Body Language Analysis №4708: The most common Body Language Signal of Chronic Lying as well as a Manipulative Person — Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

There are many signals of deception and manipulation — and in the vast majority of scenarios, these should not be interpreted in isolation.

It’s profoundly important to differentiate a person who is lying or manipulative *in this moment* vs. a person who *chronically* lies or manipulates (that is, it’s one of their fundamental underlying personality characteristics).

The most common signal of a person who is a chronic liar (aka a person who is chronically insincere), is an overuse of their forehead muscles, specifically an upward (not downward) contraction of their forehead.

Moreover, either the entire width of the forehead (with both entire eyebrows) — or the central forehead (with the central portion of each eyebrow) elevating is the specific pattern to look for when sussing out chronic dishonesty and manipulative personalities.

Of course, there are many honest reasons for a person to elevate their forehead such as honest surprise, deep emotional processing, fear, bewilderment, honest emphasis, self-deprecating emotions, playfulness, etc.

These honest reasons are in profound distinction, however, to a person who elevates their forehead out-of-context or too frequently.

Another important distinction is when the forehead is contracted only on one side — which also does not apply in this specific chronic dishonest and manipulative nonverbal behavior/tell.

SUMMARY: The most common signal of a Manipulative personality as well as a Chronic Liar is the overuse of an upward-contracted forehead. Take care to avoid these individuals — they will make your life miserable (or worse).

All individuals, businesses, or organizations who want to (need to) dramatically improve their #BodyLanguage skills (via group or individual instruction) — and all professionals who want to nuance their understanding of #EmotionalIntelligence, please DM or email me at Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

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This post and others accompanying it, serve as a reference source for the art and science of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the author. 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.

Body Language Analysis No. 4102: Senator Bob Corker - Donald Trump is an Untruthful President - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

On Tuesday, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) gave a speech in which he sharply criticized President Trump as well as announcing that he would not be seeking re-election in 2018.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, another Republican Senator - Bob Corker, exchanged critical twitters with the President. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of a short interview of Senator Corker - wherein he spoke of the President's "... difficulty with the truth..."

SENATOR CORKER (beginning at 1:12): Unfortunately, I think, World leaders are very aware that, ahum, Ω , much of what he says is untrue.

During 1:17, just before he says, "... much of what he says is untrue...", Senator Corker:

• Pauses
• Takes a deep inhalation
• The corners of his mouth move laterally and slightly up
• His lips tighten
• The tissue beneath his lower lip bulges
• He looks down to his right
• Torques his head (twice)
• Smacks his tongue

This nonverbal cluster is classic for the thought-emotions of Regret, Resignation, Frustration, and some Sadness.

MANU RAJU (1:59): Is the President of the United States a liar?

SENATOR CORKER: The President, ah, has great difficulty with the truth ∑ (during 2:05) ...  

This expression is that of regret (not mixed with other emotions).

SENATOR CORKER: ... on many issues ∆ (during 2:07).

This expression is also that of isolated regret.

The expression immediately above (during 2:14) is that of Contempt mixed with Disgust as Senator Corker says he would not support President Trump in an election again ("Nah. No way. Nah. No way...").

Summary: In this interview on Tuesday 24 October, Senator Bob Corker spoke at length about President Trump's "great difficulty with the truth" during which he most prominently displayed feelings of Regret. He also expressed Resignation, Sadness, Frustration, Contempt, and Disgust.


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4101: Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson - Interview on Good Morning America

Body Language Analysis No. 4099: Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, and Jim Leavelle

Body Language Analysis No. 4097: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and a Tennis Tongue Tell

Body Language Analysis No. 4095: Celtics' Gordon Hayward Breaks His Leg in Dramatic Fashion During Game with Cavaliers

Body Language Analysis No. 4087: Harrison Ford Accidentally Punches Ryan Gosling in the Face

Body Language Analysis No. 4065: The Murder of Laci Peterson - Scott Peterson's Red Flag

Body Language Analysis No. 4022: Jessica Alba's Rules for Naming Her Baby

Body Language Analysis No. 3971: Elon Musk, Amber Heard, Affection, and Ownership

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


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3382: Donald Trump's Mask - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Why is Donald Trump (or any politician) a good liar? One (of several) nonverbal reasons for his increased ability to deceive is his "mask". The less variability a person has in their facial expressions (or other body language signals), the less likely they are to be caught in a lie. Thus they have a "go to" or default facial expression which they use a disproportionately high percentage of time. This behavior is akin to a person putting on a mask and moreover helps them to suppress facial expression "tells" and therefore lowers the chances of being caught lying.

The image below is Trump's primary default facial expression - Donald's main "mask". Those individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopaths, etc.) have a much higher frequency of facial mask behavior.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3381: Ariana Grande, Flirtatious Body Language and the American Music Awards

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3364: Jennifer Lawrence accidentally kisses Natalie Dormer on the Mouth - Body Language  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3287: Hillary Clinton, Email Servers and Crisis Management

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3258: Hillary Clinton speaks out on "inaccuracies" of private email controversy

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3279: Jeb Bush, Donald Trump and the Iowa State Fair - Body Language Tells 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3301: Sarah Palin re: Bush vs. Trump regarding speaking Spanish - "When you're here, let's Speak American!"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3336: Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Deception and Body Language 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3293: Why is Donald Trump a Better Liar than Most Politicians? - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

All politicians lie. No political affiliation is exempt. Some are fibs and some are whoppers. And Donald Trump doesn't necessarily tell lies of greater magnitude or with more frequency versus other politicians - yet he is a more skilled liar than most of them. This superior ability to deceive is one of the factors which convince some of the electorate that he is more truthful - however he's far from it.

