Who would you guess just won this recent Wimbledon tennis match? If this were in a corporate setting, who would you say is the CEO? If these two were political office holders, who would hold the higher ranking office? It probably doesn't surprise you that the answer would be the same for all three question. Here, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga just defeated Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at the 2011 Wimbledon Tournament. His hands-on gesture here is a dominance display allowed only for the winner, boss or senior in the pecking-order.
Rupert Murdoch, his son James and Rebeka Brooks were grilled today before a British Parliamentary Committee as part of the investigation for the rapidly growing phone hacking scandal by the recently defunct News of the World.
Rupert Murdoch's statement (at 1:12-1;16 in the video above): "...this is the most humble day of my life." - is demonstrative for several considerable insincerity tells. His forehead and brow expressions during this statement to the Parliamentary Committee were consistent with anger while his mouth shows evidence of what is referred to as "Duping Delight" (Paul Ekman). An example of duping delight in a microexpression can be seen at 5:06 in the video below (clustered with a bilateral brow flash and head tilt which in this setting indicates an incredulous and patronizing emotional mindset. There are multiple other microexpressions as well as subtle expressions of duping delight seen through Mr. Rupert Murdoch's testimony.
Duping delight is significant in that a person feels he's getting away with something and moreover takes pleasure in pulling the wool over our eyes. None of the examples sited in the above paragraph are consistent with a sincerity.
James Murdoch (Rupert's son) shows signs of considerable nervousness - both for himself and for his father. Notice how his eyelids (particularly his upper eyelids) are opened so widely. In this context, this is a clear demonstration of fear. In fairness, he could very well be in fear of being falsely accused - and the ramifications of such, but he feels considerable fear throughout much of his testimony.
Wendi Deng-Murdoch (Rupert's wife) demonstrates a moderate amount of nervousness during key questioning directed at her husband (she is sitting behind Rupert in a Pink top). Neither James or Wendi has a lot of confidence in Rupert's ability to testify. James wanted to reach out and stop his father from pounding with his palm (and subsequently pounding with a hand-chop), but he refrained himself (1:31 in second video). Wendi did in fact reach out and do this and it can be clearly seen at 1:46 in the second video.
I find it interesting that none of these individuals, so wealthy and so "Worldly" were prepped (or prepped more thoroughly) before such an important and public appearance. Many smart, wealthy and otherwise successful people are extremely un-objective when it comes to how they believed they are being perceived and how they are actually perceived. This is what I refer to as "Perception Disparity" - and it will frequently lead to lost sales, lost elections, litigation, victimization, jail time and divorces. What's particularly interesting is that, for the vast majority of the time, those who have more formal education - and even advanced degrees, are considerably more guilty of these mistakes - faux pas 101. Many doctors and attorneys are very guilty of this.
As we endeavor to climb our various socioeconomic ladders, we would be remiss if we don't use body language skills and other similar tools to stay objective - particularly in situations where bias is extremely strong. Ouch!
Rupert Murdoch will be grilled next week in front a British Parliamentary Committee. One would expect that he'll be nervous. What about honest? Sincere? If you were one of those who will be be questioning him, would you be able to tell? Would you know exactly when to dig deeper? Are you sure? What do the position of Rupert's hands tell us here? In particular, what is the significance of his interlocked fingers? What does the configuration of his mouth, especially his lips mean? What does the position of his forehead tell you about his sincerity? What is his overall "Sincerity Quotient" in this photo?
Body language is an extremely valuable tool in the detection of lies. Being able to qualify and quantify sincerity however, is sometimes more valuable. Those who are chronically insincere will eventually hurt you (probably sooner than later). Sincerity (vs. insincerity) casts a broader net than honesty (vs. deception). If someone is lying to you, they are being insincere; but all those who are insincere are not necessarily lying to you ..... yet. We all try to avoid being in relationships with insincere people. In the business world, we certainly want to keep our distance too. But can YOU really tell when another is being insincere? Are you sure?
Fiero is a word coined by Italian Psychologist Isabella Poggi. It is a term which describes a unique emotion that is often seen after sporting events, but it's certainly not limited to athletic events alone. It is felt and seen after a difficult problem is overcome whether the obstacle is physical, emotional, intellectual, financial, etc. - and regardless of it's origin, once a significant problem is overcome and a great accomplishment is achieved, fiero is the name given to describe this emotion.
