The above image of Donald Trump was taken as he was heading back into the courtroom yesterday after a break during his felony election interference trial.
Here's another slightly different image taken a second or two later:
Of course, everyone knows that Donald Trump is stressed. That's certainly no secret. But here's the Rub: to note similar times when someone who you like and trust – exhibits similar nonverbal behavior (i.e., in everyday scenarios).
As with all human beings, we constantly fall victim to our confirmation bias. Would most people be able to accurately interpret this behavior if instead the person exhibiting it was someone we felt relatively neutral toward – or even someone for whom we cared deeply?
Would we be then able to spot a lie? The insincerity? Manipulation? The Answer: Most of the time an otherwise socially adept person would not be able to see these behaviors in these alternative scenarios. Body Language skills are irreplaceable tools of objectivity.
Trump's expression displayed here is known as the "Puffer Fish". As with the vast, vast majority of body language, it's initiated and occurs subconsciously. It's almost exclusively seen just immediately prior to or immediately following a stressful event.
I've seen quintessential examples of this behavior in athletes just prior to their games/events, in students just before big exams, in surgeons before/after difficult surgeries, etc. ...and, as we see exampled here – in criminal defendants.
Despite what a person may say, if you see the Puffer Fish expression — you can be sure that the person is beginning or finishing (what is for them) a particularly stressful event.
If the display of stress seems out of proportion with the context, this body language should raise a big red flag in your mind that there's more going on. Dig deeper.
The Puffer Fish nonverbal display occurs during an extended exhalation. It's an outward manifestation of the psyche's attempt to bring about a calming effect – more specifically, a decrease in respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels.
SUMMARY: The Puffer Fish Expression is Body Language dynamic display indicating the attempt of the subconscious at lowering both our physiological and psychological stress.
Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com
Katherine Bouman has become the public persona for the first-ever imaging of a Black Hole. She's an American imaging scientist and an incoming assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences at CalTech. Her Ph.D. thesis was titled, "Extreme imaging via physical model inversion: seeing around corners and imaging black holes".
As a member of the Event Horizon Telescope team, Dr. Bouman helped capture this first image of a supermassive black hole - at the center of Messier 87 (Also known as M87 - a truly gargantuan galaxy composed of a trillion stars - centered approximately 53.49 light years from Earth). This image is profoundly symbolic and significant in the history of science - for the photo matched the theory - and thus, was just what astronomers expected.
This photo, from Katie Bouman's Facebook post, is captioned, "Watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed".
From a nonverbal perspective, what does this photo of Katie Bouman tell us?
Although we can only see a portion of her mouth, it does seem to be configured in a true, sincere simile. Her left mouth corner - and a hint of her right corner - are both directed primarily upward and also laterally.
Another crucial component of a true smile is seen displayed by Dr. Bouman's cheek muscles (zygomaticus major). These contracted and vectored upward as well.
If her hands weren't covering her mouth, we'd only see her upper teeth.
We can see that Katie Bouman's upper and lower eyelids are partially closed. Moreover, her lower eyelids each have a dynamic, concave-up furrow present. This evanescent finding is required of a true, sincere smile (a Duchenne Smile).
A seldom noted, but crucial part of a sincere smile is a non-contracted forehead. Note that Dr. Bouman's forehead is relaxed.
Dr. Bouman is also blushing. While not a required element of a true smile of joy-happiness, when accompanying the above-described characteristics - blushing is a sincerity amplifier.
As noted previously, Katie Bouman's hands are covering her mouth. This mouth covering is a signal of emotional processing. Said another way, while the logical portion of her brain knew what was happening - the emotional part of her brain was a more than a bit overloaded processing the event and its the ramifications.
Fascinatingly, during moments of dramatically good, bad, or surprising
news - the covering of one's mouth - which often occurs rapidly (along
with covering of portions of the cheeks and/or nose) - not only tells us
the person's emotional characteristics in that moment - but this
dynamic also speaks to a significant part of that person's overall
character. Those who exhibit this behavior will have significantly
higher sincerity and empathy levels.