Trump's vocabulary is equivalent to a 3rd-to-4th grader's. This is not hyperbole - for his word usage has been evaluated by linguists. He uses smaller words, shorter sentences and less total words. His pattern of speaking is equivalent to a collection of clichés (very common for most all politicians - but more frequent with Trump). And clichés - even one-word clichés require significantly less mental processing (which is also true of the use of shorter words and shorter sentences). Of profound importance here is cliché frequency - which is directly proportional to the level of INsincerity (more frequent use of clichés indicates greater INsincerity - while less cliché usage equals more sincerity).

Donald Trump's paralanguage (vocal qualities) also have significantly less variety compared to many people. His volume is high and forceful - and his tone of voice is low. The cadence, rhythm and pitch also have very little variation.

Trump also has a strong tendency to emphasize words that are not the most important word in the sentence - e.g. "The", "of", etc. This is a very strong indicator of manipulation and insincerity and is very rarely appreciated. Many politicians and other "leaders" fall into this speech pattern when deception is present.

Donald Trump's body language also fits this same pattern of low diversity. He uses many of the same arm-hand gestures and the same facial expressions - time after time. In addition, as has been discussed in earlier posts, Trump's nonverbal signals are also significantly more hyperbolic - with melodrama and are often disproportionate to his spoke words.

Whenever the communication triad of body language, spoken language and paralanguage - all take on a pattern of low variation - there is an extremely high probability deception is taking place. Moreover - when extreme words/statements are used, with higher volumes and hyper-gesticulated extreme body language - this is also highly consistent with lying. Donald Trump routinely and repetitively fits all six of these patterns (as well as the emphasis of low-importance words). By his chronic use of these displays - which are all correlated with high-adrenaline, he is essentially drowning-out the other signals associated with INsincerity. This over-kill approach is a form of a smokescreen and has both conscious and subconscious components.


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.

See also:

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3250: Donald Trump regarding John McCain: "He's no hero" - Body Language Tells us what he really thinks

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3241: Trump - a Hyper-Alpha Donald vs. a Kinder, Gentler Version - Body Language and Likability 

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

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3183: Tom Brady, Bridget Moynahan, Body Language & Classic Subtle Contempt (PHOTOS)

Before Tom Brady married supermodel Gisele Bündchen, he was dating actress Bridget Moynahan. The recently "suspended-lite" DeflateGate New England Quarterback also had a son with Moynahan. In this image, he is displaying a facial expression that many would misidentify as a small social smile - yet it's anything but a smile. Rather, this is a good example of one of the classic nonverbal displays of contempt - albeit fairly subtle (about 1-2 out of 10). Note the mild flaring of his left nostril - as well as the slight tension of his "mustache area". What other feature here is significant for contempt? What are some contempt amplifiers also captured in this photo? We cannot say for whom the contempt was directed - yet this was indeed the emotion the Patriots' QB was feeling the moment this image was captured.

Intriguingly, we tend to mislabel emotions (biased in a positive direction) to a greater degree when the person displaying it - is accomplished, powerful or considered by most to be good looking. This is one of several qualities which make attractive people better liars.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3182: DeflateGate & Tom Brady's 1st Interview after the Wells Report - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2999: Chris Christie to James Keady "Sit Down and Shut Up" - Body Language Congruent with ....

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2322:  Jeb Bush & Matt Lauer - Which one is the Narcissist?  Body Language Red Flags

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2965: A Variation of a Microexpression of Contempt Commonly Confused & Disguised

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 # 1907: Governor Rick Scott tells a Lie

In the third segment of this video montage (0:53 - 1:09), Florida Governor Rick Scott tells a lie. Note during the 1:03 - 1:04 clip, he rubs his right eye with his right hand/forefinger (aka index finger). In the context of answering a question or, as is shown here, when making a point-in-fact statement, rubbing one eye is a body language signal highly consistent with anxiety and particularly deception (a bilateral eye rub indicates something completely different). He also very noticeably stutters. Obviously, as Governor Scott was joking about comparisons between Florida and Texas, the result of such a lie are insignificant - except that they will act as "norming" signs (individual baseline behavior) for those who study your nonverbals/ do business with/married to, etc. 

The ease at which one can pull off a "relatively convincing" lie is proportional to the risks of getting caught (Ekman). If it is difficult for a person to deceive others with a falsehood of such minor ramifications, then it is also accurate to conclude he/she is a "bad liar" and lies with greater consequences would be easier to detect.

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 779: What Does Staring Indicate?

A question I often hear is: What does staring mean? The answer is not as straight forward as some would like it - for its meaning is dependent on the other body language signals with which it is coupled. When someone is staring at you (not to be confused with someone staring "through you" aka "The Thousand Yard Stare"), six common meanings should spring to mind. Not in any particular order they are: anger, intimidation display, sexual attraction, curiosity, intense concentration or an attempt for a person who is lying to try and look honest/sincere. Intriguingly, a person who is lying may also have diminished eye contact (see Secret # 335: What does "eye contact" really mean?).

This video of a young girl (Sofia) at the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand, shows how staring commonly sets off primal instincts - even across species. It is common for a person (or large felines, dogs, etc.) to go into "protective mode" (flight, fight or freeze) - when being stared at. Instincts often assume the worst, - with the original emotion being completely misinterpreted. Here Sofia's curiosity is being mistaken as a threat. This happens on varying levels in human-to-human interactions billions of times daily. What have you misinterpreted today?

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