It is interesting that although English has more total words than any other language, it doesn't have as many words which describe the different positive emotions as many other languages. It needs more. The word "Fiero" is Italian in origin. In this photo American football/soccer player, Abby Wambach, experiences fiero after scoring the go-ahead goal in the semi-final match against the France. The posture of arms up and moving rapidly, running wildly and jumping are highly typical of fiero. Ms. Wambach's' facial expression is also highly consistent - shouting, mouth open extra wide with teeth bared (including the bottom teeth) - interestingly similar to, but not identical to, extreme pain and anger - is demonstrated well after her team's victory. Note how her eyes are nearly closed as well. After a few seconds to a minute or so, just after the accomplishment is achieved, these very extreme facial expressions resembling pain and anger are replaced by classic emotional expressions of pure and extreme joy. This is displayed well below where Ms. Wambach is sharing this with team-mate, Hope Solo. It is here in these post-fiero moments, where you will see some of the most sincere examples of smiles and happiness.
Fiero does not need an audience. It is not braggadocio in nature. We all can recall moments when we felt fiero and we were alone - but like all positive emotions it is much more enjoyable when shared.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, actress, singer and wife of France's President Sarkozy, is shown here in a configuration known as "Parallel Legs". When sitting, 85% of men feel this is the most attractive posture a woman can assume. It is a pose often taught in modeling classes. The contour formed when the legs press against each accentuates muscle tone and thus gives a more youthful appearance.
This image of Johnny Depp is a great example of a Critical Evaluation Cluster (B. & A. Pease). A "Cluster" is when two or more body language signals occurring simultaneously or in a very short period of time (two or three seconds) - that when congruent with each other, is consistent with a very high degree of accuracy. Here, Mr. Depp's mouth is slightly tightened (mild anger), the entire width of his forehead is contracted (here, apprehensive/incredulous), while he is self-touching his right eye brow (here, anxiety associated with disbelief). In addition, Johnny is not looking directly at the person(s) to who(m) these emotions are directed. We don't look directly at those we don't like, don't respect or don't believe. Johnny Depp is one of the most respected and most liked actors of our time - but here he's not acting. Thanks for the lesson Mr. Depp.
Both Prince Albert of Monaco and his new Princess/Wife Charlene (formerly Charlene Wittstock)both show us (and the World) multiple emotional tells shown in this YouTube video Clip of their Civil Wedding Ceremony on Friday 1 July 2011. Prince Albert is extremely nervous as evidenced by his facial tick. At first this looks like multiple winks of his left eye, but if you watch it carefully, you'll see this is involuntary. These are coexistent with microexpressions of contempt. We don't know who(m) this contempt is directed at - but he is feeling it rather strongly. He also displays a very classic display of a microexpression of fear. His blink rate is considerably more than normal, which is yet another display of anxiety.
Interestingly, the Princess is much less nervous. But what is more demonstrable on Charlene's face is a great example of a subtle contempt display (while the display is subtle, the contempt is considerable) - immediately followed by sadness.
In the above photo, when the couple kisses in the Public Ceremony, the Prince looks nervous once again, and while he closes his eyes before the kiss, he opens them during the kiss. This lack of eye closure during the kiss is a very reliable indicator that true affection was not the primary emotion he was feeling at that moment. If one repeatedly keeps his/her eyes open during kisses with their romantic partner, this is a signal that affection is waning, has waned or perhaps was never there to begin with.
Chicago Mayor (and former White House Chief-of-Staff) Rahm Emanuel and former President Bill Clinton are seen here at the Clinton Global Initiative American Conference. When another encroaches into our personal space, there is a very strong and visceral impetus to turn our eyes away. Obviously both men are looking away from each other in this photo. Particularly, during the moment of a handshake, eye contact is incredibly important in demonstrating sincerity, trust and building rapport. Anything that diminishes eye contact should be avoided. Of particular importance in this example, the lack of eye contact is a symptom of the diminished comfort felt when personal space is invaded. Being very aware of what makes others comfortable or uncomfortable requires a continuous mindset of empathy and a de-focusing on oneself. Simple in concept...difficult in implementation.
Blake Lively is certainly one of Hollywood's most attractive young starlets. In this image, Blake has a classic False Smile though. It is commonly known as a False-Surprised Smile or Dropped Jaw Smile (B. & A. Pease). With a true, felt smile - the forehead is relaxed - but Ms. Lively's forehead is contracted across its entire width. With true surprise, the expression is very brief - nearly always less than a second or two. We cannot tell the duration of Blake's expression, of course, because this is a photo. It is valuable to keep this in mind though - for if you see a surprised expression, and it lasts longer than 1 or 2 seconds, at least a portion of it (or perhaps the entire emotion) is being faked or exaggerated. This is a red flag - dig deeper.
Another sure sign that this is not true surprise, is that Ms. Lively's eyelids are not opened wide. With true surprise, the eyelids are opened wide enough to see the whites of the eyes (sclera) ABOVE the iris (colored part of the eye).
Blake Lively - beautiful but not believable (here in this photo). Blake is not surprised, nor is this a sincere smile, but a common expression that looks (to most people) like both, but is neither. Things are not always as they seem. Don't get fooled by professional actors or those around you whose motives may be questionable.
