Vladimir Putin met with Chinese Defense Minister, Li Shangfu in Moscow this on Sunday 16 April 2023. Li is China’s Minister of National Defense. New to the office, it was Li’s first trip to another country in this role.
The above image of the meeting between Putin and Li was released by the Kremlin (Photo credit: Pavel Bednyakov). Putin’s body language screams in this moment.
*The corresponding descriptions appear below each of the following images.*
Note Putin’s position in his chair while meeting with Li. His buttocks are resting almost halfway forward (relative to backrest, compared with the front edge of the seat). Moreover he’s also leaning 20º-25º forward.
Putin is usually slouching backward (a backward angle to his spine), with his buttocks slightly away from the back of the chair (pictured here with President Biden in 2021). This configuration (along with Putin’s default facial expression) convey aloofness and arrogance.
… or (less often) Putin is usually sitting with his buttocks and back touching the back of his chair (spine relatively vertical, seen where with Donald Trump in July 2018).
…but not on this occasion. When meeting with Li, the body language cluster displayed by Putin (buttocks forward *and* leaning forward), is relatively unusual for him. It’s a strong indication that Putin needs/wants something.
Now look at Putin’s feet. Both of his feet are tilted inward (excessively pronated) to such a degree that the lateral aspect (outer portion) of each foot is elevated off the floor. This is extremely unusual for Putin, particularly on home soil.
Hyper-pronate your own feet in a manner similar to Putin’s right now. What does this do to the relative position of your knees? It moves the knees closer together — as are Putin’s (along with the adjacent portions of the upper and lower legs).
In both of the other examples shown above (Putin with Biden and Trump, respectively), Putin is sitting with his legs splayed wide (colloquially known as “Manspreading” — signaling dominance/hyper-dominance and/or masculinity). But not with Li.
Close your eyes. What effect does Putin’s specific leg-knee-foot configuration (as he is doing while meeting with the Chinese Defense Minister) have on your emotional state? Answer: It makes people feel lower confidence, unsure, and anxious. Knock-kneed and elevated outer edges of the feet = beta.
This leg-knee-foot cluster is profoundly telling. It’s highly indicative of a person feeling subordinate emotions. That this particular nonverbal signal cluster is being displayed by Putin toward Li Shangfu — especially while in the Kremlin, is simply staggering.
Now look at Li Shangfu. He’s also sitting with his buttocks forward his chair — but he’s *not* leaning forward. Li’s back is straight. His eyes, head, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, hips, and legs are all pointing toward Putin.
Li’s body language is not hyper-alpha, nor is it projecting low confidence. Li is not acquiescing. Li is engaged and respectful in this moment. Li doesn’t need Putin (Russia). Putin needs Li (China).
Putin’s head, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, hips (and even his chair) are not pointing toward Li — rather they’re pointing straight ahead. Putin’s feet, however, while not fully directed toward Li, are partially turned to the Chinese Defense Minister.
Note that Li’s feet are flexed. He’s up on his toes, with his knees bent (legs flexed) approximately 40º backward, past the perpendicular.
Li is alert and engaged with mild anxiety (normal for context). Li is not hyper-confident or arrogant but also he’s not in a mental/emotional mindset of weakness. Li (China) doesn’t need Putin (Russia).
Note the position of Putin’s and Li’s eyes. We have a poor angle/view of Putin’s eyes, but because his head is facing forward (relative to his body, not directed at Li), it necessitates Putin’s eyes to gaze somewhat laterally in order to look at Li Shangfu.
Since Li is ‘full body pointing’ at Putin, Li’s eyes don’t have to turn laterally in order to look at the Russian President.
Putin’s centrally-placed right (dominant) hand on top of his left hand is another attempt at looking calm, controlled, and in-charge — however, it’s actually an analog form of an elevated fig-leaf (indicating his mental-emotional vulnerability and relative weakness).
Putin is trying to ‘play it cool’ *above the table*. He’s trying to not look too needy — but we can see by the configuration of his lower body (particularly his feet and knees) that Putin is quite anxious about the ramifications of this meeting. Putin is off his game.
Li’s body language, in this moment, is quite typical of what we would expect from an engaged, alert, mildly anxious, *but not needy* government official in discussions with a head-of-state in a foreign capital (normal, given the context).
Note also Li’s statement regarding the meeting: “China is willing to work with Russia to make new contributions to the maintenance of world and regional security and stability”.
The components of Li’s multiple paralanguage tells are also quite noteworthy, nebulous, placating statement, and its non-committal language:
• “willing to work with” — is anything but an enthusiastic commitment or full-partnership.
