Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2807: Barack Obama at 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Last night the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner brought together Barack Obama's Administration many from the Television Media and Hollywood. And while most outside of these circles consider it a gigantic waste of time and money - it does provide some useful insight into the thoughts and emotions of the President if one carefully evaluates his nonverbal signals. What follows is a partial body language evaluation of the President's appearance last night.

This image is isolated from the 1:00 mark in the above video. In this moment President Obama displays an extended blink - just after he alludes to Mitt Romney and the infamous 47% comment.

What is not appreciable here is that he also "hard swallows" at the same moment. In addition his mouth is configured in a manner conveying regret.

This nonverbal "cluster" indicates that Mr. Obama significantly regrets his vocalizing this joke. It triggers anxiety in the President and he is in disbelief that he didn't omit this particular barb against Mr. Romney. He very much wants to wish this moment away.

The "Tongue Jut" (aka "Lizard Tongue") displayed by Mr. Obama at 1:11 after poking fun at his own  Healthcare.gov roll out - has several possible meanings depending on the other nonverbals and paralanguage with which it is clustered.

Here the knee-jerk interpretation most would assign it is one of self-deprecating humor - however another nonverbal directs us toward the emotional-thoughts of "I've been foolish" or "I've gotten away with something". What specifically is this nonverbal modifier?

Although it's evanescent, at 1:31 Mr. Obama displays a clear and classic sign of contempt - just after he jokes about his 2013 slogan being "ctrl-alt-delete".

What are the components of this very telling facial expression?





See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2312:  Bruce Willis' Body Language -  Contempt vs. Suppressed Smile vs.  Pseudo Smile vs. Sincere Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2765: Obama, Romney, Russia and Facial Asymmetry - Contempt at The Hague

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2188:  Paula Broadwell on Petraeus Relationship -  Body Language of Prolonged Blink,  Hard Swallow and More Duping Delight

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2646: Does Barack Obama Want to Go to the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics? What His Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2690: Peyton Manning Explains the Meaning of "Omaha" Call - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2547: Amanda Knox's ex-Boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Piers Morgan Interview, Body Language Tells and Avoiding the Othello Error

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2806: Russian "Separatists" in Ukraine - Body Language of ....


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2690: Peyton Manning Explains the Meaning of "Omaha" Call - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Although other quarterbacks have used it before, including Tom Brady and his little bro' Eli, Peyton Manning has made the call "Omaha" somewhat famous in the last few weeks. After earning his third career Super Bowl appearance and his first in a Denver Broncos uniform, many people want to know what it means. He's probably been asked this many times, so the answer he gives above is not his first. Peyton's pretty good in front of the camera, yet he gives away several key body language tells. One is briefly discussed here.

At the 0:33 second mark, near the end of the video, Manning displays a nonverbal known as a "Tongue Jut" or "Lizard Tongue". This is very evanescent and is but one example of a microexpression. It has several different meanings depending on the other body language signals with which it is clustered. These include: "I've been bad", "I just got caught", "I've done a foolish thing" or "I got away with something". It can also indicate self-deprecation or excitement.

Can you discern which of these meanings Peyton's body language is conveying here? Would you have seen this tell or paid it attention had it not been pointed out? What other nonverbals did you spot?

See also:

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2625: Paul Walker of 'Fast & Furious' and Body Language of the Tongue Jut

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2547: Amanda Knox's ex-Boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Piers Morgan Interview, Body Language Tells and Avoiding the Othello Error

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2689: Mirrors Used as Protest Tool in Keiv (Kyiv) Ukraine - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2594: Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin Harassment, Part II - Miami Dolphins Coach Joe Philbin's Body Language

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1482:  George Clooney's Lizard Tongue (Tongue Jut) 

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

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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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