiety. More anxiety leads to increased blinking, more relaxation leads to less frequent blinking. If one is speaking (and/or thinking) of innocent people dying of a chemical gas attack - it's natural, and very expected, to exhibit increased anxiety (and thus also, increased blinking). However, one must ask, Why was the Vice President experiencing increased anxiety when making a positive verbal declaration regarding Donald Trump's character? The conclusion: Mike Pence's nonverbal behavior strongly suggests that, during this portion of the interview, he was being deceptive.
What other nonverbal displays did you see which are congruent with the VP's increased blinking?
It is of course now common knowledge that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand during the National Anthem before opening ceremonies of NFL football games. Although Kaepernick has exercised this civil disobedience for entire 2016 preseason - his action was not first publicly noted until he did so while in uniform before a game versus the Green Bay Packers on 26 August 2016.
In the video above, beginning at 1:01 Colin Kaepernick continues, "You can become a cop in six months and don't have to have - the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That's, that's insane. I mean - someone that's holding a curling iron has more education and more training - than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us."
Throughout much of this statement, Kaepernick is projecting two strong emotions. The image below was capture during 1:09 as he says, "... insane ...".
Note Kaepernick's right mustache area is contracted (tightened) and elevated along with the right corner of his mouth. His right nostril is also flared. Simultaneously - we also can see the incredulous elevation of the QB's left eyebrow.
Summary: Colin Kaepernick is expressing both a contempt and disbelief toward the governing institutions in what he feels is a significant lack of training of police officers.
In recent days Melania Trump's immigration to the US has been called into question after the New York Post publish nude photos of the possible future first lady. The date of the photos are in dispute as to whether they were taken in 1995 or 1996 - but the location of the photo shoot is not - the United States. Statements made by Melania Trump (e.g., "I travel every few months back to the country, to Slovenia, to stamp the visa.") are consistent with short term visas (i.e., B-1 Temporary Business Visitor or B-2 Tourist Visa). Yet these types of visas do not permit employment in the US. The H-1B visa does allow a foreign citizen to be employed in the US, however an H-1B does not require travel back to another country to get it stamped (and lasts for 3 to 6 years, sometimes longer). If Mrs. Trump (or anyone) entered the US with a short term visa (which doesn't allow employment) with the intention of working, it could constitute "visa fraud". An exception for this would be if she worked for free and did not receive income.
Melania Trump has been questioned in the past about her immigration to the United State on many occasions before this recent controversy. The MSNBC interview by Mika Brzezinski included above was one of these - and was conducted in February 2016.
Mika Brzezinski (beginning at 3:36): "But y, y, you're an immigrant."
Melania Trump: "Yes."
Mika Brzezinski: "Do you ever think he's gone too far?"
Melania Trump: "I follow the law. I follow - a law the way supposed to be. I never thought to stay here without papers. I had visa. I travel every few months back to the country, to Slovenia, to stamp the visa. I came back. I applied for the green card. I applied for the citizenship later on - after many years of green card. So I went by system. I went the law. And you should do that. You should not just say, 'Okay, let me just stay here and - want ever happens, happens.' "
In the segment of this video where Melania Trump speaks regarding her immigration to the United States, her sincerity quotient is very high. Specifically, in the personal immigration portion of the interview, she exhibits no nonverbal indicators of deception. Of course, it is possible that Melania unknowingly broke the law - or that she was counseled to act in a manner which was illegal (and she was unaware of it). But at the time of the above interview, Melania Trump did indeed believe she had followed the letter of that law with respect to her immigration to the United States.
Intriguingly, later in the video (5:48), Mika asks Melania, "Let me ask you about women. He's (Donald Trump) taken a lot of criticism ... "
Then at 5:50, look carefully at Melania's cheeks. She displays a subtle, yet very significant nonverbal tell when she pulls in (sucks in) her cheeks and simultaneously displays a prolonged blink. This cluster is a reliable indicator of Melania's anxiety regarding Donald Trump and how he interacts with women.
Summary: IF indeed Melania Trump violated the law with respect to her visa and her immigration to the United States, she did NOT knowing do so. Mrs. Trump does however have significant anxiety regarding the subject of how Donald Trump treats women.
We always love embarrassing moments when it comes to celebrities. These occasions serve to make them more human. Showing their flaws endears them to us - and thus they build rapport with their fan base (although of course, they don't necessarily feel this way in the moment).
During 0:58 - 0:59, Emma's surprise is revealed by her vertically opened, oval mouth configuration. Her simultaneous closed eyes/extended blink is an emotional blocking behavior - similar to her arm crossing (below).
During 1:10 - 1:12, Emma Crosses her arms in a moment of emotional discomfort and low confidence. Although she's a very skilled and accomplished actor, she is of course, only human. During moments of embarrassment (additionally revealed here by Ms. Watson's blushing plus her suppressed yet sincere smile), it's natural we will very often see a "drawing in" of the limbs for "protection". Of course it's not a physical protection here - but an emotional one.
