Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3904: Sean Spicer Draws Criticism with Hitler-Assad Comparison and Denial of Use of Chemical Weapons in WWII - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Yesterday, Sean Spicer, in an understandable desire to denounce of Bashar al-Assad's recent use of chemical weapons said, "... We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. You know, you had a, y-, you know, someone who's as despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to the, to the, to using chemical weapons ...".

Spicer, of course, was grossly incorrect saying that Hitler did not use chemical warfare. He probably was referring to was his belief that the Germans did not use Chemical warfare in battle - but indeed they did. Both the German's and the Japanese used chemical weapons in World War II. Germany deployed this outlawed warfare against the Russians in Sevastopol in 1941-42, on Russian troops in the catacombs of Odessa in November 1941, as well as in May of 1942 in eastern Crimea during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula. Japan deployed chemical weapons against both the Communist Chinese and the Kuomintang people.

Yet what alarmed most people who heard the Press Secretary's statement, and indeed even evoking gasps in the White House Briefing Room, was the non-acknowledgment of the largest genocide in human history. Millions of innocent people (the majority of whom were Jewish) were murdered in Hitler's extermination camps. When Cecilia Vega asked him to clarify his statement, Sean Spicer struggled.

Generally speaking, Mr. Spicer uses palm-down gestures and other dominant and hyper-dominant nonverbal illustrators far too frequently and aggressively. These and other tendencies of his, have exaggerated in the form of parody in many venues.

Palm-down gestures should be used very sparingly - added deliberately yet very briefly during moments when extra authority or assertiveness is needed (almost choreographed).

As with many alpha displays, palm-down gestures rapidly crescendo to a hyper-alpha status if used too frequently or aggressively.

While palm-down gestures will serve to solidify the mindsets of those who already strongly agree with you, others who only mildly agree or who are undecided - will be alienated to your cause. Thus a palm-down gesture most often is an intimidating one - and a rapport destroyer. If a person is using palm-down illustrators - their mind is already closed. You won't convince them. It's best to re-address any disagreements you may have at another time.

Palm-up gestures are examples of "Alpha-Beta Hybrids". When used skillfully, they will project authority - but understanding, power - but not aggressiveness, confidence - but also open-mindedness. Palm-up gestures also display a willingness to listen. In addition, and of profound importance, is if one uses palm-up gestures, their audiences will have significantly greater recall of the subject matter versus when palm-down gestures are used.

Notice when Sean Spicer was attempting to back-pedal, he went into a more aggressive nonverbal pattern, repeatedly using palm-down gestures. At a time when he should have been apologizing (which later, on a different broadcast, he did), Spicer was becoming more defensive, aggressive, and hyper-authoritative with his words, tone of voice - and with his body language.

It's particularly - even viscerally painful, to see Mr. Spicer using palm-down gestures with added frequency and vigor during his attempt to explain his earlier statement once Ms. Vega reminded him of the Nazi death camps and The Holocaust. The Nazis, of course, notoriously used an elevated palm-down gesture as their salute.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3903: Rex Tillerson Disagrees with Donald Trump

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3901: Jared Kushner in Iraq

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3899: President Trump regarding Poison Gas Attack in Syria - What Will Trump Do?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3884: One Important Expression James Comey Displayed Often During His Testimony Before the House Intelligence Committee

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3857: Taunting a Snowplow Driver - Belleville, Ontario

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3827: Sean Spicer's Saturday Night Press Briefing

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3717: Creepy Clowns, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3621: Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3899: President Trump regarding Poison Gas Attack in Syria - What Will Trump Do? - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Earlier today, during a joint press conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Trump was asked about the recent deadly gas attack in Syria.

What follows is a portion of his response followed by a partial nonverbal analysis.

JULIA IOFFE [This question was edited out of this specific clip of the press conference, however, it is the one to which President Trump is responding]: You've condemned the chemical attacks in Syria, but you also appeared in your statement yesterday to pin some of the blame on the Obama administration. You are the president now. Do you feel like you bear responsibility for responding to the chemical attacks and does the chemical attack cross a red line for you?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think the Obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said, "The red line in the sand". And when he didn't cross that line after making the threat, I think that set us back a long ways - not only in Syria, but in many of the parts of the world - because it was a blank threat. I think it was something that was not - one of our better days as a country. So I do feel that, Julia, I feel it very strongly.

