Body Language Analysis No. 4057: Steve Bannon's "60 Minutes" Interview - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

In the 60 Minutes preview video above, Charlie Rose interviews Steve Bannon - President Trump's former Chief White House Strategist (a newly created position) and CEO of candidate Trump's campaign.

From a body language perspective, there multiple valuable tells in this interview - one of which is discussed here.

During 1:37 - 1:38, as Charlie Rose says, "You seem to have done that at every point in the campaign - when he was in trouble, asking him to double-down on his rhetoric, double-down in terms of appealing to his base .... ", when the camera switches to Bannon's face, at the very end of Mr. Rose's sentence and for about a second afterward, Mr. Bannon Clenches his jaw muscles (Masseter muscles). Look carefully at the back of his jaw - in front of and slightly below his ears for a bulging muscle. His upper lip, which although is not very thick on Bannon's resting face - thins out so dramatically, it disappears. The area above his upper lip and below his nose (the "mustache area") also is significantly tightened.

We see this same pattern at 2:08 - 2:09 on Mr. Bannon's face as Mr. Rose says, "Did you lose confidence of anybody because they came at you at that point and said, 'Look, w, w, he ought to get out of this race - other than - Reince Priebus'?..."

If you look carefully, you can even see Bannon doing this when he is back-lit during 2:05 - 2:08.

Also, during 3:18, 3:27 - 3:28, and 3:29 - 3:30 - as Steve Bannon and Charlie Rose were discussing
Governor Chris Christie, Mr. Bannon again displays these same nonverbal signals multiple times. Intriguingly, there was also an additional component of nostril flaring and forward jutting of the jaw present in this segment.


 


In this second video of the same interview, at 1:10 Charlie Rose says, "I tell ya where many people suggest it should have gone. It should have gone in terms of denouncing - specifically from the very beginning - neo-Nazis and white supremacists and people of that political view - and they should have gone there because - ahhh, those were people that Americans in World War II went to fight against and you should have instantly have denounced them - and you didn't at first instinct. In fact, you seemed to be doubling-down in terms of a moral equivalency."

During most of Mr. Rose's statement, Mr. Bannon is clenching his jaw repeatedly. This is best seen on Bannon's face during 1:22 - 1:32. Yet as with the examples already discussed - if you look carefully, some of this jaw-clenching display can even be seen from behind when Mr. Bannon is back-lit.

All of these examples show Mr. Bannon, to varying degrees, in moments of adrenaline surges specific to anger. Please watch the videos carefully, as the still images do not capture the dynamic nature of these nonverbal signs.

Of course, we're all allowed to feel anger.  We're human beings. Yet - in a healthy individual, as with all emotions, anger should be:

• Contextual
• Proportional
• Not too frequent

Summary: This is but one conversation/interview. However, it's profoundly important to note that when jaw clenching, forward jutting of the jaw, thinning of the upper lip, nostril flaring, tightening of the mustache region (or other anger signals) are frequently displayed - take heed, for the person is far from emotional baseline - and Impulse Control Disorder may very well be lurking.


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4056: Ed Sheeran and a Hesitancy to Disclose

Body Language Analysis No. 4054: Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer in the Oval Office

Body Language Analysis No. 4052: Hitler's Cryptorchidism and Emotional Dissonance

Body Language Analysis No. 4050: Lady Di - Alpha vs Alpha-Beta Hybrids

Body Language Analysis No. 4039: Blue Angels, Surprise, Emotional Processing, and Empathy

Body Language Analysis No. 4002: Justin Trudeau Meets His Namesake

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3927: Jimmy Kimmel's Emotional Monologue regarding His Son’s Birth & Heart Disease

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3885: Vogue's 73 Questions with Selena Gomez


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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 371: Looking Down Your Nose

The old saying, "Don't look down your nose....", like many Body Language related sounding phrases, has very accurate roots in the real world of human behavior and psychology. This is Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. At the moment of this image, she's exemplifying this pose beautifully. If she were sitting next to me as I write this, I have absolutely no doubt that it was not her intention to appear arrogant or condescending - but these are the messages she is sending. It is another signal for contempt - which very often is overlooked. It is often quite evanescent.

The head is characteristically tilted backwards with simultaneous jutting of the jaw. Although it's not present here, this head tilt, nose up, chin out pose is often accompanied by nostril flaring. Ms. Gillard also shows us the often coexisting lower lip extended in a pseudo-pout pose. 

We all occasionally adopt this body language facial expression, because at some moments we truly feel superior. And while the majority of the time, arrogance may not be indicative of someone's over-all personality, for an instant or two these signals will betray their emotional tone. Very often their words will not match this tell. So be wary when you see it, because the nonverbal signals are always correct.

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