Body Language Analysis No. 4316: Sarah Paulson, The Met Gala, and Madonna - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Sarah Paulson was recently a guest on The Graham Norton Show promoting Ocean's Eight - a film in which she co-stars. In the video above, Ms. Paulson recounted The 2018 Met Gala - where she was upstaged by Madonna.



This image was captured at the moment when Ms. Paulson realized the reason no one was paying her any attention was because Madonna was standing nearby.

Sarah Paulson is an accomplished actor, however the emotion of surprise is virtually always portrayed erroneously while performing. This moment was true surprise. How can we differentiate sincere surprise from feigned/poorly acted surprise?

First, and most importantly, look at Paulson's mouth. It's opened very widely - as one would expect, but more specifically, it's in the shape of a vertically elongated oval. People who fake surprise (including actors) will open their mouth widely - however it's oriented wider horizontally.

But let's thin-slice this moment even further. Another reason we can be sure this moment is projecting sincere surprise is the lack of any visible teeth. In the first moment of surprise, teeth are rarely visible. When surprise is spurious - teeth are exposed.

You've probably noticed that Paulson's eyelids are opened widely - as they should be during true surprise. However, you've perhaps also picked up on the fact that Paulson's eyebrows are not elevated. While certainly one's eyebrows may be elevated during surprise - when the eyelids are opened very widely, but the eyebrows remain relatively neutral - this also indicates genuine surprise. This facial expression detail is difficult to fake - particularly on the fly. And it's also a nuance of which few actors are even aware - and rarely it is mastered.

Surprise is a very short-lived emotion - lasting only for a second or two. If it appears to last longer, it's either psychological shock, or much more commonly, it's bogus. The surprise is then rapidly followed up with another emotion (fear, anger, sadness, joy/happiness, etc.). Sarah Paulson's surprise was immediately supplanted by smiles and laughter.

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4315: Rep. Jim Jordan grills Rod Rosenstein at DOJ hearing

Body Language Analysis No. 4312: South Korea Defeats Germany at The World Cup

Body Language & Emotional Intelligence - Analysis No. 4311: Jeff Sessions, "We never really intended to do that"

Body Language Analysis No. 4309: The Little Girl in Red, "Tender Age" shelters, and Empathy 

Body Language Analysis No. 4294: LeBron James, Adrenaline Surges, and Emotional Intelligence

Body Language Analysis No. 4246: Former senior KGB spy - says he was warned that Sergei Skripal and his daughter were in danger

Body Language Analysis No. 4198: Lupita Nyong'o, Black Panther, and Attention to Detail

Body Language Analysis No. 4071: Fans' Reaction to Trauma - Young Girl Hit By Foul Ball at Yankee Stadium 

Body Language Analysis No. 3982: Bangkok Police Officer's De-Escalation Genius

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Body Language Analysis No. 4173: California Mud Slides - Rescue and Surprise - Nonverbal And Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Up until this moment, this fourteen-year-old girl had unaware of the extensive damage to her neighborhood from the California mudslides. Upon being rescued - and pulled from her collapsed home in Montecito, California - she was not prepared for the emotional impact of the seeing the flotsam and jetsam.

In this moment of realization, she displays a classic facial expression of surprise. Note the shape of her widely opened mouth - it's a vertically oriented ovoid. Additionally, none of her teeth are visible. Both of these features are components of sincere surprise. During feigned surprise - teeth are exposed and the opening of the mouth takes on a horizontal oval shape.

Simultaneously, her eyelids are also opened very widely - along with both elevated eyebrows and forehead.

True surprise is a very short-lived emotion, lasting only one to two seconds - as it's rapidly replaced with another emotion (commonly fear, anger, joy, sadness, embarrassment, etc.).

May we stand with the survivors as they recover as we grieve for those who have died in the California mudslides.






