Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2968: President Obama tells a Lie in Jest and yet ... (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

When a lie is told in jest or a hyperbole is spoken - "everyone is in on it" - thus the shared lie or gross exaggeration becomes part of the psychology of the joke or story. A similar phenomenon occurs in the scenario of a "white lie". The consequences of being caught in these "little lies" are minimal - if anything at all. Moreover it is a fundamental nonverbal axiom that the ability to convincingly commit a deception is proportional to the ramifications of being caught.

With the above premise in mind, it is very interesting to note that recently at the Clinton Global Initiative event when Barack Obama said, "I was just discussing with [ear rub] President Clinton that if ah Chelsea begins delivery while I'm speaking - she has my motorcade and will be able to navigate traffic ..." he rubbed his right ear.  This act demonstrates that the President is not a "good liar", for even in the context of a shared-joke his body language still betrays him.

Note also that the President's downward head-neck configuration and his prolonged eyelid closure add congruity and thus validity to this cluster-context of deception.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Quiz-Analysis No. 2967: George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin Wed in Venice - All The World's a Stage - Sincerity level of Smiles

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2946: Barack Obama's 10 September 2014 ISIS Speech - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2807: Barack Obama at 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2939: Barack Obama in Tallinn, Estonia

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2745: Vladimir Putin Deception regarding Crimea

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1907:  Governor Rick Scott tells a Lie

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2701: Cuddling, Romance, Affection and Foot-Shunning

Dating & Romance Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1010:  What Makes the Twinkle in Her Eye? - Rashida Jones 
 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2270: David Moyes Post Match Interview Everton's Manager's Botox & Body Language

Recently, the Everton football club played to a 0-0 draw against Swansea City. This is a segment of one of the post-match interviews of Everton's manager, David Moyes. During the 0:29 - 0:33 segment just as Mr. Moyes says, "....but overall, you know, I can't really fault our boys. They made the opportunities ....", he reaches up with his right hand and rubs his right ear. When an ear rub is performed with a declarative statement (such as seen here) or when answering a question, this is highly consistent with a lie. Of course there are many other nonverbal signals useful in deception detection. Any objective observer who watched the match would concede that Everton had more than their share of missed opportunities. 

Intriguingly, Mr. Moyes upper eyelids tend to over-react (e.g., freeze the video at 0:30) as a (common) side-effect of his Botox injections within his forehead. Such cosmetic treatments are very ill-advised for anyone involved in motivating players (or students, employees, children, etc.) or who desire to project sincerity (pretty much all 7 Billion of us, eh?) - for the inability to express fully any part of the face is a huge handicap. The forehead is oft used as a body language "Illustrator" - e.g. to add emphasis, display anger, convey empathy, etc. (depending on the nuances present within the forehead as well as the rest of the face and body). In addition this over-compensating upper eyelid elevation will give false and confusing emotional signals - in this example fear, however in other nonverbal cluster-contexts, this side-effect may give rise to false signals of severe anger/rage or surprise.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2224: Barack's Body Language  It's (NOT) good to be back in Michigan  President Obama Campaigns for Fiscal Cliff Resolution

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2189: Jill Kelley's Body Language - Dialing Up Her Alpha ....

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 717: Barry Bonds and the Obstruction of Justice

Lie Detection Secret # 652: Megan Fox has got an Itch - Not! 

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 339: Jon Corzine - When a Lie is Heard or Told

Negotiation Secret # 29: Eye Rub When Someone Else is Speaking - Angela doubts Vladimir

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2055: Three Wise Monkeys - Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil -  Body Language Interpretation vs. Traditional Symbolism

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2159: Tom Hanks drops the F-bomb on GMA - Body Language of Fear, Surprise, MAPs and a Bitter Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2171: Charlie Bit My Finger! One Body Language Signal Always Seen With Significant Pain

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2244: Taylor Swift's Body Language & Anger on 60 Minutes

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Nonverbal Communication Application # 2012: Mitt Romney and Vetting the V.P. .... or an Attorney, a Physician, a C-Level Executive, a Juror, a Suspect, etc. ...

