Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3397: Close Encounter - Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Ryan Gosling - SNL - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong and Ryan Gosling starred in a recent Saturday Night Live skit as victims of an alien abduction. The three are being interviewed by NSA special agents played by Aidy Bryant and Bobby Moynihan.

If you haven't watched this video, you must - if nothing else, you will laugh your A** off.

There is however, another reason to view this video. Most comedians will employ a nonverbal trick which lowers the audience's laughter threshold - they speak/perform while maintaining a partial sincere smile (e.g., Chris Rock does this very effectively). As human beings, when we see another person, laughing, smiling, crying, angry, disgusted, etc., - we will tend to feel the same emotions they are feeling - and then express these on our faces and bodies. This is known as mirroring behavior - and it's engendered varying degrees by empathy. Not surprisingly, the neurons which facilitate this are known as "Mirror Neurons" aka "Empathy Neurons".

The comedians in this hilarious SNL skit are acting however - as opposed to performing a monologue. When they break character - while sincerely trying not to (failing at suppressing their laughter) - it makes the already funny script/good acting much funnier. Many people will even get a high level of laughter watching this repeatedly. It's also interesting to note that the one professional dramatic actor (Gosling) has the most difficulty "staying in character".

Another very valuable distinction here - is that those who can reliably initiate and maintain a partial (but sincere) smile, will find it to be a profoundly potent mood-elevator.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3396: President Obama's Oval Office Address - Dialing up The Alpha - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3393: Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik, San Bernardino Shooting and Predicting Violent Behavior

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3390: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Henry Cavill is portraying what emotions? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3377: Holly Holm's post-fight interview after defeating Ronda Rousey 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3365: Carly Fiorina on "The View" - Destroying Likability and Lowering Charisma 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3392: Donald Trump to Republican Jewish Coalition   

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3321: John Boehner Announces Resignation During Press Conference - A Classic Body Language Tell

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3353: Melissa Benoist's Body Language regarding Jeb Bush's Supergirl "Hot" comment  

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3385: Adele, "Hello" and SNL - Body Language Tell (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Last weekend Adele was a guest on Saturday Night Live. Just after singing Hello she displayed a cluster of nonverbal signals which, when you see them - will ring familiar. She juts out her tongue, crosses her eyes and lowers her body height (primarily via a knee bend). Of these three components, the tongue jut is the more common one (although here they convey the same thought-feelings).

Many would call this a variety of a "goofy" or "silly" face. And although these signs are primarily subconsciously initiated, there's often an edge-of-consciousness quality present. This expression (either portion) is frequently seen when an actor or performer (professional or amateur) "comes out of character" - within the first seconds post-performance, e.g., a feeling of strong relief (It's crucial here to think very loosely with respect to the idea of "performance" - for it can just be a small portion of a conversation - even in a business context). It indicates self-deprecating emotions with some level of embarrassment.

Moreover and often under-appreciated, this expression is also associated with individuals who have relatively high sincerity quotients. With what other personality trait is this behavior cluster seen?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3384: Donald Trump Repeats Controversial 9/11 Claims

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3377: Holly Holm's post-fight interview after defeating Ronda Rousey  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3371: John Kasich at the Republican Debate 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3368: Donald Trump, Insincerity and Starbucks  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3358: Hillary Clinton on Stephen Colbert - We Let the Banks Fail Next Time - Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2781: Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Rolling Stone and Flirting - Body Language of Attraction

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3367: Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Last night, amidst a good amount of controversy, Donald Trump was the guest host on Saturday Night Live.

As usual, Trump did not disappoint when it came to exampling classic nonverbal behavior. Many body language novices will claim that jaw juts are always indicative of anger. The key word here is "always" - for this is NOT the case. While it is very commonly associated with anger - there are certainly other emotional contexts where a jaw jut is seen depending on the other nonverbal signals with which it is clustered (Question: From a nonverbal standpoint, how do you know Trump is not anger in this video?)

The jaw jut is always associated with an emotional state which is far from baseline. When there is no anger, and the lower teeth are well exposed - there is virtually always an element of hubris-insincerity present - and this is exactly the scenario here.

At 1:05 Trump continues his opening monologue, ".... People think I'm controversial, but the truth is I'm a nice guy [then at 1:09 a Jaw Jut with his baring of bottom teeth]. I don't hold grudges against anybody - like Rosie O'Donnell ..."

This is a highly reliable body language tell/cluster and Donald exemplifies it well - when anger is not present - and yet the jaw still juts forward simultaneously with significant lower teeth exposure - the following two emotions are both very likely present:

• Insincerity
• Hubris 

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3365: Carly Fiorina on "The View" - Destroying Likability and Lowering Charisma

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3051: Jim Harbaugh & 49ers Part Ways - Onward to Michigan

Nonverbal Communication Quiz No. 3120: Benjamin Netanyahu Speaking Before Joint Session of Congress

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2458:  The Pain in Spain Hurts Mainly in the Spleen  Running of the Bulls & Body Language in Pamplona

Nonverbal Communication Analysis 2759: Vladimir Putin, Annexation of Crimea and Mouth Asymmetry 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2724: Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Twenty Years Later

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3263: Barack Obama on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" - The Sarcastic Bobble Body Language  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3234: Whole Foods Market, Message to Customers, Damage Control and Body Language Faux Pas 


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2652: Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live - Trying to Suppress the Laughter (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Two nights ago Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon were guests on Saturday Night Live. As always they were hilarious. In the images below the "Inward Lip Roll" is displayed twice by Timberlake as he tries to suppress his joy/laughter.

Note: Since the writing of this post, the original video has since been deleted from its internet source. The video above contains a segment of the skit discussed - capturing the moment of the first image below, but does not include the second image (which is included for completeness).

The inward lip roll (ILR) is seen during the psyche's attempts in suppressing strong emotion (also during some physical acts which require focused concentration). Most often such cases are negative emotions - such as anger, sadness or frustration, etc. In this Family Feud skit however, Timberlake is having trouble staying in character and is trying to suppress his laughter.

This ILR/Body Language example is seen during 2:02 as Timberlake (who is playing Jimmy Fallon in the skit) looks over at the real Fallon who is playing Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory). Fallon (Parsons) has completely lost his composure.

This ILR nonverbal is seen in the original video (which has since been removed).











See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2645: Justin Timberlake Helps Fan Propose During Concert

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2453:  Adrian Peterson on Jimmy Fallon -  Body Language & Recalling Past Significant Emotional Events

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2626: Rashida Jones's Anxiety regarding YouTube Awards on Jimmy Fallon

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2651: Peyton Manning sets a Single Season Touchdown Record - Body Language at Press Conference

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2568: Barack Obama Catches Near-Fainting, Pregnant Woman (Karmel Allison) During Speech

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2404:  Internal Lip Roll and other Body Language  associated with Suppression of Sadness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2576: Chris Brown's Body Language - a Signal of Psyche's Suppressing Emotions ... and Anger and ...

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