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Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com


See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4172: Donald Trump During National Anthem at Alabama vs. Georgia College Football Game

Body Language Analysis No. 4170: Stephen Miller's and Jake Tapper's Confrontational Exchange

Body Language Analysis No. 4168: President Trump's Hands - Conspicuous by their absence

Body Language Analysis No. 4166: Logan Paul's Apology

Body Language Analysis No. 4158: Michelle Williams regarding Kevin Spacey - "All the Money in the World"

Body Language Analysis No. 4132: Drake's Tattoo of Denzel Washington

Body Language Analysis No. 4107: Paul Manafort, Robert Mueller, Russian Oligarchs, and Donald Trump

Body Language Analysis No. 4061: Pennywise,"IT", and Bill Skarsgård's Demonic Smile - Why is IT so Scary?

Body Language Analysis No. 4017: Elisabeth Moss, Anthony Rizzo, and a Signal of Sincerity


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Body Language Analysis No. 4129: Charles Manson's Eyes - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (PHOTOS)

Charles Manson died in prison on Sunday. The cult leader was serving a life sentence for the murder of nine people in 1969. He was eighty-three years old.

Manson's appearance has come to symbolize, in many peoples' minds, the face of a crazed killer. A psychopath. The detail which most people remember are Charles Manson's eyes. They are opened very widely. But more specifically, what is it exactly about this expression that gives people "the chills"?

In this (anti)iconic photo of Manson - note how widely his upper eyelids are opened - his right eye more so than his left. His eyebrows are also elevated - which is also greater on his right side.

An astute observer may notice that Manson's nostrils are flared (again, with a bias on his right).

Now, look at the rest of his face. Although this image is of lower resolution, we can see his forehead is fairly relaxed, with minimal dynamic furrows present.

Next, try covering the upper two-thirds of his face - and look only at his mouth - it's relaxed, neutral.
The three primary emotions which involve widely-opened eyelids are:

• Intense Anger (Rage)
• Fear
• Surprise

With mild-to-moderate levels of anger, the eyelids will partially close and the mouth opening will tighten. With high levels of anger, however, this eyelid dynamic will reverse direction and the eyes will open very widely. The same wider-open configuration of intense anger/rage will also be true of the lips (and often of the mouth too - although sometimes while the lips will pull back - baring clenched teeth).

The mouth of fear is highly characteristic - with the corners of the mouth vectored backward (laterally) and down.

A mouth of surprise displays a classic vertically-oriented oval opening - with no teeth visible.

What makes Manson's face so "freaky" is that while his eyes are opened so very widely - the rest of his face (except for his nostrils) are relaxed. It's difficult to make such an expression without practicing - yet Manson did it all the time. It doesn't make sense. It confuses us. It feels odd. Normally the mouth is also "participating" with such an extreme eye expression - but not here. Thus, taken on their own, his extremely widely-opened eyes are considerably alarming - but the dramatic incongruity with the rest of his face is what really horrifies us.

Media Inquiries and Group Appearances 

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Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4128: Roy Moore's youngest accuser, Leigh Corfman - Interview on "Today"

Body Language Analysis No. 4126: Jeff Sessions' Joking regarding Kislyak/Russia

Body Language Analysis No. 4124: Jeff Sessions and Russia - Part II

Body Language Analysis No. 4118: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit

Body Language Analysis No. 4111: Selena Gomez, Francia Raisa, and a Kidney Transplant

Body Language Analysis No. 4106: Jordan's Queen Rania meets with Rohingya Refugee Children

Body Language Analysis No. 4067: 2017 Emmys - Melissa McCarthy's Reaction to Sean Spicer Doing Melissa McCarthy Doing Sean Spicer

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3569: Johnny Depp Surprises Pink on Jimmy Kimmel

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3507: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Amy Adams Do The Batman Voice

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Body Language Analysis No. 4087: Harrison Ford Accidentally Punches Ryan Gosling in the Face - Blade Runner 2049 - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling star in the recently released film, Blade Runner 2049. As you may have heard, Mr. Ford mistakenly punched Mr. Gosling during its filming. The image immediately below captures both of their faces a split-second after impact. What follows is a nonverbal analysis of this moment.