In this "CBS This Morning" interview Charlie Rose asks GQ magazine contributing Editor Jason Zengerle, whether he believes a Nonverbal Communication/Body Language Expert should be used to as an adjunct to Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential Vetting Process. With the very personal nature of the questions asked during such a process, and the strong desire to climb the political (or corporate) ladder, there is a very strong tendency to lie. It is also very common for alpha personalities whom have reached a certain level of success to a belief that they won't get caught as well as the greater ability to, and habit of rationalizing deceit. This is particularly true for those with a greater amount of formal education. Thus an expert in nonverbal communication is a very helpful addition to the vetting process as well as any other high-risk/high-value, face-to-face truth vs. deception scenario - such as an important interview, a criminal investigation, a legal deposition or jury selection.

See also:

Analysis # 2051: Mitt Romney regarding Campaign Finance Rules - Near-Microexpression of Disgust

Analysis # 2063: Mitt Romney and Ed Miliband - Under Used and Backfiring Uses of Hands

Analysis # 2035: Mitt Romney's Body Language Amplifier - (it works on the rest of us too) 

Analysis # 1553: Ann & Mitt Romey's Body Language at NRA Meeting

Analysis # 1062: Mitt Romney in London - Speaking out the Side of His Mouth - Anxiety-Insincerity or Worse

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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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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1880: Obama admits "The Private Sector is Doing Fine" Gaffe

In this video, President Obama pokes fun at himself concerning his recent gaffe of, "...The private sector is doing fine..." There are three body language signals that are of particular interest here.

At the very beginning the President commits, what for him, is a very rare nonverbal faux pas - the "ear screw". It's nearly always the index finger (aka fore finger), but occasionally another digit, that makes a screwing motion in the ear canal (external auditory meatus). This is a specific nonverbal where the person committing it is in disbelief about what they are hearing - whether uttered by oneself or another. Therefor it is a very common body language signal of deception. Here however, while Barack Obama, is in disbelief for what he is about to say - it's not a signal of lying - he's embarrassed, regretful and is having a bit of trouble - and thus he's emotionally processing the fact that he's about to admit to the World he put his foot in his mouth big time. He knows that with respect to crisis management and common sense, it's a wise thing to do (and should have done it much earlier) - but he's still in some disbelief for what he's about to do.

It is disbelief - but here it's not deception.

In addition, at the 0:33 second mark just after he says, "...You may have heard I just made my own unique contribution to that process...", Barack Obama bites his bottom lip with his upper teeth. In this context it is a signal of embarrassment and the President and the rest of us display this nonverbal often in the presence of self-deprecating humor.  Just after that at the 0:36-0:37 mark, the President's displays an Inward Lip Roll (ILR) which is a signal of anxiety and more specifically it means the subconscious is trying to hold in negative emotions (usually anger).

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1548: Trayvon Martin's Death - George Zimmerman and his First Court Appearance

George Zimmerman appeared in a Florida courtroom yesterday. He is being charged with second degree murder in the death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman claims he acted in self-defense in what will be the most visible case to date of a "Stand Your Ground" Law in the U.S.

As Paul Ekman so very astutely has pointed out - when attempting to judge someone's guilt or innocence, we must (among many other things) be very aware of what he calls the "Othello Error". This mistake may occur when those who are the "lie detectors" or "deceit prosecutors" - don't take into account that a person who is telling the truth is also experiencing anxiety - and thus because of this stress appear as if he/she is lying.

In Shakespeare's famous play, Othello evokes this type of fear in his innocent wife, Desdemona - when she learns that the only person (Cassio) who can prove her innocence is now dead (Othello had him killed). Othello saw the fear and anxiety on Desdemona's face and interpreted this as being caused by her emotions over losing her alleged lover. Othello failed to consider that the stress he saw - although very real - was the result of anxiety Desdemona was experiencing over losing her only witness. She feels trapped! His observations were accurate - but his conclusions are false!

I was not there (neither were you) so we cannot claim to know whether Mr. Zimmerman is guilty or innocent. 