Yet, Katie Bouman is displaying some emotional dissonance here. For this photo
was taken at the moment when the first (of many) images of the M87
Supermassive Black Hole were being compiled. These were eventually
amalgamated into the complete picture (shown above) which we've all since become familiar. In this
early stage of this scientific moment, Dr. Bouman, naturally, had some
anxiety - which is, in part, manifested with her straight, intertwined
fingers. In this context, the collective positions of her upper and lower arms, along with her shoulders - which are all drawn inward and covering her chest - is an anxiety amplifying cluster.
SUMMARY: Katie Bouman's smile is a true, sincere smile of joy-happiness. She's also experiencing some (quite expected) anxiety - as well as some emotional processing during the unfolding of this historical event.
On Tuesday 8 January 2019, President Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office regarding his proposed Wall at the US-Mexico border. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of this event.
As he began his Oval Office address, Donald Trump intertwined his fingers (0:06). For him, this hand/arm configuration is rare. He was probably following the advice of a speech coach. Some adopt this pose because they believe it looks strong and/or confident (which was Trump's intent in this moment).
However, depending on the other accompanying (simultaneous or nearly simultaneous) nonverbal signals - this hand configuration often transmits patronizing, condescending, and arrogant emotional tones - or it may signal frustration and/or anger.
This particular hand-over-hand dynamic (0:12) projects feelings of clandestine plotting and a hidden agenda.
Thus, it's no accident that Mr. Burns from The Simpsons also displays this same nonverbal behavior.
Donald Trump uses this Mid-level Steeple far too often (as well as the Low Steeple when he's sitting in a chair with no desk or table in front of him). When used this frequently, this (conventional) steeple strongly projects arrogance and an authoritarian emotional-tone (0:23).
Like all hyper-alpha nonverbal behaviors, anything more than a very little bit is far too much. Trump dramatically over-uses this body language. If he were well advised, the President would have been coached to display this signal for (at most) only about a half a second (if at all) - as he spoke (what he felt was) the most important word - of the most important sentence - of the entire address. Instead, this is very often the President's default hand position.
"While a pinch of garlic is just right, even a little bit more ruins the recipe." Piper Anne Twain
Trump displays an amalgam of Disgust and Anger is during 1:19 as he says, "Vietnam" ("... more Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War ...").
As he is saying, "... assaults, thirty thousand sex crimes, and four thousand violent ...", note the President is clasping his hands while he's rubbing his right thumb against his left thumb (1:34 - 1:40). This is another nonverbal dynamic rarely used by Trump - and indicates significantly elevated anxiety.
At numerous times during this address, the President raised one eyebrow (his left) indicating his disbelief in his own words. A particularly telling example is shown here (4:12) as he says the word, "request" ("... at the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier ...").
During 6:16, just after he says, "Hopefully we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security", Donald Trump displays a classic Loose Tongue Jut indicating the thought-emotions of:
• I've been bad
• I've been caught
• I've done a stupid thing
Many people noted (and Tweeted) about The President's Dilated Pupils during his Oval Office address (image above was a screenshot from 6:08). Everyone who has been monitoring Donald Trump's pupils closely would have observed these to be Dilated:
• Intermittently
• Equally (or very nearly so)
• Often Extremely (at other times they have been dilated even larger than shown here)
• In a pattern repeated many times over years
Of course, with bright camera lights (or even routine, ambient, indoor lighting), we would expect anyone's pupils to be much smaller.
Note how dilated Trump's pupils are in this image from 2017.
At numerous times the President also exhibited deep nasal inhalations (e.g., 9:15).
SUMMARY: Simple fact-checking of Tuesday's Oval Office address reveals numerous examples of deception. In addition, President Trump's nonverbal behavior indicates he was experiencing the thought-emotions of frustration, anger, disgust, and a high level of anxiety.
Moreover, the President's pupils were significantly dilated. From a medical standpoint, his long-term pattern of bilateral, intermittent pupillary dilation is profound. It's not at all subtle or to be easily dismissed - on the contrary, it is glaring. Sirens Blaring. Red flashing lights.
