Body Language of the Convention Speakers

[lpetrich]

I’m a Body Language Expert. Here’s What I Saw During the Conventions. - POLITICO

Joe Navarro is author of the international bestseller What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People and The Dictionary of Body Language: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden gave away more than they thought over the past two weeks.

I’ve been a specialist in nonverbal communication for nearly 50 years, 25 of them as an FBI agent. As the Democratic and Republican national conventions unfolded, I watched clips of their speakers on mute—Nancy Pelosi, Melania Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rudy Giuliani and others—to observe what they were communicating outside the words they were speaking. Then I turned the sound on to see if it matched or conflicted.

He then discusses several of the speakers. Like this:

At the beginning of Joe Biden’s speech, we see the tension of the moment when he does what’s called a “hard swallow.” Even for a gifted speaker who is used to public speaking, this is still a tense moment, as he accepts the nomination. And, for a split second, in spite of his broad, friendly smile, it shows in that one small facial distortion. He compresses his lips after saying, “I’ll be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election.” With the audio on, you can hear his voice crack slightly, again a result of the natural tension one would expect from such an event. It’s obvious that he takes seriously the gravity of what’s happening. He’s been preparing all his life for this moment. It’s not a stutter or age-related thing, just a subconscious behavior that speakers use to deal with a little bit of stress when we say something of emotional magnitude.

 

[lpetrich]

He continues with

Notice how Senator Kamala Harris is compressing the lips at each corner of her mouth. This is indicative of disdain and, in this case, as I listened then to the video, for those who would harbor racists views.

...
When Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speaking, notice she arches her eyebrows. This is what I like to call “the human exclamation point.” It’s a gravity-defying behavior: We expend energy only when we are passionate about something, and in this case, she’s describing how proud she is of the size of her caucus and how many women are in it.

...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was only given a very short segment in the DNC, but when it came to her nonverbal presentation, she was very effective. Without listening to what she’s saying, you can see that she’s a good speaker. Unlike Biden, her eyes are wide open and relaxed. ... Ocasio-Cortez is clearly adept with this medium, and it shows in her body language.

Most importantly, she’s not overly dramatic; she’s not raising her voice—and you can tell even without the sound. Her comfort here should make viewers comfortable—and perhaps opponents uncomfortable.

...
As the camera follows Jill Biden in a classroom, we notice how comfortable she is in this setting, how fluidly she moves and speaks, as if she has done this all her life.

...
Michelle Obama uses a number of hand gestures to emphasize, to demark, to point, to chop effectively, all of which add to the message she is sending.

 

[lpetrich]

Then

Here we see a very powerful gesture with Kimberly Guilfoyle’s hands spread out wide away from the body, fingers spreading apart for emphasis. ... However, a very expansive gesture is great if you’re in an auditorium, but here you have a small screen

...
During his convention speech, Don Jr. tilts his head, cocking it slightly and squinting his eyes while at the same time making a wide gesture with his hands. Together, it conveys that he’s incredulous or suspicious about something. His body language communicates something to the effect of saying sarcastically, “Can you believe that?”

He says in it “People of faith are under attack. You’re not allowed to go to church. But mass chaos in the streets gets a pass.”

Senator Tim Scott is clearly a very dynamic speaker.

What was most noticeable about Melania Trump’s speech was that she appeared to be someone who is not used to public speaking. ... We don’t see a relaxed face.

...
Kellyanne Conway’s speech struck me as really strange, because we know she is used to speaking to the public. Here, her arms were stuck to the side of her body, which is not normal for her. She knows how to convey effective messaging, but this is not that. The energy and emphasis that we would normally see is lacking.

...
Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s segment was another that was very effective in terms of nonverbal communication. On mute, his gestures are very relaxed and comforting, and when you turn the sound on, his tone of voice affirms that.

...
Rudy Giuliani pinches the corners of his mouth slightly, which is a signal of disdain or contempt. When I listened back, I saw that he was talking about “progressive Democrats.

He then suggests that people are reading too much into Melania's facial expressions as Ivanka took the stage.

You can also see the contempt conveyed during President Donald Trump’s speech with the pinching of his lips. When you turn the sound on, you hear that he’s talking about mayhem in Democratic cities. But what stands out the most from his performance is the way he leans against the podium. It conveys that this is a very comfortable kind of space for Trump, and you don’t really see it in this kind of public speaking.

 

[Bronzeage]

I've always given body language interpretation all the credibility of handwriting analysis.

There might be some valid interpretation of body language when a person is not aware that there are millions of eyes on them at that moment. I'm sure the anxiety of the moment can induce body language which could be interpreted in many different ways, but is really the product of stress and has nothing to do with what the person believes, whether they are speaking the truth.