People often will say, "I'm crossing my arms because I'm more comfortable this way". And while there certainly are such moments dictated by physical comfort, but always remember - our PHYSICAL comfort is dictated by what first makes us EMOTIONALLY comfortable - not the other way around.
Another nuance here is Emma's right hand (she's right hand dominant) is positioned beneath her left arm - which further underlines her temporary low confidence. It's also noteworthy that just after this moment (1:13) there is an skip/discontinuity in the video - which most likely indicates there were other nonverbal anxiety tells (along with verbal and paralanguage signals) which where edited-out.
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3609: Emma Watson, Tina Turner and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTO)
Although it is brief, this video segment of Vladimir Putin and Fareed Zakaria is packed with some very classic and particularly telling nonverbal signals. Several of these are highlighted below.
During the early portions of the above video segment (0:17 - 0:18, 0:20) - and once again at towards the end (1:55 - 1:58), Mr. Putin's left middle finger is covering his lips in a horizontal orientation.
This is an example of a very specific body language display known as a "Partial Emblematic Slip".
The display of a middle finger (giving "The Finger") extended while the other digits are flexed (contracted) is one type of an "Emblem" - the meaning of which is well acknowledged and known World-wide. Of course this gesture, when fully expressed, is held high and blatantly displayed. Yet here it is horizontal and touching his lips. Moreover the other fingers and the thumb are only slightly flexed. Thus this "bird" is not classically displayed - but camouflaged and partial. The great majority of the time this variety of derogatory nonverbal emblem is performed subconsciously - and this is why it is referred to as a "Slip".
An additional aspect of this display is that it's occurring over his mouth - thus the Russian President is not only flipping the bird, but he is also telling Fareed Zakaria to hush - or to be quiet. Mr. Putin does not want this question to be asked. Mr. Putin then corrected Mr. Zakaria - calling Donald Trump "a bright person" rather than "brilliant", "outstanding" or "talented".
0:20
Notice the sudden lateral displacement of Putin's lips to his right captured here (Please view the video to more fully appreciate the dynamics of this subset behavior).
Beneath the obscenity, this "Lateral Lip Purse" is momentarily letting us inside of Putin's Mind. Although Vladimir has anticipated this question regarding Trump - this signal is telling us he's in the process of deciding exactly how to answer. Typically the lateral lip purse shows us the decision is between two or sometimes three choices - rather than a multitude.
1:56
Here we see another tell - a "Loose Forward Lip Purse" mostly covered by Vladimir's finger.
A loose forward lip purse signals a covert plan and/or a clandestine disagreement. These are displayed by a person who perceives himself to be a relative alpha with respect to whomever they're interacting. They also believe they have a good chance of successfully executing their plan.
What body language display(s) tell us whether Putin's obscenity was directed at the person asking the question (Fareed Zakaria) or the subject of the question (Donald Trump) - or both?
In response to a question yesterday, Representative Tulsi Gabbard displayed an excellent example of a subtle microexpression of disgust.
Beginning at 0:16 in the above video segment, Wolf Blitzer asks, "So you - endorsing Hillary Clinton for the nomination? Are you - "
Tulsi Gabbard [over-talking]: "I'm not, I'm not prepared ..." [microexpression of disgust]
Blitzer: [over-talking] "Are you in her camp yet?"
Gabbard: "I'm not prepared to do that ..."
Just after the first occasion she says the word "prepared" (during 0:20), Rep. Gabbard displays a microexpression of disgust. The former vice-chair of the DNC, who resigned this post earlier this year in order to endorse Bernie Sanders is exhibiting the emotion of disgust at prospect of endorsing Secretary Clinton for President.
In addition to her disgust displayed via the microexpression, Tulsi's coexisting increased frequency and prolonged duration of her blinking - along with her head-neck-torso retraction are disgust amplifiers.
Of course this is but one of the many nonverbal displays seen in this short video. What other significant body language signals did you see?
This website serves as an objective reference source for the science and art of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. In an effort to be both practical and academic, many examples from/of varied cultures, politicians, professional athletes, legal cases, public figures, etc., are cited in order to teach and illustrate both the interpretation of others’ body language as well as the projection of one’s own nonverbal skills in many different contexts – not to advance any political, religious or other agenda.
Gary Johnson, the 2016 Libertarian Candidate for President is featured in the above video with Erin Burnett. During the interview, whenever the camera pans out to a wider angle, we can see that the former Governor of New Mexico is wearing his Nike's.
Now if he were campaigning at a state fair or baseball game, it would be very contextual for Governor Johnson to wear athletic shoes - if he also had on jeans and a casual shirt. But in the CNN studio while wearing a suit and tie, he never should have on these shoes. We all like comfort, but appearing in such footwear with a suit during an interview in NO WAY projects presidential power. It is possible that Gov. Johnson was told or believed that the camera would only include his head and torso - yet this two term governor is not a political rookie and should never had made such a mistake. In addition, he should also know that such a casual off-camera persona directly affects the manner in which anyone - including how news professionals will treat him.