While there are rare diseases/conditions which may cause such an intermittent, extreme, pupillary dilation, and I have not examined the President directly, any qualified ophthalmologist will tell you that a patient exemplifying these characteristics would be highly suspected of illicit drug abuse (I invite everyone to refute or confirm these medical findings - particularly those physicians with neuro-ophthalmology expertise). This medical principle stands on its own, however when coexisting with the President's prevalent and repeated deep inhalations, Occam's razor leads us - and the safety of the world necessitates us - to demand immediate action. A full and public medical evaluation of the President must be undertaken.
Here's the Rub: when someone we like and/or trust - exhibits similar
nonverbal behavior (e.g., in everyday scenarios) - if we fall victim to
our confirmation bias - would most people then be able to spot the lie?
His insincerity? Her manipulation? The Answer: Most of the time, No - we would be blind to it. Objectivity matters. Critical thinking
matters. Beware of confirmation bias - when evaluating your own, your
adversaries', or your friends' actions, proposals, and opinions.
On Monday 12 November 2018, GE's CEO, Larry Culp gave an interview on CNBC. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of that exchange and some recommendations and ideas I would propose if he were one of my private clients.
In a business setting, with rare exception, a man should always wear a navy or black suit. Even light grey suits should be avoided, let alone plaid, or beige. Only navy and black suits command the highest authority, rapport, and influence. Mr. Culp should also opt for a solid-colored shirt (white or blue) with a tie. For the fashion-forward, this may seem very vanilla - but in a professional setting, this conservative color-scheme is important and proven.
Culp is the CEO of a cutting-edge corporation and his appearance - including his haircut should reflect a forward-looking fashion. No one expects him to be a model, but with respect to fashion, Culp's hairstyle is 1970esque.
Throughout this whole interview, Larry Culp's voice cracks and is a bit gravelly. Along with his dry throat caused by anxiety, he also displays a multitude of very noticeable hard-swallows. These are often associated with Culp stuttering and stammering.
In addition, Mr. Culp often performs a lip/tongue-smacking maneuver associated with his hard-swallowing/stuttering-stammering. These have a tic-like quality.
This cluster of hard-swallowing, gravelly voice, stutterings-stammerings behaviors is secondary to his high level of anxiety - a pattern quite prominent in both amplitude and frequency. It's a real red flag. Any layperson or shareholder would look at this pattern/characteristic alone and correctly interpret that this is a nervous man who's bit off more than he can chew.
Another noteworthy pattern throughout the interview is that Larry Culp's verbal responses seemed as if he was responding as a politician. He should have initially answered definitively - following up with an explanation. Instead, Mr. Culp, like a lot of people with lower confidence, less experience, and/or who are relatively educated/cerebral - does not give a decisive answer, but rather, first delves into a more lengthy explanation. Responding to questions in this manner tends to lose listeners and importantly - makes Culp look weak, wishy-washy, and sometimes dishonest. In contrast, I would highly recommend he respond with, "Yes, and here's why ..." or "No, but let me elaborate on that ...", or "That's not completely clear, but here's what we're going to do ..."
Many times, the GE CEO responded to questions in a manner which seemed to deliberately set a low bar, indicating his diminished confidence and feelings of instability. Taken alone, this sends signals of strong pessimism and trepidation - and thus, it's no surprise that shareholders responded with a sell-off. (e.g., "This is a challenge of a lifetime given where we find the company today" [When asked why he took the job as CEO], "Well, we have to prove that out" [in response to the question, "Can you attract the people you need to?"], "We are working very hard with the power team to get a better grounding in our reality" [A non-answer answer], "Very much, a sense of urgency David" [in response to, "Are you going to quicken the pace of asset sales at this point? Is there a sense of urgency?"], etc.).
