Crime Prevention & Body Language Secret # 10: 3 Killers - What Commonalities?

Above and below are the photos of three killers. Do you notice any common traits? I would call your attention to their eyes and their mouths.  They are difficult pictures for most people to look at, but there are important similarities to note. In all three their eyes don't match their mouths. While there are certain disease states that may cause the eyes to be opened wider than "normal", none of these three fit such a pattern. Eyes that are opened wider than normal for a brief moment are consistent with surprise - but surprise is the most fleeting of all emotions, lasting only for a second or two and in its full manifest, is accompanied by a wide open and rounded mouth. If surprise lasts longer than that, it has a component of insincerity.

Another emotion which has a facial expression of widely opened eyes - is fear.  The face of fear however, has a mouth pulled out to the side with tightly stretched lips and a view of the teeth - usually the bottom teeth are more visible. The neck muscles are often prominently tightened and the head is usually retracted away from the object of fear. The nostrils are prominently flared as well. None of these photos are consistent with fear.

Rage, an extreme state of anger often accompanied by violence, shares the facial characteristic of eyes which are "white and wide" as well. This level of anger has a squared-off  and open mouth with an accompanied baring of teeth and again - nostril flaring. None of the photos below demonstrate rage.

What these photos have in common is that in each case their eyes don't match their mouths - at least for any healthy or commonly seen emotion. All their mouths demonstrate smiles, while their eyes, being wider opened than normal - are consistent with an increased adrenaline state. These two findings don't match and are (fortunately) relatively rarely seen together. Whenever the body language of different parts of the face and body aren't congruent - a red flag should go up. Beware!

The top picture is Marshall Applewhite, and although he is not a murderer in the classic sense, he was the "Heaven's Gate" cult leader, who in 1997 led 39 others in a mass suicide.

The second picture (immediately below) is Jared Loughner, who was the shooter in the recent tragedy in Tucson, Arizona.

The last picture is Joseph Duncan, a convicted serial killer of at least seven people between 1996-2005.

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Negotiation Secret # 101: Recognizing Subtle Sadness

New York Jets Quarterback, Mark Sanchez at the 2010 ESPY awards in Los Angeles, displays an often missed sign of sadness. Mr. Sanchez's central forehead is contracted while at the same time his peripheral forehead is relaxed. If you look carefully, there are subtle beginnings of and "upside-down" horseshoe shaped furrow forming on the inside corner of his left eyebrow. In it's more pronounced form - a full horseshoe is common. These are highly characteristic of sadness and very difficult to make voluntarily.

In addition, Mark's left inner eyebrow is upturned - and although his right eyebrow is not similarly changed, this partial expression tells us that the emotion of sadness is either subtle, just beginning or being partially suppressed. Whenever the inner eyebrow is upturned - think sadness. 

Another subtle signal of sadness seen here, is Mr. Sanchez's mouth is slightly down-turned at the corners.

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Grief and Hope in Tuscon

I wish to express my deepest condolences to all the families of the victims of the violent event which occurred in Tucson on Saturday, January 8, 2011.  May all those who have been injured heal quickly and completely. May the lives of those who have died before their time inspire us.

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Negotiation Secret # 24: Fear and Duff in South Central L.A.

Hilary Duff exemplifies a mild to moderate level of fear in this photograph. She's participating in the "Blessings in a Backpack" food program in South Central Los Angeles. One very classic display of fear is the eyelids are opened wider than normal. I call this characteristic appearance - "white and wide". Ms. Duff's eyes are open moderately wide here. Her eye brows are also elevated - and although not extreme here, this is also consistent with a mild to moderate fear. Her mouth is stretched to the sides with an accompanying display of both her upper and lower teeth. The display of the lower teeth is particularly characteristic with fear. 

While certainly not extreme, Hilary's neck muscles' are tightened - again consistent with mild to moderate fear. Another often overlooked and very common signal of fear (although it can be seen with other emotions) is when the head is retracted away from the object/subject of fear. Ms. Duff demonstrates this signal as well.

Although we don't know what Hilary Duff is fearful of, we are certain that for a moment at least, Ms. Duff is in fear of something or someone. It is possible that this photo captured a microexpression of fear. Microexpressions are facial expressions of emotion which are not initiated by the conscious mind and appear for less than 0.5 seconds and as little as 0.04 seconds. The microexpression of fear is very common. Only about 1 in 300 people have the ability/gift of sensing microexpressions naturally, but virtually everyone can be taught to see them. The ability to detect microexpressions is without question an extremely valuable skill in any kind of negotiation, in the court room, in the board room or any kind of high-stakes interaction.  How many microexpressions have you missed just today? - hundreds!