IOFFE: Do feel like you now have the responsibility to respond to the chemical attack?

TRUMP [over-talking]: I now have responsibility and I will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly - I will tell you that. It is now my responsibility. It was a great opportunity missed.

[CNN's video edit gap] 

IOFFE: Before I move on to the King, can I just quickly ask you if the chemical attack "crosses a red line" for you?

TRUMP: Ah, it crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill - innocent children - innocent babies, babies, little babies - with a chemical gas that is so lethal - ah - people were shocked to hear what gas it was [Lip Smacking, Head Torquing, Disgust Display, Eyelids Partially Closing, Mid-Facial Tension], that crosses many, many lines - beyond a red line. Many, many lines.

During 0:38 - 0:39, as he says, "... I now have responsibility and I will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly - I will tell you that. It is now my responsibility ...", Donald Trump spreads his arms quite widely, in a palms-up fashion.

This nonverbal signal indicates that the President is very accepting of and welcomes the responsibility to, "... respond to the chemical attack".

Just prior to the President saying, "... that crosses many, many lines - beyond a red line. Many, many lines" (during 1:06), he displays a nonverbal cluster containing the key signals of:

• Lip Smacking
• Head Torquing
• Eyelids Partially Closing
• Mid-Facial Tension 
• Disgust Display

This temporal combination of nonverbal displays is highly indicative of Trump's critical evaluation, a high degree of confidence in a decision(s) he has made, and he has determined a specific course of action to be taken regarding Syria.

Summary: Donald Trump's body language during the press conference earlier today, indicates with very high probability, the President intends to order a heavy military retaliation in response to the Poison Gas Attack of Bashar al-Assad upon the Syrian People.


See also:


Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3898: President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Meet at The White House

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3896: Did Matthew Perry Really Beat Up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3894: Michael Flynn and Russia - "When are given immunity, it means you probably committed a crime" 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3873: Brie Larson's Eyes, The Bachelor, and the Edge of Consciousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3858: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart with "Apology"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3735: Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Mean Tweets

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3662: Weverton Dives, Neymar Kicks and Brazil Wins Gold

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3596: Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2509: Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Al'Afari Defends al Assad Body Language of Insincerity, Contempt and ... (VIDEO, PHOTO)

While the World waits to see how the U.S. will retaliate for Syria's use of chemical weapons - others speculate. In the above video, Christiane Amanpour interviews Bashar Al'Afari - the Syrian Ambassador to the U.N.

Throughout most of this interview, Mr. Al'Afari speaks with his mouth in a significantly asymmetrical configuration - nearly all out of the right side of his mouth.

Such mouth asymmetry is highly significant for insincerity. Another emotion that should come to mind when a person speaks out of one side of their mouth is contempt - which Mr. Al'Afari also displays extensively throughout this (and other) interviews.

In this image, the upward movement of his right upper lip, right "mustache area" (even if there is no mustache present) and right nostril dilation/flaring. It look a bit like mild snarl. This particular example of facial expression signifies contempt and is captured during a moment when Al'Afari is denying the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons.

While some people constantly speak out of one side of their mouth, it is unusual to relatively rare. When a person does so - with or without the additional presence of contempt - one possibility that should be strongly considered is that they are in that moment insincere. If this display is chronic then it becomes a sign of their over-all personality.

There are other emotions that can be signaled with the short-term use of asymmetrical mouth speaking. Can you name some?

See also:

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1033:  A Sure Signal of Insincerity or Contempt

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2356:  Michelle Obama's "as a Busy Single Mother" comment -  What her Body Language Tells Us

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2475:  Anthony Weiner & Huma Abedin Part IV - More Sexting Will Surface

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2275:  Lance Armstrong's Insincerity -  Body Language revealed in Oprah Winfrey Interview  Part III

Negotiation Secret # 111: A Sure Red Flag of Insincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1912:  Ann Curry's Tearful Goodbye  Matt Lauer's Insincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2227:  Sincerity and Insincerity regarding  Suicide Death of Jacintha Saldanha

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2506: Barack Obama, the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle and Retaliation Against Syrian Poison Gas Attack (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Today President Obama gave a speech in The Rose Garden wherein he surprised most everyone. There he announced that, although he believes the United States should take military action against Syria for using chemical weapons on its own people, he has asked both houses of Congress to take a vote on the issue.