Zimmerman shows us a relatively stoic face. His rate of blinking is substantially increased in frequency. Comparing his blinking to that of the officer on Zimmerman's right, we can easily see that the frequency is substantially increased. It is very important to consider what his normal blink rate is however (i.e., What is his baseline?). If we saw him before and after his court appearance - and he blinked substantially less, then we would be much more confident that this change was indicative of increased stress-anxiety. It is also important to ensure Mr. Zimmerman does not suffer from an ophthalmic condition which causes him to blink so often. As pointed out above though, this level of stress is not surprising, regardless of any guilt or innocence.

The duration of some of Mr. Zimmerman's blinks are also increased. Provided that there is no medical or habitual etiology here, this is consistent with psychological "blocking" - wanting to make everything disappear. George Zimmerman's intellect knows he's in court, but his emotional brain is still processing this. It's coming to terms with this reality. This is very normal behavior for anyone in this context.

Zimmerman's eyes are opened wider than those in a normal resting state. It is particularly apparent when he first walks into the courtroom. In this context, this "white and wide" appearance is indicative of fear and associated increased sympathetic nervous system activity and elevated adrenaline (epinephrine). Again, both the guilty and the innocent would have fear in such a setting.

Mr. Zimmerman's elevated anxiety increases both the rate and depth of his breathing. Several (but not a lot) deep swallows are also noted. These are also normal physiologic changes in this context.

At the 1:05 - 1:06 time-mark, Mr. Zimmerman's temporalis muscle on the sides of his head tighten (contract). This is visibly centered in front of and slightly above the ears (only his left side is visible). It occurs because he clenches his jaw. With this one exception, George Zimmerman's mouth/lips/tongue/jaw demonstrate very little activity and remain relatively neutral during this video. This calm is unusual and tends to suggest that Mr. Zimmerman has a higher degree of confidence that he will be found innocent.

In summary, from a body language point-of-view, George Zimmerman's first court appearance demonstrated a mildly increased level of anxiety which - either guilty or innocent is very expected in such a scenario. Indeed, most people would display more stress than Zimmerman is in this setting.

See also:

Analysis # 1491: Barack Obama on Trayvon Martin"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon" 

Analysis # 1590: President Obama's Blink Rate ... and His Anxiety

Secret # 1149: Who was more nervous in Last Night's Debate? Santorum, Romney, 
               Gingrich or Paul?

Secret # 491: Eyes White and Wide

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Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1522: False Mastication in Court Alicia DeBolt and Adam Longoria

This is Adam Longoria. Today he was found guilty of capital murder of 14 year-old Alicia DeBolt. Notice the right side of Longoria's mouth. He's showing us a subtle example of what is known as "False Mastication" or "False chewing". Most all of us occasionally display this nonverbal when we're nervous - a gentle chewing of the inside of the cheek with the teeth. This is just one of many self-soothing gestures that are classified under the general category of  "manipulators" or "adaptors" or "pacifiers" (MAPs). MAPs will be significantly manifested during times of stress and anxiety.  

It is very interesting to note that in the context of conversation, should someone display false mastication, it significantly increases the odds that this secondary to deception-related anxiety. Since Longoria is not speaking, his anxiety is most probably secondary to what is being said by an attorney.

Should you notice this during a negotiation or business venture, be very wary of what was just spoken - for it is evidence of anxiety, and perhaps deception.

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Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1460: French Presidential Election - Marine Le Pen and Fear-Anxiety

Marine Le Pen is a candidate in upcoming French Presidential election. In this image she shows a very common, yet very "nonverbally naked" cluster. Her emotions are very exposed for all to see. Touching anywhere on the head or neck, in general, is a strong indicator of anxiety. Touching the face or front of the neck is more highly indicative with deception-anxiety, while rubbing/touching/scratching the back (posterior) head or neck tends to strongly point toward non-deception related anxiety.

Certainly all facial or anterior neck touching does not indicate lying however. Careful observation and correlation with other body language signals, paralanguage and verbal indicators (e.g. statement analysis) is always essential when trying to elicit deception.