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Negotiation Secret # 18: Pointing

If you're a leader, parent, attorney, teacher, physician, etc. - you are damaging your rapport and reputation if you point with your index finger.  Siemens President and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Loescher, is shown here at a news conference in Munich.  As I type this, I'm watching another news conference where the leader is pointing in this same manner.  Regardless of the personality, position or demeanor of the the speaker - pointing with the index finger is always and negatively received by the audience.

If you have to point, point with the whole hand, palm upwards with your fingers loose and open.

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Negotiation Secret # 34: Chin Touching

Russian Renault F1 pilot Vitaly Petrov is pictured here during a press conference. Chin touching is indicative of true thought and consideration.

If you see the judge or jury displaying this particular gesture, you may very well being going down the right track - this in NOT the time to pull out your "Plan B".

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Sincerity Secret # 18: Contrasting Smiles

Mark Wahlberg is seen here with a marine at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. This photo provides a great illustration in contrasting smiles. The female marine standing next to Mr. Wahlberg, is wearing a moderate sincere smile, her top teeth are exposed (while her bottom teeth aren't) and her eyes are partially closed. We cannot see her forehead, but there is a very high probability it is relaxed.

Mr. Wahlberg is looking into the sunlight, and while his degree of eyelid closure is consistent with a sincere smile, he's squinting actively, using his inner eyelid muscles - rather than the secondary closure we see with the "bunching up" of outer eyelid muscles. Mr. Wahlberg's respect for the marines and his sincerity is not in question - he visited Afghanistan of his own accord - and this particular expression we see on his face is a reaction to the bright sunlight. It is however, identical to forced smiles which we often see when there is no bright light present - sunlight or otherwise.  His nostrils are dilated and his mid-forehead is contracted. His mid-face is also significantly tightened. All of these qualities are highly consistent with the emotion of disgust. Yet we see this type of false smile exhibited many times every day.  Do you see sincerity where there is none?

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Nonverbal Communication - Negotiation Secret No. 30: Lip Biting - Gabe Watson

This is Gabe Watson in the waning minutes of the Arizona Cardinals-Dallas Cowboys Football game in Glendale, Arizona on Christmas Day, 2010. His team, the Cardinals, won the game 27-26. He's looking up - probably looking at the scoreboard or perhaps at a recent replay. In this context (but certainly not all), lip biting indicates vulnerability and anxiety. This expression is often present, but rarely "seen" in the context of business, law, medicine, politics, etc. When you see this, don't dismiss it. It should be a red flag - dig deeper.

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Negotiation Secret # 42: Brees' Bitter Smile After Disappointment

Drew Brees sports a "Bitter Smile" just after the New Orleans Saints' loss to the Baltimore Ravens on December 19, 2010. Unbelievably, the vast majority of people believe they are truly smiling when they wear this facial expression. Here, we know it's context - so it's easy to be the Monday morning quarterback. But this facial expression is often seen in other contexts where its meaning is not so "black and white". It is commonly seen in business and in social settings and its meaning and ramifications are almost always unobserved, misinterpreted or dismissed. 

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Leadership Secret # 52: Keeping MAPs to a Minimum

Here, Palestinian President Mamoud Abbas is attending a Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It's a safe bet that he went there with pure motives. It's also obvious that he's in an emotional state of considerably increased anxiety. 

It's paramount for a leader to never rub, massage, scratch, touch, etc. any body part - particularly their head, face or neck. Self-touching belongs to a general group of body language gestures which are known as "Manipulators", "Adaptors" or "Pacifiers" (MAPs). In general, they are a sign of increased anxiety that is easy "felt" by others. The leader/speaker is often very unaware they are transmitting this anxiety.  In some settings (but this is NOT an example), and increase in MAPs - particularly to the face - is associated with deception-related anxiety.

Although we often self-touch in order to calm ourselves in moments of stress - the act of displaying a MAP can paradoxically set up a positive feed-back loop and produce even more anxiety.  It's a difficult act to curtail and even the most experienced will slip into this all-to-human default.  Mr. Abbas has many years of public appearances and yet he commits this leadership faux pas. If you want to be confident and project confidence, keeping MAPs to an absolute minimum is a must. How often do you send these messages of anxiety? 

Are you sure?

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