• “to make new contributions to” — is classic ambiguous language. Li’s language is hedging.
• “the maintenance of” — Translation: “China is not going to improve Russia’s military situation or add anything directly to the equation — we’ll just maintain our relationship/maintain our current status”.
• “regional” — China does not consider Ukraine to be in its “region”.
• “security and stability” — Starting the largest war in Europe since WWII doesn’t equate to “stability”. Depleting one’s military whilst provoking growth of NATO does not enhance Russia’s “security”.
SUMMARY: Putin’s body language in this image indicates his low confidence, subordinate mental-emotional tone, his unsureness, and anxiety. He’s asking and feeling vulnerable and beta while meeting with Li Shangfu.
That Putin felt this soup of emotions while meeting with the Chinese Minister of Defense is highly telling of his vulnerability. Moreover, this meeting is on Russian soil — in the Kremlin. Red lights flashing, sirens blaring.
Putin does not think-believe (and feels vulnerable) that China will not enhance, in any meaningful way, Russia’s military or (from Putin’s POV) positively influence Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Li Shangfu was not sent to Moscow to give Russia weapons — only to maintain the current China-Russia status-quo.
Are you/your company/your organization interested in learning Body Language and using it to improve your personal and/or professional life — via one-on-one lessons, in-person lectures, or online group Zoom teaching? Email me (Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com).
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This post and other accompanying it, serve as a reference source for the art and science of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the author. In an effort to be both practical and academic, many examples from/of varied cultures, politicians, professional athletes, legal cases, public figures, etc., are cited in order to teach and illustrate both the interpretation of others’ body language as well as the projection of one’s own nonverbal skills in many different contexts.
In the above image, President Zelenskyy is seen on 4 April 2022, witnessing the aftermath of murder and torture unarmed Ukrainians civilians — including children, the elderly, and women — by Russian soldiers in Bucha.
In this close-up image, we are able to see somewhat greater facial detail. In the central portion of President Zelenskyy's forehead, the juxtaposition of two superficial muscles are manifested (Photo: AFP, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images).
The horizontal furrows (signifying temporary muscle contraction) in the mid-level of the central forehead are formed by active contraction of the frontalis pars medialis. These muscles are pulling upward (superiorly).
The vertical furrows in the lower portion of President Zelenskyy's central forehead are formed by contractions of the depressor glabellae, depressor supercilii, and corrugator supercilii. These muscle contractions are pulling downward (inferiorly) and inward (medially).
In addition, the entire width of the lower forehead, including each eyebrow, is also contracted — vectoring downward, hooding a portion of his eyelids.
President Zelenskyy is looking down and to his right (he may, of course, be looking at bodies of the deceased). Of particular note, the right lower quadrant (his right) is the direction we most often look when we're trying to emotionally process grief, sadness, and agony.
President Zelenskyy's upper eyelids as well as his lower eyelids are partially actively closed (not 'droopy' but actively contracted).
The corners of President Zelenskyy's mouth are also down-turned. His nostrils are flared and his 'mustache area' is also contracted (primarily vertically, but also somewhat horizontally stretched).
On the left side of President Zelenskyy's neck, it appears that his external jugular vein is moderately distended. This is most likely a manifestation of what is a momentary and partial valsalva-like phenomenon associated with an attempt at suppression of tears and sadness.
SUMMARY: In the moment captured in this image, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is displaying grief, sadness, and agony upon witnessing the aftermath of War Crimes — Genocide in Bucha. He's actively suppressing tears.
On 6 October 2019, the Trump administration ordered American troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria, where the United States had been supporting its Kurdish allies. Turkey began its military operation on 9 October 2019 when the Turkish Air Force launched airstrikes against the Kurdish people living in the towns bordering Turkey. On 11 October 2019, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo sat for an interview by Nancy Amons in Nashville. What follows is a partial nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage analysis of that exchange.
After Ms. Amons says, "I'm going to start right away with the tough stuff that you're expecting" — we see Mike Pompeo immediately (0:57) displays an amalgam expression of:
• Horizontal Mouth Opening — signifying Anger
• Jaw Jut (Jaw Thrust Forward) — signaling an Adrenaline Surge
• Bunching up of tissue immediately beneath the lower lip — a sign of Frustration
In the same second (0:57) Secretary Pompeo looks Down to his Right (the quadrant to which we often gaze during shame, sadness, guilt, and when projecting deception).
