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Showing posts with label body language expert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body language expert. Show all posts

Bradley Cooper & Irina Shayk's Body Language Clues Hints Their Breakup Isn't Out Of Left Field



The body language of Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk for Elite Daily. Check the link below for my insights on their relationship.

Elite Daily Article

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.
     

Elizabeth Warren's Body Language, Selfie Body Language, Selfies with Her 2020 Supporters

What do Her Selfies Do for Elizabeth Warren?

Go to the link to Patt;'s Body Language insights 20,000 Elizabeth Warren Supporter Selfies

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.
     

When Men Abuse and Get Away With It, Ryan Adams Abuse and Malignant Narcissism .


“There were times when I chose to believe his (Ryan Adams) insane version of the truth because it was easier than believing that anyone is capable of being this much of a monster.”

“By what they did and didn’t do... None of (his Adams friends) held him accountable....they validated his behavior... he couldn’t have done this without them.”
It's important that we read the story in the link. We need to stop this kind of lingering horrific abuse in our culture. No one should get away with being a monster just because they are rich and or famous. 
It’s hard to say how much this story triggers memories of my monster abuser. Some of our friends at the time chose to believe his wild stories, his horrible character assassination. The man who had abused me, betrayed me, was stalking me, attacking my character and who had threatened my life. I was so afraid, so afraid, with valid reasons to be including an FBI profiler’s opinion of him, the warning he gave me about my ex. An expert who said, that he was sorry I was touched by evil, an expert who said I was lucky to be alive.
Our group didn’t care. Some were fooled in the same way I had been and it was easier for them, to pretend nothing happened. Oddly, they called me stupid for being fooled by him as they continued to believe his horrid lies.  They thought, “How could that dorky guy be a monster? And he was rich and treated them to expensive drinks, dinners trips so they did nothing. Some of them did something equally as odd. They said behind his back that my abuser was crazy, they said he was obviously a sociopath as they continued to drink his wine! He continued his lying, cheating and destroying of more people and they continued drinking his wine. They didn't want to miss the parties. 
Their betrayal on top of the abuse changed the way I thought about the world. So I built a better world.
I also wrote a song about Ryan Adams!

AMP.THEGUARDIAN.COM
Adams’ guitarist Todd Wisenbaker is one of a number of musicians to condemn the singer-songwriter, who has said accusations of abuse and…


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 Expert, Trump at El Paso Rally


Trump Supremely Confident He'll Win in 2020

Never lacking in confidence, President Trump has the air of a leader who feels fully in charge, 
according to experts on body language.

Well, I didn't say that in my analysis, but I did do a read for the media. Some of my rough voice to text notes.

What I see in the rally is something I would expect Trump has much more energy and verve he’s moving around more he’s just stringing up and away from his body is just as were much more close to the body and subdued and his State of the Union. He has a specific voice that he uses during his rallies that is more of a yell more of a coach sending his team out to play. What I see also is distinctly different is how much fun he’s having. A few minutes and there’s some great footage where he says something to the effect of, ".. there’s nothing more fun than a Trump rally." and the turns to the crowd. He typically has one or two lines of women right behind him at his rallies typically they’re young and have blond hair and he’s a little bit of a mix an agent here for he typically has one or two lines of women right behind him at his rallies and typically they’re young and have blond hair.
At this rally, he had a little bit of a mix in age and hair in the crowd of a woman.  The reason I mention it is because he looks at them when he turns around. At that moment we see he garners the cheers of women. That is a planned moment that I bet he does at every rally. 

Note if you can catch a screen grab of that how broadly Trump reaches his arms up and out to soak in the admiration of his audience. Showing his confidence and enjoyment of hearing the very loud cheers. He soaks it in.

The crowd is so lathered up that Trump has a moment where he has to actually wait for the crowd to stop cheering, it’s one of the few times that he just doesn’t soak it in, instead there’s a bit of awkwardness and his facial expressions is body carriage where we see he is not in control and he has to decide what to do. He is just lost for a moment.