Le Pen's eyes, while partially closed (as is required for all sincere smiles) do not have the concave-up furrows in her lower lids - rather they have multiple small ridges & wrinkles. True joy-happiness smiles must have this highly characteristic and transient lower lid groove. See: Secret #353: Brad Pitt's Smiling Eyes - Sincere and Insincere Smiles.

Marine's mouth is pulled laterally in a classic fear expression. If her smile was genuine, the bottom teeth will not be visible. Unfortunately, this is a very common form of a social smile. It is clearly feigned. While a better variety of social smile or perhaps even a true, felt smile of joy-happiness may have been present a few moments before this image was captured, some event has occurred and/or someone has spoken - causing her to adopt a classic, fear-anxiety nonverbal display.

Ms. Le Pen is experiencing fear-anxiety. I wonder what Sarkozy is doing?

See also: Secret # 531: Sarkozy's Mouth Tells Us What He's Feeling

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Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1236: Kofi Annan Does Not Believe

In this Image, Former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan does not believe what he is hearing. Self-touching fits into a class of body language behavior that are known as manipulators, adaptors or pacifiers (aka MAPs). MAPs in general (although there are exceptions) are signals of anxiety. When MAPs are displayed on the front (anterior) portion of the head/face, there is a significantly increased chance that the person is either hearing or is witnessing what he/she considers to be a lie. This is particularly true when one eye is rubbed, as the Nobel Peace Prize winner is doing (When two eyes are rubbed however, it has a completely different meaning).

Interestingly, the co-existing nonverbal cluster-combination we see here - the contracture and elevation of Mr. Annan's entire forehead, together with the one-eye rub - has an extremely high correlation with the witnessing of deception. The closing of the opposite eye, along with the downward (flexing) tilt of the head & neck, brings our conclusion of a lie-witnessing diagnosis to a virtual 100% confidence level.

See also: Secret # 1109: I Want to Wipe it from My Mind

See also: Secret # 1162: Ahmajinejad, Napoleon, al-Assad and Dominance

See also: Secret # 882: Bashar al-Assad's Chronic Insincerity 

Mr. Annan arrived in Syria today where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt stop the death and bloodshed of Syrian civilians. They are scheduled to meet again tomorrow. 

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Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1149: Who was More Nervous in Last Night's Debate? Santorum, Romney, Gingrich or Paul?

One measure of anxiety is how often a person blinks. Men tend to blink a bit less often than women. When the heath of the eyes are good and the air is adequately humidified, men on average blink once every 7 - 8 seconds whereas women on average blink every 5 - 6 seconds. There is a fair amount of variability between one person and another though. But if the rate of blinking increases - or if in an absolute sense, the blinking frequency is high, this is a very reliable body language signal of nervousness. 

In this video segment in the Republican Presidential Debate last night, the four remaining candidates can be seen introducing themselves. Ron Paul first, followed by Rick Santorum, then Mitt Romney and finishing with Newt Gingrich. Paul's and Gingrich's blink rate were not increased over baseline normal. However Santorum's and Romney's blink rate are dramatically increased. All four candidates have considerable debate experience as well as national television exposure .... so why are two of them nervous? Since Romney and Santorum are the front-runners and most pundits feel that one of these two will most likely be the Republican Presidential candidate - one conclusion that we can draw, is that Mitt and Rick have the most to lose by a poor performance. After all, Super Tuesday awaits.

Blink rate can be used to assess nervousness in other contexts. When a person tells a lie, especially if the ramifications of being caught in the lie are more extreme, an increase blink rate is a very reliable indicator of their level of anxiety.

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 393: Lying more common while Texting

Researchers at University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business in Vancouver, have just published a study showing that people are significantly more likely to lie when texting compared with in-person, video or audio chat. The more information one has with which to judge another's honesty - such as nonverbal communication and/or paralanguage - the more likely they are to detect lies and the less likely a person is to deceive or attempt to deceive them. The authors go on to suggest the wisdom of speaking via video Skype to ensure a higher degree of trustworthiness when conducting business via websites such as eBay. Intriguingly, the researchers also demonstrated that people who are lied to via "leaner media" (e.g. texting, twitter, etc.) are more angry when they are deceived, than those lied to with "richer media such as video chat".