You may have noticed the way Larry Culp was sitting. Captain chairs - particularly a design which are narrower as these appear to be are not recommended. While having armrests on chairs is important for the person being interviewed - if the chair is too narrow and especially if the armrests are relatively high - it forces the arms in an awkward configuration - causing the elbows/forearms to rest to high. This, in turn, causes the shoulders to hunch and upper back/neck to tighten - leading to increased anxiety and a substantially more beta appearance. Mr. Culp should exert more control of the interview process. Surprisingly, although this was conducted in GE's office (home field advantage is always wise and should be prioritized), the interview set design was less suboptimal. Culp should instead use a chair which is a bit wider and with lower armrests.
Mr. Culp should sit forward on the chair a few inches - such that his back and his buttocks are not touching the back of the chair. A slight forward lean with one's back - nothing dramatic, perhaps 10º - 15º is recommended. When we're fully engaged and enthusiastic in a conversation (or film) - and if we want to build influence and rapport - we should lean and position ourselves slightly forward in the chair.
President Obama, while overall very adept with his nonverbal skills - also sat too far back in chairs and in addition, he often distanced himself further by crossing his legs in a European-style. This configuration is one reason why some of his critics thought him aloof.
If a man sits with his legs (thighs) spread very widely, this is colloquially referred to as "Manspreading" (technically termed "Seated Crotch Display" - à la Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin).
(Note how Viktor Yanukovych and his legs are acquiescing while and Vladimir Putin shows him who holds the power)
The manspreading hyper-alpha seating style is offensive - and an approach that's certainly not recommended. Mr. Culp, however, goes a bit too far in the opposite direction, for his upper legs (thighs) are configured in a relatively beta manner - parallel and facing directly forward (and perhaps even slightly knock-kneed), rather than spreading moderately (e.g. ~ 25º - 30º). Sitting further back in the chair (particularly with the chair design seen here) prevents this approach - while forward sitting with moderate leg-spreading will up-regulate Culp's psyche and make him feel (and appear) more alpha, powerful, assertive, and confident. Intriguingly, it will also engender a greater fluidity to his speech.
This is a hand position which should be avoided but is engendered by keeping the elbows resting on the armrests one's chair. It projects feelings of a hidden agenda (and conjures up images of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons).
Charles Montgomery Burns ("Mr. Burns", who, coincidentally, is the owner of a Nuclear Power Plant).
While interviewers are used to the relatively close proximity one typically sits when conducting such interviews, most interviewees are not. This often makes them feel uncomfortable - as sometimes the interviewer encroaches into the interviewee's personal space. Thus, to partially alleviate this effect, the small table to the side of Culp's right leg should be removed from the set.
Matt Lauer used to routinely cross his legs in a European-style and he would often touch his foot against the interviewee as an intimidation tactic. Among other things, this is a strong signal of narcissism.
Notice too, Mr. Culp's foot and leg placement. With one leg/foot forward, and the other positioned a bit backward - it causes increased anxiety and lower confidence during an interview. Moreover, shareholders and the average onlooker will sense the lower confidence of a person seated this way. Depending on what the rest of the body is doing, this telegraphs the impression that a person wants to leave (like a date who is anxious to depart) - which is true with respect to this interview. The audience may also subconsciously take it as a sign of an ominous corporate forecast. He should have both feet flat on the floor, with equal forward positioning.
Larry Culp should also slow down the pace of his speech. In doing so, he would better control the tempo of the interview. By answering quickly, he displayed anxiety and his diminished confidence (this also has a feedback effect of decreasing his confidence even further). Speaking more slowly would also lower the tone of his voice slightly, which would serve to up-regulate his alpha qualities (internally, with his own psyche - as well as from the point of view of onlookers).
David Faber in the midst of a pen-surrogate-finger-point-hand-chop
Larry Culp's staff should have asked in advance who was going to interview him and then reviewed his idiosyncrasies and prepared Larry accordingly. David Faber (Culp's interviewer here), has the habit of holding a pen in his right hand and gesturing forward with it - in what is known as a surrogate-finger-point-hand-chop. This hyper-alpha dynamic is aggressive and intimidating. Unfortunately, there are a few news personalities for whom this as a staple of their interviewing style - despite it being a universally offensive gesture (slightly better than an index-finger-point-hand-chop [when no pen/pencil is used]). Culp's assistant should have performed their prep work and, a few days prior, asked Mr. Faber not to use this gesture (and with a friendly reminder just prior to the interview).