How funny he makes reference to his State of the Union being nice and calm and that infers that that wouldn’t work in El Paso and the audience doesn’t know how to respond, as some seem to take it as an insult or start to cheer the State of the Union before they catch on that he says they wouldn’t have liked it. He says this (the rally) is more fun. FYI all good speakers adapt to their audience.

It’s interesting in this particular speech he’s not only doing that expensive arms out up upward motion but he’s doing a lot of arms out expansive downward motion and it’s typically to emphasize something he finds unbelievable and he’s in effect asking the crowd to be in that moment with him to say something unbelievable. Is doing his classic move of forefinger the phone as well but just intermittently. Seem a lot more stop motions hand held out and stop motions. I think that the one underlying motivation is that the crowd is so loud and hard to control. But it’s odd that he is doing this repeatedly. OH, now I see he’s doing that stop motions over and over to emphasize the things he wants to stop. There are so many negative statements, so many things he wants to stop that he keeps making the stop motion.

II noticed in the state of the Union address that the president had a lot of high chin holds which is something leaders do occasionally to please emphasize a point. But Trump held his chin high extremely high and for long periods of time. Chin up usually means superior to I feel superior to you I am greater than you and would hold an extended period of time indicates that the people the speaker speaking to our subordinate and far less than. It’s interesting that he was doing that during the state of the union it was also interesting during the State of the Union he did it as he introduced some of the “Heroes” that and special guests. As a speech coach, I recommend people be very careful of holding their chin high and anyway that would seem superior or condescending to others Obama was lambasted occasionally when he did it. As a coach, I find it absolutely unacceptable to do when you’re introducing someone else because it's stealing their moment it’s saying you were better than this person but you’re about to introduce. You’ve sent their praises you’ve made them special and then if you hold your hash and high as they are introduced and as they rise it steals that praise. It’s one of those small body language gestures that has an impact. Subliminally you actually give him the power of the people he introduces.

One of the things that apparently speech is that he’s not reading from the prompter, his jesters are much more spontaneous and he’s not speaking in specifics. One of the striking differences it’s his lack of detail he says has been happening for decades and decades a few years, The drug issue has been since 10, years then throws in a few possible other years, he used for it uses phrases like a long time or a long time instead of giving definitive figures. Also interesting how he can just use specific words and state that specific words in doing them with power with his nonverbal delivery and the crowd cheers for a particular word. Typically those words are negative trigger words. So the cheers or cheers of anger against something rather than cheers of hope for something. It makes sense that it’s incredibly effective anger is always a stronger persuasive effect than any other emotion. And Trump uses it well.



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.
     

Tips on How to Run Effective Meetings from Patti Wood, Consultant, Trainer, Body Language Expert

I consult, write and do training on how to run effective meetings.

Here are a few of my tips.


1.      State the purpose of the call. In one sentence say what you expect from the meeting. “Today we will….” If you wish you can follow that with the three main agenda items and outcomes you expect.  If you are having a conference call make sure you really need it. If you are just sharing information or reading slides just send it in an email. Meetings should only be set if you need feedback, ideas and questions.
2.    Send an Agenda and Questions before the meeting – Some employees love to prepare ahead of time so if you send people and agenda that highlight specifically, what you’re looking for such as. “I will go around and ask each of you to tell me what you need for the next step in the JK4 authorization change.”  Those who like to prepare will have their notes ready. Some employee will act like they never saw any pre meeting announcement. They wait till they get to the meeting when they hear other people talk, they want to interact to get their creative juices flowing so don’t get mad at them.
3.    Spend a few minutes on “Small Talk” at the beginning of the meeting - Small talk actually saves you time.  Surprising research says that the rapport gained in less than two minutes of effective small talk lets everyone get an emotional read of the meeting members. That makes it easier for people to share and creates more buy in of the content of the meeting. We forget that there are so many things we do in a face to face conversation, to establish report nonverbally and verbally. Surprisingly, research shows that if you cut out a little visiting conference call meeting last longer. Try something old and something new. So ask about the weather, people’s families, what people did last weekend and if you want to mix it up ask people to briefly say the best thing that has happened in their lives since the last call. If there is a positive news story ask if people heard about it. Think of it of small talk as an agenda item. Label and call t Rapport Building Time or Team Time.  Tell the time.  “Team Building time is important. It helps us work more effectively on the call and appreciate each person who is on the team.”
4.   Include Everyone - People need to feel accepted and part of the group. Make sure you do something so that everyone says something before the end of the meeting or you acknowledge them verbally in some way for something they did outside the meeting. For example of Sam rarely speaks in the meeting say, “Sam thank your for the extra time you put in to serve are Client last Friday.” Even if you said it to Sam at the time, you are acknowledging him in front of the group. Some employees may feel a bit uncomfortable for a minute, but you need to let the group know participation in the meeting is important and that good actions are noticed and acknowledged.
5.   Conduct an “end of meeting check in” and ask
a.      “Is there anything that you are going to feel or need to go forward?”
b.      “Let’s go around and check in.”
c.       “Let’s go around so I can hear from each person what their next action item is on this.”


