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Showing posts with label Vladimir Putin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vladimir Putin. Show all posts

Putin's Handshake With Trump Vs. Obama Says So Much, Body Language Experts Say


On Monday, July 16, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in a private one-on-one meeting in Helsinki, Finland. While the world closely watched the whole affair, particularly the jaw-dropping press conference that followed, the subtleties of the leaders' interactions offered key insights into their dynamic, especially in comparison with Putin's dynamic with President Barack Obama. According to body language experts, Putin's handshake with Trump compared with Obama is incredibly revealing.
I spoke with body language experts Patti Wood … Continue Reading

Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
     

Trump & Putin's Body Language During Their Meeting with the Press Said A Lot More Than Their Words

Here is a piece I did for Refinery 29 on the encounter between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. It was one for the ages! 
On Monday, the two world leaders had a private meeting that lasted hours before coming before reporters for a disastrous press conference in Helsinki, Finland. In it, Trump sided with Russia instead of American intelligence agencies when it came to the issue of the Kremlin influencing the 2016 presidential election, implied the U.S. was to blame for tensions between of both countries and didn't once condemn the Russian regime for its long history of human rights violations. Total normal stuff to do in front of a longtime adversary. Oh, and Putin might have made a reference to the infamous "pee tape."

Trump's remarks and refusal to stand up to Putin drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle, though some Republicans stood behind the president.
"Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory," Sen. John McCain said in a highly critical statement.
He added: "No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are — a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad."
Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed. He said: "Millions of Americans will continue to wonder if the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that President Putin holds damaging information about President Trump." Sen. Tammy Duckworth went as far as suggesting that Trump has been turned into a Russian asset, "perhaps without his knowledge."
But, the devil is in the details. Refinery29 spoke with Patti Wood, a body language expert and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, to decode four major moments of Trump and Putin's encounter.
First off, the pre-meeting appearance the leaders did before the press. In a clip, Trump can be seen winking at Putin.
"He was sitting like he normally sits in an alpha position. I’ve read him in this situation so many times and he did a jacket adjustment, which is something I don’t see very often," Wood said. "It’s an anxiety cue, asking 'How am I looking? Do I look good?' But a wink like that with a full head turn indicates "We’re on this. We have a secret. They don’t know."'
She added: "I won’t editorialize on that."
Wood also had some thoughts on how Putin gave Trump a soccer ball to recognize the U.S. will host the 2026 World Cup. Two things that she found interesting were how Putin handed the ball to Trump and the latter's reaction to the gesture.


"To me that was interesting because typically when you see a presentation of a soccer ball there’s a toss-off. Instead, he very politely walked out of the podium and handed it to Trump," she said. "It was an accommodating way [to do so]."
She added: "[Trump] did the photo op, but he didn’t take it very seriously. You can tell from his facial expression and manner that he was kind of embarrassed and it was not very important to him. This was emphasized by the fact he said he was gonna give it to his son [Barron.] He was also not a lot in touch with [his wife] Melania. When he tossed the ball, it was not a good toss because it seemed she was not expecting it and therefore didn’t catch it. The whole interaction told me he thought, This is sort of silly and that he’s not a soccer fan."
The issue of the elusive "pee tape" — the allegation that the Kremlin has a secretly-recorded tape of Trump involving sex workers he hired to urinate on the bed the Obamas slept in during their visit to Moscow — was also brought up during the conference.
"Let me tell you this, when President Trump was in Moscow back then, I didn't even know that he was in Moscow," Putin said. "I treat President Trump with utmost respect, but back then when he was a private individual, a businessman, nobody informed me that he was in Moscow."
He added a hypothetical: "Let's take the St. Petersburg economic forum, for instance. There were over 500 American businessmen, high ranking, high level ones. I don't even remember the last names of each and every one. Do you think that we try to collect compromising material on each and every single one of them? Well, it's difficult to imagine on a bigger scale than this. Please disregard these issues and don't think about this anymore again."
The Russian president never denied having compromising information about Trump.
According to Wood, this was one of the most curious exchanges between the press and the two leaders. What struck her was the long period of silence following the question. "Silence is a powerful communicator. It was a sanction to the reporter, she said. "It was almost a punishment as sort of saying to the reporter, 'That's enough.'"
She also pointed out at Trump's reaction when the question came up. "Trump looks down and gives this very interesting upside down smile. It's a joker smile — there's a mischievousness in his eyes about it," she said, adding that Trump was trying to look amused even though he wasn't. "He's withholding his emotions. Then, he does the body turn again to Putin. It's showing they have an intimacy and they're in this together."