While he simultaneously displays a Loose Tongue Jut. A loose tongue jut is significant for the thought-emotions of:
• "I've been caught"
• "I've been bad"
• "I've done a foolish thing"
(Take care not to confuse a Loose Tongue Jut with a Tight Tongue Jut or a Wide Open Tongue Jut — for they indicate entirely different emotions).
After Ms. Amons says, "Michael McKinley first", Mr. Pompeo looks down to his right (1:03). With high reliability, human beings commonly feel guilt, sadness, shame, and deception when looking to their lower right quadrant.
There is a possible distraction to his left (1:03), however, it may not be significant at all. Often a person who does not want to be confronted will 'find' minor events to which he can temporarily 'escape'. This appears to have been what's happened here.
You may have noticee that as Pompeo looks to his left, his forehead muscles and eyebrows elevate while his eyelids close. This opposite-direction dynamic of these closely juxtaposed tissues is a profound red flag for accompanying deception coupled with arrogance-contempt.
Note too, that his mouth opening has also reconfigured into the highly characteristic horizontal lips of anger.
Moreover, his midface is very tightened. This dynamic is best seen with the flaring of Pompeo's nostrils and the tightening of the area above his lips and below his nose (the Mustache region). This cluster-context is also highly indicative of anger.
After he turns his head back toward Ms. Amons, just after she says, "big announcement yesterday" (1:05), he tilts his head back (anger-arrogance), his lips again grow horizontal, become very thin (thin lips of anger), and then disappear — even though his teeth are clenched (high adrenaline surge).
From about 1:06 - 1:36, Secretary Pompeo displays a mild-moderate expression of contempt toward Ms. Amons and the subject of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. It's helpful to think of this expression of contempt as a slight snarl (centered on the left side of his face). There's also a secondary component of disgust present.
Pompeo's contemt-disgust occurs as Ms. Amons says, "... one of your most trusted senior advisors, um, resigned. He's adding his voice to a number of career diplomats who've expressed frustration over what they see as your failure to stand up for, ahum, government servants - and servants like Ambassador Yovanovitch who've been caught up in the Ukraine controversy. Ahum, did you do enough to defend the Ambassador privately and publicly against the smear campaign that was being waged against her? And will you speak to that now?"
He smacks his lips, looks down, slightly to his right (1:36) and says, "Well Ma'am you have some of your facts wrong. Ah, so you, you should be careful about things you assert as facts before you — state them."
His lack of temporary lack of eye contact at this crucial moment is telling.
In this image (1:48) just as he says the word, "team" ("along with my
team"), we can see Secretary Pompeo's forehead elevating with uneven
contraction on his left side as well as the region in the center of his
forehead above his nose. This same area, as well as most of each
eyebrow, demonstrate significant erythema (reddening). This combination
of findings indicates, with high probability, that Mike Pompeo has had
recent Botox treatment to these areas.
At 1:57, Mike Pompeo again looks down to his right (guilt, sadness, shame, and deception) just before he says, "I think, I think [stutter] the results that we've achieved — I've been the Secretary of State now fer [sic] — about a year and a half — I think the results that we've achieve [sic] stand on their own."
This image, captured during 2:00, shows Pompeo smiling (sincerely and partially suppressed) as he tells us how long he's been Secretary of State. Ms. Amons just asked him a serious question. His answer, with his smiling-out-of-context, is a highly significant red flag.
At 2:17, Pompeo can be seen shaking his head, side-to-side, in a classic "No" denial illustrator, while referring to the State Department, "... to focus on a singular mission, to deliver on behalf of America, and I think we have done that...". Secretary Pompeo repeats this same dynamic at multiple times throughout this interview — see if you can spot all of them.
This behavior is a quintessential example of the nonverbal axiom: Whenever the body language contradicts the verbal language, it's the body language that is telling the truth.
After Ms. Amons asks, "Can you speak to Michael McKinley's resignation?" Pompeo answers, "I don't talk about personnel matters". Immediately after that (2:27), Pompeo displays disgust. Note that his eyelids are partially closed. While not a required component of the expression of disgust, in this context this partial eyelid closure is a contempt amplifier.
Note his mid-facial tightening — particularly in his mustache region and with the flaring of his nostrils. These dynamics are highly characteristic of disgust.
Disgust is also often accompanied by a pseudo-smile. This is an attempt at camouflage — an analog of painting over dirt — and while it may fool a good percentage of people, most can usually tell that this ruse that's far from sincere.
At 2:56, just after he says, "I appreciate your inquiry a great deal, but it just wouldn't be appropriate", Pompeo once again displays disgust.