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Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - 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. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Body Language of Emma Roberts & Evan Peters for Life & Style Magazine, By Body Language Expert, Patti Wood

Body Language Read of Emma Roberts & Evan Peters for Life Style Magazine by Expert Patti Wood







Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - 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. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Insights from Patti Wood, Body Language Expert

What about your style or technique differentiates you from your fellow love and body language  expert peers in your coaching.
Hands on learning. So I will observe them. Have them do "self checks" work with them in the mirror, go through role plays and exercises,  send them out on assignments, go out with them and video tape and coach. My clients often say that when they thought about being coached they were scared or thought it would be boring or they couldn't change so quickly and found out that when they found me and started working that they were surprised that we laugh a lot and that they can learn so much so quickly.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - 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. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Insights from Patti Wood, Body Language Expert

What inspired you to get into the field of love/dating and analyzing celebrity couples body language?

As a child I noticed that I had this unusual ability to read people. Starting in the fourth grade and through college I carried a little notebook with me everywhere. I would watch people and write poetry and song lyrics about what I saw. I saw peoples' happiness, their love and their pain. I am  passionate about helping people find love and keep the healthy love they find.  And yes, I have matched up couples and my girlfriends want me to read their dates and or sweeties and my clients show me photos of them with their love interest to read.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - 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. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Insights from Patti Wood, Body Language Expert

What qualifies you to be a one on one coach and help people improve their body language for dating, flirting and relationships?
Being a personal coach is incredible. There is so much to teach. When I work with clients that are trying to improve their ability to date it’s so much fun to do the work. I share that I feel that the greatest gift you can give someone is to understand them. Reading Nonverbal Communication increases your understanding. In a healthy loving relationship you want to present your best most authentic self. You want to be seen to your heart.  I speak to audiences and work one on one with coaching clients on their nonverbal skills. I have a passion for teaching and coaching others in nonverbal skills. I love to see people light up, lean forward, learn and transform.

My BA Master’s Degree and Doctoral course work are in Interpersonal Communication with an emphasis in Nonverbal Communication. I know the science and the latest research, and how to apply and teach the latest concepts and techniques in a way that is informative and fun. I can quote to science and make a client laugh in the next breath. When I taught body language at Florida State University my students LOVED to come to class because they knew they would laugh and have fun. My corporate audiences feel that energy. I work one on one with clients to improve their image, flirting, dating and relationship skills. I have clients who are college students, young, older and divorced, from just starting out to owners of several companies, from clients working two jobs to get by to billionaires. I love this work. I am also the first body language expert to read celebrity couples' body language for magazines. I did weekly reads of couples reading their current relationship and predicting their success. I did this for four years for US Weekly, two years for OK! Magazine and I'm in my second year for reads for Life & Style.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - 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. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Top Ten Musicals. Patti's Top Ten Favorite Musicals.