Beginning at 13:16 in the video, Mr. Faber asks Mr. Culp, "Are you hampered at all in the marketplace by a deteriorating credit rating and by perhaps the longer-term concerns of some of those customers?" During this question, particularly the last portion, Culp is nodding up-and-down (in the affirmative). This body language is completely disparate from his verbal answer. Whenever the verbal and the nonverbal responses contradict each other - it's the nonverbal display which is telling the truth. Thus, Culp's verbal response here is misleading at best, and with high-likelihood, indicative of deception (Please watch the video, as the dynamic nature of this gesture cannot be captured in a single image).
Mr. Culp should avoid the use of the word "folks" - this is both a dated and Americanized colloquial.
Larry Culp dramatically over-uses the word "frankly" in this interview. This is a term he should eliminate from his vocabulary. Its use is a red flag, for very often it signals a lack of full disclosure and an attempt at manipulation. Most people associate its use with dishonesty and a patronizing tone.
Culp repeatedly smiles out-of-context - this example occurring during 15:07 - just as he says "Nobody's happy" ("... Nobody's happy with, with [stutter] where we are today ..."). As this nonverbal display contradicts his verbal language, people will accurately interpret it as insincere and view Culp with suspicions.
In this moment, captured during 14:14, we can see Culp blushing. This occurs as Faber remarks that in the past, the conglomerate model of GE was viewed as a positive quality - but it now appears to be "going the other way". Culp's smile in this instant is sincere - and his accompanying blushing (a sincerity amplifier) in this context connotes true embarrassment.
Another interesting moment was displayed at the 3:00 mark as Culp's right eyebrow elevates as he says "through asset sales" ( "... we need to bring the leverage down and I think we've got plenty of opportunities through asset sales ...). This unilateral eyebrow/forehead elevation (assuming the entire forehead is fully functional, e.g., no Bell's palsy, no asymmetrically applied Botox, etc.) is indicative of doubt. (Ergo, Larry Culp does not truly believe that asset sales will sufficiently lower GE's leverage).
Larry Culp displays a multitude of unilateral eyebrow elevations while answering Faber's questions. Even a person with no body language training will easily and subconsciously interpret this as a person who is doubting their own words.
A split-second later (still during 3:00), Culp's left eyebrow and forehead twitches. This microexpression - conveys an additional level of doubt.
Immediately after this Culp displays a Hard-Swallow (one of many he commits during this interview) and smacks his lips. This is evidence of his dry mouth and throat - consistent with his elevated anxiety.
Another second later (during 3:01), we see Culp display a Loose Tongue Jut - indicating the thought-emotion of "I've been bad", "I've just done a stupid thing", and/or "I've been caught". Although most people would not notice this signal or interpret it accurately, it's highly consistent with Culp disbelieving his own statement.
SUMMARY: Larry Culp's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage (vocal qualities, cadence, rhythm, pitch, etc.) behavior during this interview indicates that his confidence level is low and he has a significantly heightened level of anxiety. He doubts a significant number of his own answers during this exchange. Mr. Culp's emotions are not simply being felt within the context of this televised interview, but also toward GE's prognosis in the near and mid-future.
With very high probability, Larry Culp's low confidence and
anxiety clearly displayed during this interview led to GE's stock
sell-off.
Larry Culp is not Tony Hayward - and GE's stock sell-off is not BP's Gulf Oil Spill. Yet
Culp and Hayward would both have been well-served by ongoing media training. Such preparation
is an integral component of the communication and PR skills needed to run a fortune 500 company - and a comprehensive approach to crisis
management.
There's a high probability that Larry Culp's tenure at GE will last less than two years.