From a Statement Analysis perspective, Pompeo's multiple uses of the word, "appropriate" is also highly suspect (three times within 24 seconds, 2:32 - 2:56). "Appropriate" is a word which people often use to lend credibility to their opinion. It's a phenomenon of rationalization behavior — a word that pretends to be objective, but it really screams with subjectivity and confirmation bias.
As Ms. Amons begins to speak about Ambassador Yovanovitch, Secretary Pompeo's disgust deepens and takes on a component of contempt and anger (3:01).
It's crucial to also notice that Pompeo's respiration also increases (watch his shoulders rise and fall). It was already elevated during this interview, however, it increases even further to approximately one breath every 2 seconds - which is about 1.5 to 2.5 times normal. The subject of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is a strong emotional trigger for Secretary Pompeo.
Another amalgam of Contempt, Anger, and Disgust is exhibited by Pompeo (3:09) immediately after he says, "I've supported every mission that the State Department has been engaged in and will continue to do that".
At 3:15, Mike Pompeo displays a poorly feigned smile (masking more disgust) as Ms. Amons begins to frame a question regarding the Kurdish people. This 'smile' is feigned and highly insincere.
As Ms. Amons says, "A senior State Department official told reporters yesterday that, 'Among the deepest concerns about Turkey's incursion are indiscriminate firing on civilians and even ethnic cleansing", Pompeo hard swallows (watch his Adam's apple rise and fall) and closes his eyes (3:29).
In this moment, Pompeo once again shakes his head side to side, in a "no" illustrator as he says, "So I'm very proud of what we've done in support of the Kurds". This nonverbal display contradicts his words - Pompeo is not proud at all. This nonverbal-verbal disparity is also betrayed by the partial smile the Secretary of State is displaying. Such a smile is completely out of context given the subject being discussed is death and war (4:07).
During 4:10 - 4:11, Pompeo laughs, as he says, "... even, even as I sit here today" (and immediately after he says, "We're working diligently ..."). He then repeats the word "diligently" within 3 seconds. ("Out team is working diligently on the ground").
After he finishes his answer he returns to an amalgam of Anger-Disgust-Contempt (4:24).
Beginning at 4:24, Ms. Amons continues, "And for the Kurds who are here in Nashville, do you see why they're so worried?"
At 4:33, Pompeo again smile-laughs as he says, "You have to remember...". After saying, "We've been incredibly supportive, and we will continue to support them". He then goes on to say, "... ah, and I'm sure the people in this region would know that the Kurds exist not only in Syria, they exist in many places."
Pompeo's logic seems very much to suggest, 'If we do good over here, you have to discount our bad behavior over there.'
"And, ah, the United States has been and will continue to be incrediv of [sic] supportive to protect them. We've made ah, we've made a real ..."
As Pompeo says, "We've made ah, we've made a real ...", he looks down to his right (4:44).
The most common thought-emotions for looking in this quadrant are guilt, sadness, shame, and deception.
Pompeo then bites his lip at 4:46 just prior to saying, "centerpiece". This lip-biting conveys Pompeo's subconscious hesitancy to speaking about protecting victims of oppression.
Where he had been subtly nodding his head in up-and-down affirmation, Pompeo then suddenly changes to a side-to-side shaking dynamic as he says, "... protecting people all around the world ..." (4:49).
His nonverbal behavior is saying, "no", which is in direct contradiction to his verbal behavior. Whenever these two behaviors are disparate, it's the nonverbal message which tells the truth. Pompeo is lying.
He then proceeds to smile as he shakes his head in a side-to-side, "no" (beginning at 4:55) as he says, "all the things, ah, that I know the Kurdish people that live right here (care so deeply about"). Again, why is Pompeo smiling when discussing such a weighty topic? It's completely out of context. And why is he shaking his head, "No" — his nonverbal behavior contradicts his words.
Pompeo once again reverts to an expression of Anger-Disgust-Contempt (5:01) and maintains it as Ms. Amons asks her next question:
"In mid-February, you were in Warsaw and so was Rudy Giuliani. During your time there, did you meet with Giuliani?"
Pompeo then pauses for about 3.0 seconds and his contempt expression grows considerably. He doesn't answer Ms. Amons' question (5:15).
Pompeo then repeats himself, in a manner which is close to word-for-word, three times, as she presses the Secretary of State for an answer. In between his answers he returned to his Anger-Disgust-Contempt expression (but with the contempt component being the largest). Watch this change in the video (at full speed, at 12 speed, at 1/4 speed, and once again at full speed. Repeat this cycle several times — doing so will make you more attuned to detecting this expression in real-time.