Notice also that Gov. Johnson's ankles are crossed. If we were to ask
him about this he'd probably say, "Well this was comfortable" - or something similar. Yet
with respect to nonverbal communication, in order for one to be
physically comfortable, they must first be emotionally comfortable. This
is a significantly Beta Body Language configuration. It projects a lower confidence level and tentativeness. Moreover, if
alternatively he would have had one foot resting on each of two adjacent
legs - along with leaning and sitting slightly forward in his chair - it
would have not only looked more action-oriented, confident, strong and assertive,
but such body language would have also increased his confidence level along with
engendering both the fluidity of the candidate's thinking as well as his speaking (which
certainly helps when you're being interviewed on national TV).
Beginning at 4:33, Johnson says, "Well one of my sssstrengths isss that I, I tell the truth ..."
Note the candidate's excessive stuttering during his declaration of honesty. This is a red flag of low confidence, anxiety - and in this context it's highly consistent with deception.
This image was captured during the last moment of him uttering, "truth" - yet Governor Johnson's eyes open very widely along with him elevating the entire width of his forehead. This is the nonverbal equivalent of a person using five exclamation marks when, in moments of sincerity, only one is needed. It's a very common body language example of over-compensatory behavior. Unbeknownst to most politicians and high-level sales professionals this sends signals of INsincerity. It destroys rapport rather than building it.
During a significant fraction of this interview, Gary Johnson has his hands positioned on his lap with the majority of them below the level of the desk. This is a major nonverbal faux pas. At the very least it transmits lower confidence levels and relative timidity. Depending on the other nonverbals with which it is clustered, this can also be indicative of deception. Never commit this error during a job interview - or when you're running for president.
These are just a few of the body language fumbles Gary Johnson made during this television appearance. If the Governor wants to poll above 15 percent - thus allowing him to participate in the debates with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - he simply can't afford to make these rookie mistakes.
This website serves as an objective reference source for the science and art of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. In an effort to be both practical and academic, many examples from/of varied cultures, politicians, professional athletes, legal cases, public figures, etc., are cited in order to teach and illustrate both the interpretation of others’ body language as well as the projection of one’s own nonverbal skills in many different contexts – not to advance any political, religious or other agenda.
During her speech yesterday, Hillary Clinton said that Donald Trump's attack on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, was racist in nature. Today Mr. Trump defended himself against her accusation. The above video is an excerpt from an interview Mr. Trump gave today with CNN's Jake Tapper. What follows is partial nonverbal analysis of this video.
At multiple times during the interview, Donald Trump displayed a Jaw Jut. To many body language novices - a jaw jut automatically indicates anger - but this is not always true. Here we see an exception. The Republican candidate shows a jaw jut - yet there is no anger (How can we exclude anger in this moment?).
To nuance this body language expression a bit further - when a jaw jut is made in the absence of anger with the lips are pulled back to significantly expose the lower teeth - it's a strong nonverbal signal of bothHubris and Insincerity.
Another particularly telling nonverbal moment occurs during 0:32.3 - as Mr. Trump said, "... He's a Mexican ..."
And about tenth of a second later, during 0:32.4 - as Mr. Trump finishes the word, "... He's aMexican ..." we see the remainder of this expression.
These last two image capture two slit seconds of what is known as a microexpression - and this one, sliced more specifically, illustrates a microexpression of contempt.
Contempt is a very specific emotion wherein the person feeling it places another person (or group of people) at an unworthy place, beneath them. It overlaps significantly with anger - and indeed some define contempt as anger directed at someone (or group) of lower status. Moreover, contempt is a very damaging emotion - so much so that within the context of marriage, contempt is the number one predictor of divorce (The worst John Gottman's Four Horsemen of Marriage Apocalypse). If seen in the workplace displayed by one's supervisor - it is portends a very high likelihood of being fired. The recipient of chronic contempt will even experience a down-regulation in their immune system, significantly increasing the chance of infection and even malignancy.
This website serves as an objective reference source for the science and art of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. In an effort to be both practical and academic, many examples from/of varied cultures, politicians, professional athletes, legal cases, public figures, etc., are cited in order to teach and illustrate both the interpretation of others’ body language as well as the projection of one’s own nonverbal skills in many different contexts – not to advance any political, religious or other agenda.
The video above is an excerpt from a 1999 interview of Prince by Larry King. Prince (whose birth name was Prince Rogers Nelson) changed his name legal name in 1992 to a that of a symbol:
Beginning at 0:27, their dialog continues ...
Larry King: "Why then did you choose, 'The Artist Formerly Known As'?"
Prince: "Well, I didn't choose that, that was chosen."
King: "They chose it for you?"
Prince: "Yeah, pretty much."
What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis.
From 0:31.8 to 0:35, Prince partially covers his mouth with a (mostly) closed fist. Initially he also displays a partially suppressed mouth smile.
At first he also looks briefly up and to his left (very common but not universal when right hand dominant people are recalling something that is primarily visual).
We then see a full sincere smile (Duchenne Smile) with the additional component of blushing.
Taken in toto, this nonverbal cluster is highly consistent with embarrassment and a hesitancy for Prince to fully disclose all he is thinking-feeling.