Of course there were many body language signals displayed by the President in this speech. A significant and rarely noted one is the "Self-Righteous Head Wiggle".

At 1:44 in the above video, the President says, "... After careful deliberation I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets...." Within this sentence during the 1:46 - 1:47 (very subtle) and 1:49 - 1:51 (a bit easier to see, yet still subtle) segments you will see a high frequency side-to-side movement of the President's head. These are relatively difficult to see for the untrained eye, yet they're highly significant examples of the SRHW (Most anyone can see dramatic examples of body language, but if you want to benefit and see what everyone else misses, you should endeavor to see the moderate and the subtle displays which most people indeed overlook).

It is helpful to think of the SRHW as a form of body language swagger. People who display it are displaying alpha qualities. They feel particularly passionate and have very high confidence levels about the idea/issue being verbalized when they use it (although it can be seen on occasion where no words are being spoken). There is nearly always an increase in the frequency and volume of the voice simultaneous with and proportional to the nonverbal display.

As with all alpha nonverbal signals, the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle and the closely related Self-Righteous Torso Wiggle are rapport destroyers and thus should be used very sparingly. Barack does not over-do it here. There may also be a similar jaw component or primary shoulder wiggle seen. In addition, super imposed over the side-to-side movement there may be a backward vectoring (signifying incredulity or disgust) or a forward motion (adds a reprimanding or scolding meaning to the mix).

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2464:  Gen. Martin Dempsey (Chairman U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff) Sen. John McCain and The Self-Righteous Torso Wiggle Body Language on Capitol Hill

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2398:  Self Righteous Head Wiggle, Alpha Behavior &  First Drone Flight Off of an Aircraft Carrier

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1552:  The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle &  The Buffett Rule

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1923:  Hillary Clinton's Body Language re: Syrian Government -  The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle

Nonverbal Communication Intelligence # 2113:  Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, the U.S. and the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2130:  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Helping Syria -  Interview with Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2148:  Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan and the  "Self-Righteous Head Wiggle" in the Vice Presidential Debate




This image was captured at the 1:50 mark. Note the President's head is blurred due to the side-to-side movement of the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle. Compare this to his torso which does not show signs of movement.








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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2502: A Body Language Sign of True Love & Affection - A Father Reunited with Young Son Who He Believed died in Syria Poison Gas Attack (VIDEO, PHOTO)

In the chemical weapon/poison gas attack in Damascus, Syria last week as many as 1400 people were killed. Many of them are children. One father was very blessed as he found out the son, who he believed to had died, was in fact alive. The video above shows their emotional reunion. The moment captured in the photo below shows a particularly special nonverbal of the father kissing his son on the lateral portion of his child's right eye. In this obvious moment of overwhelming joy - few would question his affection. Indeed kissing another person's eye (closed lid) or immediately adjacent to it - particularly the temple or just above the eye on the forehead or eyebrow is a sign of true affection and love. It signals a high sincerity quotient.

In moments of less dramatic extremes we have all seen and most have been the recipient of such a sincere body language display. Although not the case in this example, within the context of romantic relationship this premise still holds - an eyelid or near-eye kiss is a very accurate barometer that deep and true love has begun. And the disappearance of this affectionate nonverbal signal is a signal of waning love.

There are multiple other signals of sincerity here. How many do you see?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2478:  Acting Affectionate Engenders Affection - Body Language and Stranger

Body Language Secret # 105: Parental Affection and Love

Flirting and Romance Secret # 39:  Affectionate vs. Non-Affectionate Hug

Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1423:  Head First Affection &  Head Surrogate Hugs

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2232:  Vicki Soto, a Hero, Body Language  and a Mother's Love & Affection -  Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Interview

Dating & Romance Body Language Secret # 363:  Simon Cowell, Kissing and Lack of Affection

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2203:  A Body Language Metric of Intimacy and Affection -  How Do YOU cuddle?

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