One very telling nonverbal signal is seen in this instant (less than a second after he received Harrison's punch) is Gosling's elevated right forehead and eyebrow. This dynamic indicates disbelief.

The actor's mouth is also in the initial stages of a surprise display - Gosling's lips are drawn in and protruding and we don't see any teeth. If we had another image from only 0.1 - 0.3 seconds later, his mouth opening would still be configured in an oval shape - only with tighter lips and with the long-axis of the oval oriented vertically.

Harrison Ford's mouth is also in the early stages of surprise - however, his mouth also has the overlying emotion of fear. As mentioned above, a mouth of surprise will display no teeth, lips oriented vertically (albeit very briefly) - but a mouth of fear orients more laterally - with each corner pulling back and downward. In this instant, these two emotions are competing against each other (with respect to the dynamics of Mr. Ford's mouth) - and the fear component is winning.

It's difficult to see the surface of his left eye - yet we can see enough to know that his eyelids are opened significantly wider than baseline. Both fear and surprise will cause widely opened eyelids.

Harrison's forehead is also very telling. A Central Forehead Contraction together with his particular mouth and eye expressions indicate that Mr. Ford is, in part, experiencing empathy for Mr. Gosling.

Significant physical pain will also result in a central forehead contraction - which Ford is certainly experiencing in his right hand (Note how he's holding/covering/rubbing his right hand with his left - as he's also doing months later as he re-lives the event on Norton's show). The retracted and protected positioning of his right shoulder and arm is highly characteristic of pain.

Although he may have been trying to be humorous, it's interesting to note that Graham Norton asks if Harrison Ford's expression is one of regret - and Ford says, "No, that's the face of 'Oh, Shit! I'm in deep doo doo.' "

Summary: When this accident occurred, each actor was transported back into the real world. Textbooks will often give the false impression that we experience feelings in an isolated and linear fashion. Yet the natural world is rarely so simple. Here we see both Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford - the people, not the actors - displaying classic examples of simultaneous and competing emotions.

Media Inquiries and Keynote Appearances 

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Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4086: Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, and Access Hollywood Video

Body Language Analysis No. 4084: Senator Corker Reacts to Secretary Tillerson's Statement (and President Trump)

Body Language Analysis No. 4082: Brother of Stephen Paddock (Las Vegas Shooter)

Body Language Analysis No. 4079: Tom Price, Private Jets, and Nonverbal Disparity

Body Language Analysis No. 4051: Predicting Kim Jong-un's Behavior

Body Language Analysis No. 4058: Cara Mund, Miss America 2018

Body Language Analysis No. 4031: One Gesture to Never Use When Condemning Neo-Nazis

Body Language Analysis No. 3982: Bangkok Police Officer's De-Escalation Genius

Body Language Analysis No. 3965: Manspreading, Madrid, and a Business Faux Pas

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Body Language Analysis No. 4039: Blue Angels, Surprise, Emotional Processing, and Empathy - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

This Blue Angels "Sneak Pass" reaction at the Chicago Air and Water Show, although very brief, examples some fantastic displays of body language. What follows is a partial analysis.

Note the woman with the aqua colored jacket over her right shoulder just as the F-18 Hornet surprises the crowd by flying from behind only 80-90 feet over the beach.

Although the resolution is a bit low in this motion-captured image, we can see that her eyelids and her mouth are opened very wide. More specifically, her mouth is opened in a vertically-oriented oval shape - with no teeth visible.

In this next image, her mouth is opened even more widely - still in a vertically-stretched oval shape - and still with no teeth visible.

She then covers her mouth with her hands and her jacket as she momentarily also closes her eyes.

Now contrast her body language with the shirtless man on the right side of the image. The entire time he has his hands on his hips in a finger's forward, arms-akimbo configuration (high alpha).