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 717: Barry Bonds and the Obstruction of Justice

Federal prosecutors want Barry Bonds to go to Prison. They are seeking a sentence of 15 months for the former San Francisco Giants star. The charges stem from his obstruction of their investigation into BALCO, steroids, human growth hormone and other performance enhancing substances and their illegal sale and distribution to professional athletes.

The most common reason for a nose "itch" is not a rash, a nasal hair or allergic rhinitis - it's anxiety. This is also true for similar sensations elsewhere on the face and neck. There are many reasons for anxiety however, and deception is but one - but it's a very common one. Depending on the particular area touched/rubbed/itched/etc., the other nonverbals it is clustered with, the paralanguage and the statement analysis/language analysis - if you know what to look for, your ability to detect lies is very significantly enhanced.  

Everyone tells "white lies". The next time you tell one, or even think about telling one - if you're self-aware (everyone thinks they are - but this is true for very few) - you'll notice that somewhere on your face or neck will probably itch. You may be like Barry Bonds or Megan Fox (See Lie Detection Secret # 652: Megan Fox has got an Itch) and scratch your nose, you may be like Jon Corzine (See Negotiation Body Language Secret # 339: When a Lie is Heard or Told) and scratch next to your ear. It can even work in reverse, for if you hear or see something you believe to be deception, as Angela Merkel does here (see Negotiation Secret # 29: Eye Rub when some else is speaking - Angela doubts Vladimir) - you'll have similar sensations and may rub your eye like the German Chancellor.

Remember, there is no one body language signal for detecting a lie. Many things must be taken into account (see above) - including the honest person who experiences anxiety associated with being falsely accused. Paul Ekman calls this the "Othello error" after the character in the Shakespeare play of the same name, who falsely reads his wife's (Desdemona) signs of anxiety as that of guilt.

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 481: Interlaced fingers, Brief Thumbs and Hand Elevation

Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, is giving us a great negotiation tell here. When people have their hands clasped in front of them during a meeting, discussion or negotiation it generally is an indication of some level of blocking and a closed-off mindset. They may also be attempting to appear reserved and relaxed. This is not a natural position of relaxation though.

Notice Mr. Putin's hands are lifted off the table. At this same time his thumbs are elevated. This is the equivalent of a shrug. We cannot see the dynamics of this particular moment since this is a still image and not a video, but very often a shrug will come in this abbreviated disguise - and the words may very well not be congruent with the emotional tone of a shrug. In these cases, the hands and the thumbs are only briefly elevated, for a second or two and the shoulders may never elevate. Thus, this gesture can be thought of as partial emblematic slip (Ekman) when it is in disparity with what is said verbally. Notice also that Mr. Putin is speaking out the side of his mouth. Although this is baseline behavior for a very small minority of people - it is a strong signal of insincere behavior or dishonesty.

In linguistics, a homonym is a word/set of words which although spelled and pronounced the same, has different meanings. I can say, "That lady is hot", or "It's rather hot outside" or "Wow, this pepper is hot!" The science of Body Language also has Nonverbal Homonyms. The thumbs up gesture, in what at first glance, may appear to be identical to the scenario in the above photo - can mean something completely different depending on what other body language signals and particulars with which it is clustered. Ignore this distinction at your peril.

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Negotiation Body Language Secret # 335: What does "Eye Contact" really mean?

When it comes to Body Language/Nonverbal Communication, people often ask, "Does eye contact mean I have to look the other person directly in the eye all the time?" (or some variation thereof). The short answer to this is definitely "NO". Here's the long answer: If you look directly into one eye - or switch back and forth between eyes, this is too intense and is almost always is interpreted (depending on the other signals and context) as either predatory, anger, sexual attraction or deception (lie detection). But take heed - liars may also go the complete opposite route and totally avoid eye contact though. 