For Wood, Putin's body language showed that he was uncomfortable with the 
question. "He touched his ear and turns down his head in a way. That particular signal shows [he's thinking], I don't like what I hear."



Putin probably didn't like that they were questioned about the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 presidential election, which both leaders have long denied.
Wood pointed out that Trump's body language didn't agree with the statements he was making. "He said, "It's not Russia" but he is saying it with a backward head jerk and his eyes closed. That movement doesn't show congruence with the statement."
In a tweet sent from the president's account, Team Trump seemed to try to mend the aftermath of his comments.
"As I said today and many times before, 'I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people.' However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past – as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!"

The language of the tweet was uncharacteristic. But then again, so was his meeting with the Russian dictator.

Link to article https://www.refinery29.com/2018/07/204518/trump-putin-press-conference-helsinki-summit-meeting

Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
     

Body language experts see reserve, deference, power plays in Trump-Putin meeting


Link to article:  https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2017/07/07/body-language-experts-see-reserve-deference-power-plays-trump-putin-meeting/F4gQENMoghwUDICyidyWfL/story.html

For body-language experts, Friday was sort of like Christmas.
After months of buildup, after investigations into Russian election meddling, after considerable analysis, two of the world’s most powerful men — President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia — finally met face to face at the G-20 summit.

Almost immediately, those who study such things say, the two began a nonverbal power negotiation.
Opinions on the interaction varied among body-language experts, but on one thing they agreed: For Trump, a man who has been routinely lampooned for the aggressive manner in which he shakes hands, Friday’s performance was quite out of the ordinary.
“Completely different,” says Tonya Reiman, author of the book “The Power of Body Language.” “Every single handshake I’ve watched — and I’ve watched them all — he’s the one who wants to be the dominant force; [he] literally makes you lose your footing.”
On Friday, America’s 45th president didn’t appear particularly aggressive at all. He seemed to keep a greater-than-normal distance when he shook hands with Putin. The violent pulling of his handshake-partner’s hand for which he’s become known was nowhere to be found. At one point during the handshake, he reached out and held the Russian president’s right arm.
In other words, it was all highly un-Trumpian.
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“Most of the time, he’s got this warm welcome, he smiles, he comes right up to [people], he’s in their space,” says Lillian Glass, a Los Angeles-based communication and body-language expert. This time, she says, “You see Trump is very guarded. He doesn’t put all smiles out, and he doesn’t lean in to Putin — he leans away.”
To Glass, the reason is simple. “From what was swirling around, he doesn’t want to give Americans the wrong impression, and he doesn’t want to give the world the wrong impression,” she said. “He doesn’t want to appear chummy.”
According to Patti Wood, author of “Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma,” Trump appeared to show deference during the initial shake.
“I want you to notice Putin is standing up straight [in] his body position, and Trump is the one that walks toward him,” Wood said. “Trump is the one who initiates the handshake, and Trump is leaning his whole body — not quite in bow, but leaning forward as a bid to bow.”
For those who analyze such things, meanwhile, a few other key moments offered insights into the curious dynamic between the two men.
There was the initial height difference, for one thing — immediately apparent and probably surprising to some who envision both men as larger-than-life figures.
“There’s such a height disparity,” Glass said. “We think of Putin, because we never see him next to anybody, as being 7 feet tall. Big and tall and powerful. And then we see him next to Trump, and he’s a little guy.”
Then there was the point at which Trump reached over with his left hand to lightly pat Putin’s right arm during the handshake.
“The patting, notice it’s underneath and supportive, and symbolically says ‘I support you,’ Wood said, though she later allowed that the left hand being used in a handshake is typically [meant to signal] power and control over the other person.
Finally, there was Putin’s last-minute gesture, when he used his free hand to point an extended finger at Trump.
“The timing is interesting — that is, when Putin goes forward, and he points at the same time,” Wood says. “That is Putin’s bid to power because his hand is a symbolic weapon, so he’s doing a little shoot, a little bang.”
“It’s an authoritative move,” Reiman agreed. “You point at someone to demonstrate your authority, the power.”
The nonverbal jousting figures to continue, in some form, through the end of the conference Saturday. On Friday afternoon, a closed-door meeting between the two leaders stretched to more than two hours — four times its originally scheduled length.
Given the nature of the two men involved, and the contentious issues on their agendas, it’s no great leap to assume that both will be attempting to assert their dominance — in ways both verbal and nonverbal — throughout their time together.
But so far, Reiman says, Trump’s nonverbal efforts have failed to establish him as the alpha of the pair.
“We might notice that he’ll try over the next couple hours,” she said Friday afternoon. “But at this point, he’s not been able to win that battle.”

Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan.arnett@globe.com.

Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
     

President Trump Met Vladimir Putin For the First Time. Here's What a Body Language Expert Saw

President Trump Met Vladimir Putin For the First Time. Here's What a Body Language Expert Saw

Link to actual article: http://time.com/4849232/g20-summit-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-body-language/
Jul 07, 2017
All eyes were on U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 

Friday when they sat down for their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The meeting, which had been scheduled to last 30 minutes, stretched to more than two hours. Trump reportedly raised the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, though Putin denied any meddling on Moscow's part.
The two leaders' conversation included discussions on "Ukraine, Syria, some bilateral and other issues," according to the Associated Press. They also discussed "fighting terrorism and cybersecurity."
Trump and Putin gave brief public remarks before their meeting. "We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned," Trump said. "And it's an honor to be with you."
"I'm delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President," Putin said through an interpreter. "And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive results."
TIME spoke with Patti Wood, a body language expert, to read between the lines. Here are some key takeaways:
'He's the one that's initiating'
The first glimpse of Trump and Putin came before their official meeting, when they were seen shaking hands in a video shared by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet. Wood spotted something unusual in that footage.
"If you look at that handshake, Trump does something that is different than many other handshakes I've seen him do with other world leaders. He's the one that's initiating. His body — and whole body, actually — steps forward and leans forward as he goes to shake hands. And he offers his hand . . . more palm-up, more in supplication, which again is unusual. Usually he offers it palm down to be on top. And if you look at his demeanor, he seems to be happy."
By comparison, Wood said Trump's handshake with Merkel on Thursday showed the German leader making the first move.
“She offers her hand with the palm up in supplication to him and at the same time she has her head down and tilted to make eye contact with him to say, ‘Hey, we need to shake hands.’ That’s letting go of some of her power . . . h e’s just standing there, and she has to make the effort to shake hands with him. And then when he shakes hands with her, it’s very brief. He’s not really in-the-moment with her. It’s just 'O.K., this is a photo op.'"
'He’s supportive underneath Putin’s arm'
In the same video, Trump taps Putin's arm with his left hand during their handshake and later pats his back — a gesture that typically indicates support, Wood said.
"When you use your left hand in a handshake, typically it’s a power move, it’s a controlling move to say, ‘I surround you.’ But there are variances in that. There are slight nuances. And in this particular case, Trump puts his left hand up underneath, which is the supportive cue, up underneath Putin’s arm and taps it three times.
Now that’s going to sound odd, but three actually has a strong symbolic reference in nonverbal communication, and typically it means a true feeling or a true emotion. So you combine all those together: He’s supportive underneath Putin’s arm, he’s touching it three times in a gentle pat. It means, ‘I support you, I really support you.’
Now that is also interesting if you compare it to other handshakes where he takes that outside hand and he might grip above the elbow or grip all the way up on top of the arm or hit — have actual hitting motion — to strike the person to say, ‘I can hit you, right here. I can hit you symbolically in front of the world.’ So the tapping motion and the hitting motion are quite distinctly different.”
By comparison, Trump's handshakes with other world leaders — including his recent white-knuckle grip with French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO Summit — have drawn attention for being awkward or aggressive.
'His slouch is a little bit more pronounced'
Trump's behavior during sit-down remarks with Putin before their private meeting resembled his stance in other settings, Wood said.
“Trump has a standard seating position in these scenarios, where he has his legs spread apart and he’s doing that particular steeple pose with his hands clasped and pointed between his legs," she said. "That’s all about manliness."
But she noticed some slight differences on Friday compared to Trump's previous interactions with leaders, including his post-election meeting with former President Barack Obama in the White House. For example, she said, Trump faced toward Putin during most of their exchange, and he again initiated their handshakes.
“Typically, Trump’s legs are slightly further apart. And that seems like a small thing, but it’s actually quite distinct because the legs’ breadth apart speaks to a feeling of power and manliness and alpha, so in this case, they’re not quite as far apart.
The other thing that’s interesting as you compare their demeanors is Trump usually does lean forward and he has shoulders slightly slouched. But in this case, I went back and compared this particular meeting with other meetings, and his slouch is a little bit more pronounced."


 Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.