The woman discussed here is experiencing surprise. Surprise is the shortest-lived of any emotion (startling is not an emotion, but a reflex) - lasting only two-three seconds and then replaced with another emotion (in this case joy-wonder).

The mouth of sincere surprise is opened in a vertically-stretched oval shape with no teeth showing - exactly as we see here. When surprise is being feigned (as it often is), the teeth are invariably showing and the mouth is stretched horizontally.

When something incredibly surprising, unbelievably wonderful, or suddenly tragic - with high frequency a substantial percentage of people will cover portions of their faces (typically their mouths and/or cheeks) with their hands. This nonverbal act tells us two important things:

1. In that moment, although the person's intellectual brain knows what's transpired - their emotional brain is still trying to process the events and ramifications ("Emotionally Processing").

2. The people who consistently display this sudden hand-to-face covering during such events possess over-all empathy quotients and sincerity quotients which tend to be significantly higher than those who don't have this reaction under similar conditions. This observation allows much more accurate prediction of their behavior in other scenarios.


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Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com


See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4038: Donald Trump's Afghanistan Speech

Body Language Analysis No. 4035: Hope Hicks, Jared Kushner, and Phone Tells

Body Language Analysis No. 4033: Prime Minister Theresa May Regarding Charlottesville Violence, "I see no equivalence"

Body Language Analysis No. 4031: One Gesture to Never Use When Condemning Neo-Nazis

Body Language Analysis No. 4022: Jessica Alba's Rules for Naming Her Baby

Body Language Analysis No. 4010: Lisa Murkowski Responds To Donald Trump's Criticism

Body Language Analysis No. 3979: Ivanka Trump, "I Try to Stay Out of Politics"

Body Language Analysis No. 3948: The Manchester Bomber, Nonverbal Communication, Threat Assessment, and Emotional Intelligence

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


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3765: Conjoined twins Jadon and Anias McDonald - See each other directly for the first time - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (PHOTOS)

Conjoined twins Anias (left) and Jadon McDonald were successfully separated after a 27 hour surgery about 6 weeks ago. Thankfully they are making a record recovery. And although in the past, they could see each other in a mirror or via photographs (and even each others hands) - the image above captures the moment when, after their surgery, they first looked at each other directly.

(Empathy-test side bar: You should be in tears right now)

From a nonverbal perspective, many would confuse Jadon's and Anias' expression with that of surprise, it's not - rather it is that of emotional shock/emotional processing.

Note both Jadon's and Anias' mouths - each is partially open, but not widely so. The mouth of true surprise is opened wider - in a vertically-oriented oval shape (but also show no teeth). The mouth of emotional shock/emotional processing is characterized by relaxed jaw muscles (temporalis, internal pterygoid and masseter) - which give rise to the colloquials - "Mouth Agape", "Drop Jawed" and "Slack Jawed". Although they are very young, and almost no one has lived through a similar experience, almost everyone can put themselves in their proverbial shoes. Their intellectual brains rare suddenly recognizing a profound new fact - yet their emotional brains have yet to come to terms with the new course of events ("I can't wrap my brain around it").

When comparing the facial expression of emotional processing/emotional shock to that of surprise - the eyes behave similarly to the mouth. For while with the former the eyes are certainly opened wider than baseline, they are not opened as wide as with sincere surprise. On the surface, this may appear to some to be a simple matter of degrees, it's not. Although their Venn diagrams overlap, Emotional Processing/Emotional Shock is a different emotion than that of surprise.  

Another important distinction between these two feelings is that Emotional Shock/Emotional Processing is much longer-lived, while sincere surprise is the most short-lived of all emotions. True surprise will last only for a second or two - and importantly, will be rapidly replaced by another emotion (fear, anger, sadness, joy, etc.). 

