Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3451: Angelique Kerber defeats Serena Williams in Australian Open - Body Language (PHOTOS)

Earlier today in her first appearance in a major final, Angelique Kerber upset Serena Williams in the Australian Open. Had Serena won, she would have tied Steffi Graf for total major wins in the Open Era. In these images Ms. Kerber is seen holding and kissing the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup of the Aussie Open.

When we kiss with our eyes closed, we want to drink in the full emotion of the moment - every drop. A full forty percent of the human brain is dedicated to vision. Moreover ninety percent all of our sensory input (all five of our senses) is visual. The remaining four senses have to "share" the other ten percent. So when we close our eyes during a kiss, the other four senses, along with other parts of the brain get a little bit more blood flow and a significant increase in electro-chemical activity. Thus when we close our eyes, we truly experience an increase in our sense of touch, taste, smell and hearing - as well as an increase in our cognitive ability - and our depth of emotion.

Here the trophy is an emotional surrogate/metaphor for her experience of winning this tournament. In personal relationships, sometime during a hug, a kiss or other affection displays - our eyes may not be closed one hundred percent of the time - but if we're sincere (and living fully in the moment) they should close (at least for a second or two) the vast majority of the time. If not - this is a red flag for significant affection drop-off (and reduced sincerity). This sign is one of thousands of nonverbal cues we can use to self-monitor our own thought-emotions as well as detecting the true intents of others.

The German tennis player is squeezing every drop out of her experience.  Congratulations on your first major win Angelique.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3450: Kanye West reacts to Paparazzi's questions regarding Wiz Khalifa

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3068: John Boehner Kissing Nancy Pelosi 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2508: Anne Frank, Sincere Smiles and Emotional Comfort

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2919: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - Friends? - will they Hug it Out?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3325: Vladimir Putin, the United Nations, Russian Soil and Confidence Levels

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3424: Donald Trump, "Hillary Clinton created ISIS with Obama" 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3436: Is Hillary Clinton Intimidated by Donald Trump?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3247: Barack Obama's Response to Question regarding Revoking Bill Cosby's Presidential Medal of Freedom 


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3244: Serena Williams' on-court interview at Wimbledon - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Congratulations to Serena Williams who has won the last four consecutive Major Singles titles - The U.S. Open in 2014 and in 2015 The Australian Open, The French Open and Wimbledon. This is termed a "non-calendar year grand slam". The last woman to do this was Serena herself (from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open). The last woman to win a true grand slam (all wins within the same calendar year) was Martina Navratilova (who in 1983–84 won six consecutive major titles from the 1983 Wimbledon to the 1984 U.S. Open). This is why Serena did not want to speak about the possibility of her winning the Grand Slam this calendar year with a win upon a victory in the upcoming U.S. Open - for if she wins - she will be the first have a true calendar year grand slam in 31 years. She doesn't want to jinx herself.

No man has won a calendar year grand slam since Rod Laver who did so in 1969 - and 1962.

There are several great body language teaching moments captured in this video - one of which is discussed below...

At 1:57 the interviewer continues, "Get ready for the 'G word' coming up. No, no we won't go there. No we won't go ... don't start talking about the grand slam, no that's for sure."

The interviewer immediately reaches out to Serena's upper arm/shoulder three times in rapid succession (1:59, 2:00, 2:02) - yet she stops short of touching Ms. Williams. Had this not been so public an interview (and not televised), the interviewer may have made contact. Such invasion of personal space (intimate space) is very often down-regulated (inhibited) in public settings. Indeed this phenomenon is a platonic/professional analog of what many people have - an aversion toward public displays of affection (e.g., " No PDAs").

It may even be true that the interviewer and Ms. Williams are best of friends - yet in a public setting a different set of rules apply regarding making direct body contact. For while touching a shoulder in a more private setting would build rapport - in a public setting rapport is often destroyed.

This gesture toward Serena, even though not directly touching her - nonverbally signifies a question retraction and an apology.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3243: Bryan Cranston's Body Language at the 2015 Comic-Con

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2448:  Sabine Lisicki Post Match Interview  After Defeating Serena Williams  Top Teeth Biting Lower Lip & Sincere Smiles

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3238: Ex-Footballer Sol Campbell, the Mayor of London and a Some Classic Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3115: Giuliana Rancic apologizes to Zendaya Coleman comment made regarding her dreadlocks at the Oscars - that she "smells like patchouli oil and weed" on "Fashion Police" - Is She Sincere? 

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3236: A Common Body Language Disparity Display - Donald Trump  

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2448: Sabine Lisicki Post Match Interview After Defeating Serena Williams - Top Teeth Biting Lower Lip & Sincere Smiles (Video, Photos)

Sabine Lisicki defeated Serena Williams yesterday 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Today at Wimbledon she bested Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.



Lip biting is often used by the subconscious as a way to suppress an outward display of a significant emotion. Here the German tennis pro bites her bottom lip just prior to "Tears of Joy". The rising star showed this nonverbal several times in this interview. Did you spot them all?

Milliseconds after the interviewer says the word "... smile ...", Sabine first briefly laughs (at 0:40) - and then displays a sincere (Duchenne) smile of joy-happiness (at 0:41). Note her partially closed eyelids, the concave-up dynamic furrow in each lower eyelid and her relaxed forehead muscles. These are all required components of a sincere smile. Also important is the upward vectoring of the cheek muscles (Zygomaticus major) exposing the upper teeth only. It is however possible that the smile is a sincere one and yet no teeth are exposed - when the smile is suppressed. When the smile is a sincere one and teeth are exposed - look for those on top as Sabine shows here.

If the lower teeth are exposed there could be muscle fatigue present (e.g. taking multiple photos and thus multiple posed smiles), a downward view/camera angle - or during the beginning or end stages of a bout of laughter (see below). When these conditions are not present but the bottom teeth are seen (extremely common) - think an insincere smile.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2424:  Giada De Laurentiis on Conan O'Brien  Beautiful Teeth but Insincere Smiles and  Some Body Language Signals of Waning Love

In this image Ms. Lisicki is laughing (very sincerely) with significant exposure of her lower teeth.









What other classic body language was exampled during this interview? What do these body language signals indicate?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2345:  Tiger Woods & Lindsey Vonn -  Body Language of True Affection?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2374:  Tom Cruise on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Body Language of Emotional Dissonance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2359:  Anne Smedinghoff and her Body Language of Joy-Happiness 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2099:  Nikki Haley & Sarah Palin - Governors in Contrast

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2204:  Kate Winslet's Body Language Shows  Disgust, Humility and Sincerity Over Award

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1600:  Senator Marco Rubio -  Sincerity, Self-directed Incredulity & Humor, Blocking and Appeals for the Vice Presidency

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