On Monday 24 September 2018, Brett Kavanaugh, a Supreme Court Justice nominee, and his wife Ashley, were interviewed on Fox News by Martha MacCallum. What follows is partial analysis regarding several crucial nonverbal displays by Kavanaugh.
MARTHA MACCALLUM (beginning at 12:17): So you are going to be pressed on - something that you just said about, people do things in high school - and - you were all drinking. Were there times when perhaps when you drank so much - was there ever a time that you drank so much, that you couldn't remember what happened the night before?
BRETT KAVANAUGH: No. Ah, that never happened.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: You never said to anyone, 'I don't remember anything about last night?'
BRETT KAVANAUGH: No. That did not happen.
As Ms. MacCullum says, "So you are going to be pressed on ...", Kavanaugh displays a hard swallow (12:19 - 12:20). This is a common and significant anxiety display.
Just after Ms. MacCullum says, "... something that you just said about, people do things in high school", Brett Kavanaugh's mouth reconfigures his mouth in a tight Forward Lip Purse.
A forward lip purse (not to be confused with a lateral lip purse) indicates the withholding of information (e.g., a clandestine disagreement or a hidden plan). If one is expecting or presuming honesty, a forward lip purse should NEVER be displayed by a witness or interview type setting. This cannot be overemphasized. You'll note that Brett Kavanaugh displayed a forward lip purse frequently during this interview as well as during his previous Senate testimony.
Next, watch carefully as Brett Kavanaugh responds to Ms. MacCullum's questions, as he says,
"No.Ah, that never happened." (during 12:33 - 12:35)
as well as
"No. That did not happen." (during 12:38 - 12:40)
Kavanaugh nods his head up-and-down. This nonverbal illustrator is contradictory to his denials. In the face of refuting accusations (e.g. "No"), he should have shook his head side-to-side. This nonverbal disparity is highly indicative of deception.
This dynamic cannot be captured in a still image, please watch the video to view it in full context.
The image immediately above shows Brett Kavanaugh during 12:40, just after he denies, for the second time, drinking so heavily such that he would have no memory. Note the expression on his face:
• Central forehead elevated
• Inner (medial) eyebrows raised
• Eyes opened wide (upper eyelids opened significantly wider than baseline)
• Tightened mouth opening
• Down-turned corners of his mouth
This is an expression of fear.
SUMMARY: Brett Kavanaugh is withholding information. He has a high level of anxiety as well as fear. Most importantly, he's being deceptive.
Idris Elba is by most all accounts, an excellent actor. But despite many accolades and awards, Idris, is of course, only human. During his recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, he experienced a very human moment - and displayed a classic nonverbal tell.
Just after Graham Norton says, "... a-, but we have to say, it was a-, your American accent has not always been - that good."
As Idris says, "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm", he sucks his cheeks inward (1:06). Often times this MAP (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) involves biting the insides of one's cheeks with a mild-to-moderate degree of force. This cheek-biting indicates significant anxiety.
It's important to note that this dynamic of biting the inner cheeks has the effect of pursing the lips forward - but this is a secondary effect - and does not carry the same meaning of a primary forward lip purse. Be careful not to mistake the two expressions.
A second later, his central forehead is contracted and elevated (along with his inner eyebrows). Mr. Elba's central face has grown tense. His nostrils are flared. Simultaneous with his inner cheek biting, Idris' lips take on an additional slightly sad configuration.
Kate Winslet then displays a bilateral full palm-of-hand (full palmar) contact with her upper sternum/heart region as well as her lower sternum as she says, "My insides ...".
Her nonverbal signal indicates both elevated empathy and high sincerity.
As she finishes her sentence, "... are constricting for you right now", Ms. Winslet, also physically constricts her fists.
SUMMARY: Despite being outstanding actors, when Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are not in-character (and just being themselves), their body language gives us glimpses into their psyches.
Idris Elba was experiencing significant anxiety which elicited similar feelings in Kate Winslet. Ms. Winslet displays considerable empathy and sincerity toward Mr. Elba.