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3764: Donald Trump's "A Message from the President-Elect"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3762: Mike Pence responds to 'Hamilton' Cast Message

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3760: Rory McIlroy's "Little Interviews"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3756: Amy Adams, Anxiety and Hesitancy to Disclose

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3720: The 2nd Presidential Debate - Donald Trump v. Hillary Clinton

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3705: Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump Presidential Debate - Trump: I'm 'smart' for paying no taxes

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3672: Jessica Alba, Swass, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3633: David Duke's Duplicity & The US Senate

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3578: Megan Fox, Body Language and Dismissive Emotions


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3692: Donald Trump Gets Interrupted by Pastor in Flint, Michigan - Body Language & Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Today at Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint, Michigan - Reverend Faith Green Timmons interrupted Donald Trump during a speech after he became critical of Hillary Clinton saying, "Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech."

Trump responded [over-talking], "Oh, oh, oh, okay - okay - okay, that's good - and I'm going to go back on point  now okay (pause) okay."

All the video of this event becomes blurry just prior to this specific time of his speech, however we can still see enough nonverbal detail to note that Trump is sincerely surprised by this sudden turn of events. Note that Trump's mouth opens in a vertically-oriented oval shape without the exposure of any teeth. When surprise is feigned, people mouth's will take on much more of a horizontally oriented oval (or circle) in addition to displaying teeth. Professional actors routinely get this wrong. Trump's surprise was sincere - Reverend Green Timmons' caught him off-guard.

Less visible are Trump's eyelids which are opened significantly wider than baseline as well as his raised eyebrows and an upward contracted forehead. These changes are also consistent with the emotion of surprise.

Note also how Mr. Trump grabs hold of Rev. Green Timmons' hands. This is not only an invasion of her personal space (intimate space) in a display of false intimacy, but it's also is an attempt at dominance (although her a failed one) and a sign of narcissism.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3691: Natalie Portman's Emotional Tell

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3688: Vladimir Putin, Phone calls, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3680: Donald Trump and Enrique Peña Nieto Shaking Hands 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3672: Jessica Alba and Swass

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3647: Yusra Mardini, Refugees, Syrian Swimmer, and Sincere Smiles

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3627: Donald Trump regarding President Obama & Shooting of Baton Rouge Police Officers, "But you just look at the body language - there's something going on"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3573: Angela Merkel, the G7, Destroying Rapport and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3508: Batman V Superman - Sad Affleck? (NOT!)


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3652: Simone Manuel & Penny Oleksiak Win Olympic Gold - Body Language & Emotional Intelligence (PHOTOS)

Yesterday Simone Manuel of the United States and Penny Oleksiak of Canada set a co-Olympic record as they tied in the finals of the 100 Meter Freestyle.

In the image captured above, Ms. Manuel is being interviewed just after her Gold Medal performance. In trying to suppress her tears, Simone's psyche employs an Inward Lip Roll (ILR). This nonverbal tool is but one method the human subconscious uses in an effort to both blunt the outward expression strong emotions - as well as also suppressing their inward growth. In this case Ms. Manuel is trying to dampen her "Happy Tears" - a colloquial emotional expression which overlaps with that of another: "Fiero".

As with so many emotions, Fiero is a descriptor which does not have an English language equivalent. It's a termed coined by Italian Psychologist Isabella Poggi and characterizes the feelings of intense triumph we feel upon solving a problem or great accomplishment. And although it's most commonly photographed in the context of sport - fiero, of course, occurs in every aspect of life.