So if you're feeling none of the above emotions and you're participating in healthy conversation, "eye contact" should effectively mean looking semi-randomly around the area outlined above on the lovely Keira Knightley's face. I say "semi-randomly, because you gaze should briefly fixate on one of their eyes and then very quickly (and very briefly) fixate on some other portion of their face within this ellipse - and then return to the same or opposite eye. All this time you never want to fixate on one area too long or too intently. We all behave this naturally when we have good rapport during natural conversation. 

Having defined "eye contact" as sometimes not looking at the eyes, but close to them - may seem contradictory, but this is what we do during healthy conversation. We should have eye contact (as defined above) between 40 and 70 percent of the time during conversation - and closer to 70 percent if we want to gain or maintain superior rapport.

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Lie Detection Secret # 652: Megan Fox has got an Itch - Not!

When we have a momentary rise in our anxiety level, in an extremely high percentage of the time portions of our head and/or neck will itch. This is not imaginary - they truly itch. There are probably several reasons for this that have not to date, been fully elicited - however one of these is a simple rise in blood pressure. The blood vessels will press on surrounding tissue - which of course contains nerve endings and this pressure leads to pruritus. When a lie is told (or heard) we tend to experience this itching/swelling in some areas more than others. The nose is particularly prone to this phenomenon. Another region is just above the lip and below the nose - in the "mustache area". So when we tell a lie, we scratch the nose and above the upper lip particularly often. Part of this particular gesture is "vestigial behavior" from childhood - when the mouth is immediately covered once a lie is told. We partially, but never completely "unlearn" this response as we grow older. Here, the lovely Megan Fox is shown in this highly characteristic Body Language maneuver.

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Negotiation Secret # 602: Honesty in Testimonies

We tend to not trust someone the less we can see of them. If they hide body parts when they are asked questions, this should set off alarms in our internal lie detectors. This is accurate for several body parts and particularly true of the hands. Here, Dr. Richelle Cooper is testifying in Dr. Conrad Murray's trial regarding the death of Michael Jackson. Her hands are visible, and with her palms up gesturing, this adds even more to her honest persona - but she has to bring them up fairly high for this to occur. It is possible that their view is even obstructed to some jury members. It would be a great idea for witnesses to testify with a plexiglass top table, or something similar, so that all those in court could see them in near entirety and see their Body Language displayed upon questioning. The same would be apply in depositions as well as voir dire. This would certainly add to the justice process. Those who bear false witness would be much more easily sussed out.

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Sincerity Secret # 121: Are You as Sincere as Pippa Middleton?

Why is Pippa Middleton so popular? Well, she's gorgeous, her sister is The Duchess of Cambridge and she just received some worldwide press coverage as her maid-of-honor. But I would content that her level of extreme sincerity is also one of the reasons. Why are some people thought of as sincere and some are not? Perhaps the most important answer to this question is that their Body Language is highly congruent with their words and their behavior. When there is disparity between the two - people are left with an strong feeling of insincerity. Sincerity detection is similar to lie detection, but it casts a broader net. Those who are insincere, will eventually lie to you - probably sooner than later, and probably often as well. Can you detect sincerity? Do you project this magical quality? On a scale of one to ten, how would your co-workers rate your sincerity? Your spouse? Your Children? I'm amazed this isn't spoken about more often - for it is absolutely one of the most important qualities a person can have - and detect.

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Negotiation Secret # 16: Deception Detection DJ's Daughter

Amber Stevens, daughter of Shadoe Stevens, is shown here scratching her philtrum (the medial

cleft which runs from the center-bottom of the nose to the central-upper lip). This is an example

of an "Adaptor" which is highly correlative with hearing a lie. Her head is tilted down and her

body and face are oblique to whomever she is looking at. We don't face/look directly at those

who we don't trust or don't like. She is at a public gathering and since she enjoys some celebrity

status, Ms. Stevens sports a pretty good "social smile". Except for her social smile though,

Amber is displaying a gesture cluster consistent with  anxiety at the time of this photo - and there's

a pretty good chance that she believes she's just heard a lie.

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