During the second of his three repeats, Pompeo brings up the subject of the Obama administration ("to recover from the Obama administration has done which was to underwrite the world's largest state sponsor of terror".) As he said, "to recover" (5:40), Pompeo quickly looks down to his right once again (guilt, sadness, shame, and deception).
Pompeo's expression once again returns to a strong Anger-Disgust-Contempt expression (6:04) after he responds to Ms. Amons with his third version of his non-answer (never addressing whether or not he met with Rudy Giuliani while they were in Warsaw).
Beginning at 6:05, Ms. Amons asks, "Text messages show that diplomats
under your authority told the Ukrainians that a good relationship with
President Trump was only possible if they investigated his political
opponent and theories about what happened in 2016. Were you aware that
this was happening?"
Watch Secretary Pompeo carefully during the 16 seconds it took Ms. Amons to ask this question. You'll note that Pompeo's respiration is very quick — perhaps at the highest rate at any time during this entire interview. During this time, Pompeo's expression took on a greater component of anger (6:18).
Mike Pompeo does not answer the question, rather he proceeds to retort with admonishing Ms. Amons with the phrasing of her question. While doing so, he's smiling and faux-laughing. Why? Laughing and smiling out-of-context is always a red flag (6:29).
He once again berates President Obama (beginning at 6:51, "And this administration, unlike the previous one, is taking those responsibilities very seriously").
Pompeo continues at 6:57, "Part of that, an incredibly important part of that, is making sure that corruption [hard swallow] is weeded out [looks down to right] at every level [smiling] inside of Ukraine. And our team, for the entire time I've been Secretary of State has been working on that project [shaking head no].
Just after he says, "corruption", Pompeo hard-swallows to an extreme degree. This example of hard- swallowing is so profound, it's almost a caricature (7:02).
A split-second after he says, "is weeded out" (7:03), Pompeo again looks down to his right (guilt, sadness, shame, and deception) just prior to a prolonged blink.
During the blink, and after this prolonged blink, Pompeo once again suppresses a smile (7:04).
Why is he smiling when he's speaking about corruption? (7:05). This overlaps with the phenomenon of what is known as duping delight (taking pleasure in the belief that another person is being fooled when attempting to perpetrate a lie). Please watch the video as the subtlety of this dynamic is not captured well in still images.
He also shakes his head in a side-to-side "No" illustrator while stating a positive affirmation ("And our team, for the entire time I've been Secretary of State has been working on that project"). This is yet another example of Pompeo's body language contradicting his verbal language. When you see such disparity, believe the body language — not the spoken words.
When Ms. Amons asks her final question, "Would you like to wrap it up by saying why you're here?", Pompeo again looks down to his right as he talks about religious freedoms and oppressed minorities around the world. He also continues to shake his head "no" in body language contradictory to his words (7:21).
It's noteworthy that Pompeo's team their phones in the room after they departed (at 8:11, Ms. Amons can be heard saying, "Their phones are still there"). In addition, throughout this interview, Mike Pompeo's rate of blinking is significantly diminished versus normal (for him personally, as well as the population at large). This sets off subconscious alarms in most people — as it should. Such staring is significant for an elevated adrenaline state as well as anger and predatory behavior.
Moreover, Pompeo's breathy measured mostly monotone vocal quality is indicative of suppressed anger and condescending emotions.
SUMMARY: The nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior displayed by Secretary Pompeo during this interview, with extremely high likelihood, indicates that:
• Mike Pompeo lied repeatedly during this interview
• Pompeo met with Rudy Giuliani in Warsaw
• Pompeo is worried about Michael McKinley's testimony
• Pompeo has disgust and contempt toward former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
• Pompeo displays significant difficulty with impulse control
• Pompeo feigns and does not care for the religious freedoms of oppressed minorities
• Pompeo displays strong guilt and anxiety when speaking about corruption
• Pompeo displays extreme anxiety and anger with the subject of Ukraine arms-for-dirt allegations
• Pompeo's evasiveness and non-answering of multiple questions is highly suspect of guilt
• Pompeo, like Trump, repeatedly deflects by accusing President Obama of wrong-doing
• Pompeo displayed repeated strong contempt, disgust, and anger toward his interviewer, Ms. Amons
• Pompeo displays significant guilt and anxiety regarding Trump's sudden withdraw of support for the Kurdish people