The photo below shows Penny Oleksiak only 1-2 seconds after the race. The Canadian athlete is not yet fully expressing Fiero. From a nonverbal perspective, it's very important to note how her mouth is opened in a classic sincere surprise configuration displaying a vertical-oval, tight-lip configuration. In contrast, in the every-day world - a high percentage of what most people label as "surprise" is feigned. In these scenarios of acted and insincere surprise the appearance of teeth is one way to detected its forced nature.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3651: Micheal Phelps, Chad le Clos and the Power of the "Game Face"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3646: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Visas, Citizenship and Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3642: Does Donald Trump Know Vladimir Putin? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3633: David Duke's Duplicity & The US Senate 

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3561: Catchphrase, Andy Samberg, Bryce Harper and Gigi Hadid 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3532: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and The Graham Norton Show 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3503: John Kasich interview regarding Republican Convention

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3609: Emma Watson, Tina Turner, Ring Tones and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTO)

We always love embarrassing moments when it comes to celebrities. These occasions serve to make them more human. Showing their flaws endears them to us - and thus they build rapport with their fan base (although of course, they don't necessarily feel this way in the moment).

During a recent interview discussing her role as Belle in upcoming film, The Beauty and the Beast, Emma Watson's phone rang - revealing her Tina Turner, Steamy Windows ring tone.

During 0:58 - 0:59, Emma's surprise is revealed by her vertically opened, oval mouth configuration. Her simultaneous closed eyes/extended blink is an emotional blocking behavior - similar to her arm crossing (below).

During 1:10 - 1:12, Emma Crosses her arms in a moment of emotional discomfort and low confidence.  Although she's a very skilled and accomplished actor, she is of course, only human. During moments of embarrassment (additionally revealed here by Ms. Watson's blushing plus her suppressed yet sincere smile), it's natural we will very often see a "drawing in" of the limbs for "protection". Of course it's not a physical protection here - but an emotional one.

People often will say, "I'm crossing my arms because I'm more comfortable this way". And while there certainly are such moments dictated by physical comfort, but always remember - our PHYSICAL comfort is dictated by what first makes us EMOTIONALLY comfortable - not the other way around.

Another nuance here is Emma's right hand (she's right hand dominant) is positioned beneath her left arm - which further underlines her temporary low confidence. It's also noteworthy that just after this moment (1:13) there is an skip/discontinuity in the video - which most likely indicates there were other nonverbal anxiety tells (along with verbal and paralanguage signals) which where edited-out.

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3609: Emma Watson, Tina Turner and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTO)

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3608: Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Meeting with Bill Clinton

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3604: Nigel Farage, Jean-Claude Juncker, The Brexit and "Why Are You Here?"

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3591: Jo Cox, The Brexit and Sincere Smiles

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3248: Daniel Radcliffe Temps as a Receptionist at Nylon

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3387: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, The Graham Norton Show and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2996: Daniel Radcliffe Raps Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics" on Tonight Show/Jimmy Fallon''

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3437: Donald Trump Defends New York Values accusations from Ted Cruz


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3577: Tape Face - America's Got Talent 2016 Auditions - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

The recent appearance of "Tape Face" on America's Got Talent Auditions won the audience's approval and then went viral. Much of the time, the mime had a particular facial expression which serves to illustrate some nonverbal caveats.

The Tape Face Mime's eyelids were opened extremely widely for much of the skit. When this "white and wide" eye appearance occurs for extended periods of time, we should think of the following primary causes:

1. Fear
2. Severe Anger (Rage)
3. Psychological Disorder

Why shouldn't the emotion of Surprise be included on this list?

Of course, this facial expression is being acted. The fact that his mouth is taped creates the impression of a crime-hostage situation. Thus even though we cannot see the mouth expression, the emotion of fear is strongly implied (His nostrils are also flared - but this here that doesn't help to differentiate the nonverbal diagnosis).

Another characteristic which increases the "Creepiness Quotient" - is the fact that his entire forehead has been treated with Botox (this is clearly demonstrated during 0:05 [below], when, as his eye brows elevate, his forehead moves quite minimally and uncharacteristically). This "dead forehead" helps to give the face (his or any other's) an eerie mask-like appearance - however it diminishes, and quite considerably, his ability to express himself as any verbal actor would, but particularly as a meme.

0:05

















See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3576: Marco Rubio's Endorsement of Donald Trump

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2355:  Adam Lanza's College ID and the  Body Language of Eyes Chronically Wide Open

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3568: Hillary Clinton, (Low) Likability, Rapport (Destroying) and Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3551: Donald Trump, Body Language and an Alpha-Beta Hybrid

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3538: Barack Obama, David Cameron, Number 10, Brexit and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3527: North Carolina's Governor Pat McCrory Statement regarding His Order That "Clarifies" Controversial Gender Identity Bill

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3502: Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant Pranks a College Team as ‘The Transfer’ 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3473: Adele's Tongue and Ellen DeGeneres

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3524: Paddleboarder's Encounter with Spinner Shark - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

As luck and the internet would have it, this new viral video stands in dramatic contrast to yesterday's post where the fictional great white shark of Jaws required acting fearful - and it fell short. In this video, we see Maximo Trinidad paddleboarding off the coast of Jupiter, Florida where he had a close encounter with a (real) spinner shark.

During 0:16 we see Mr. Trinidad's eyes (eyelids) opened very widely, his central forehead contracted and elevated along with his inner (medial) eyebrows.

In this close up image of the same moment, Maximo's mid-face is tensed with dramatic nasal flaring and the corners of his mouth pulled out (laterally) and slightly downward.







See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3523: Jaws - "You're Going to Need a Bigger Boat"

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3511: Ted Cruz Statement Regarding Allegations of Extramarital Affairs - Body Language and Statement Analysis

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3504: Raúl Castro Lifts Barack Obama's Arm at Press Conference

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3454: Donald Trump - Buying the Farm after 2nd Place Finish in Iowa Caucuses

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3515: Jimmy Kimmel asks Ted Cruz, "Who Do Like Better, Obama or Trump?"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3468: GOP Debate, Antonin Scalia, John Dickerson and Ted Cruz on Supreme Court History

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3499: President Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3523: Jaws - "You're Going to Need a Bigger Boat" - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

"You're going to need a bigger boat". It's an iconic scene from a groundbreaking film. And this particular line has become a classic metaphor. Jaws was one of the most memorable movies of the 1970s. It also held the highest grossing spot until it was supplanted by Star Wars.

Roy Scheider was an excellent actor (nominated for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award) and Steven Spielberg is incredibly gifted (winning two Academy Awards for best director  - and he's also the highest grossing director of all time) - but they got a crucial part of this scene wrong.

In this moment, Chief Martin Brody displays a mild amount of nasal flaring and a moderate amount of pulling together and lowering ("knitting") of his lower forehead and eyebrows. While these changes are indeed seen with fear - they never occur without the additional corresponding necessary changes of the eyes/eyelids and mouth (if the underlying emotion is fear). This is not the face of fear.

What emotion(s) does Scheider's face convey?





To slice this expression even  thinner, Scheider's eyelids are mildly closed here - which is completely incongruent with fear or surprise.







Captain Brody would have never kept that cigarette in his mouth either. The dynamics of the mouth and lips during fear or surprise would not have allowed it.

If, with respect to human nature and context, this moment would have been accurately directed and acted, we would have first seen surprise - rapidly replaced by a fear expression. Here Scheider shows neither.

When the body language doesn't match the scene in a film we call it bad acting. But when the nonverbal behavior is disparate from the words or vocal qualities in the real word - other alarm bells should be sounded.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3522: Felicity Jones in New Star Wars Trailer: "Rogue One"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3198: Sepp Blatter, FIFA, Subtle Fear & Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 357: Fear in his Eyes

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1106:  Subtle Fear Display of al-Assad

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2955: Adrian Peterson - a Telling Body Language Cluster

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3190: Taylor Swift's Body Language of Feigned Surprise

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3509: Bernie Sanders meets Birdie Sanders

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3331: Mila finds out Adam Levine got married - Rapid Transitioning of Emotions

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2997: Halloween Haunted Houses - Transitioning from Expressions of Surprise to Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3524: Paddleboarder's Encounter with Spinner Shark


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