Top 10 Favorite Musicals.
The list of Top Ten Musicals is Below. I am a classic movie buff. I love old musicals. I have been singing and dancing to musicals since I was a kid. In fact, my mother said I came out of the womb smiling, singing, and dancing. My parents went to New York every year and brought back the music from the Broadway musicals they saw.
Our house was filled with wonderful show tunes. I know that singing and dancing was a way that I expressed so much of my joy and sadness growing up. I realize that the synchronous body language and vocal messages informed my body language ability. To this day studying the matching and mirroring in musicals and in my work fascinate me. Many people don’t know that my original dream was to be a Broadway musical lyricist. I started writing songs and poetry in the fourth grade. To that end, I originally majored in Poetry writing in college, I was president of the music dorm and little sister to the music fraternity and my first college boyfriend was a guitar major. (To see how that path led me to degrees in nonverbal communication go to link (how I became a body language expert.) For this list, I only include musicals from the 1950’s forward. I love Lerner and Lowe, Richard Rodgers, and  Oscar Hammerstein musicals. If you are a TCM fan like me we can talk musicals from way back. I would pick every Fred Astaire Ginger Rodgers Musical, along with Easter Parade, Showboat, South Pacific and Judy Garlands Meet Me in St Louis. Here are what I think are the Top Ten Musicals of All Time.

1. West Side Story The movie is good but the live theater production is tremendous. It is a true American Masterpiece. I remember my high school drama teacher telling us that it was one of the first musicals (Oklahoma deemed the first) to have songs that and dance numbers further the plot and established characters. My favorite song is, “Somewhere.” I sang it just about every day in high school, and I also constantly sang "Where Is Love?" from OLIVER!  I still have the West Side Story on  CD form and play it when I need a pick me up.
My high school Drama teacher was in the Original Broadway show South Pacific and worked backstage on other great Musicals like Gypsy. The script is by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins. The musical's plot and story are based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Set in New York City in the mid-1950s, the musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. If you have seen Greece and remember the dance where the cool kids and the nerdy kid's face-off, you witnessed an "homage" to the dance scene between the Jets and Sharks. 
The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre. Bernstein's score for the musical has become extremely popular; it includes "Something's Coming", "Maria", "America", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "Jet Song", "I Feel Pretty", "Gee, Officer Krupke" and "Cool". The original 1957 Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, marked Stephen Sondheim's Broadway debut. The production received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical in 1957, but the award went to Meredith Willson's The Music Man. It won a Tony Award in 1957 for Robbins' choreography. The award-winning 1961 musical film of the same name, directed by Robert Wise and Robbins, starring Natalie Wood,. It won ten Academy Awards. 

2. Singing in the Rain (1952) I have seen this movie over a dozen times. Gene Kelly starred and helped Direct this 1952 classic that has made many lists of the top 100 films of all time. One of the greatest moments in the film is where Kelly having just realized he is in love, dances down the street, happily singing and dancing in the pouring rain. I think everyone has at some time their life sung, “Singing in the Rain” as they walked in the rain. My favorite scene is the scene where are three dancers dance over the sofa. My favorite song is “Good Morning.” This movie has so many examples of "Up!" body language. 
1927, the story takes place in a transition point 1927 when movies were transitioning from silent films to talkies. One of the reasons I find it fascinating is actors and audiences relied so much on body language for their movie experiences and people were riveted to movies with no voices! The plot of Singing in the Rain is a silent movie being made into a musical. Kelly plays one of the leads, and the other lead is an actress who has a horrible annoying nasal voice who can't sing.  So of course, someone who can sing is brought in to do have her voice dubbed in. The 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds plays Kelly's love interest. She says in interviews about Gene Kelly that he made her do their dance scenes over and over and over till her feet bled. ( I read Ginger Rodger's Autobiography and she said Fred Astair made her practice till her feet bled.) Singing in the Rain, ended up being nominated for a couple of Oscars. 

3. Chicago (2002) Chicago was a Broadway play long before it became a motion picture musical. The choreography was amazing. I saw it on Broadway many years ago with Sandy Duncan in the lead. It was incredible. When it hit the movie theaters it brought the magic to a larger audience. Rob Marshall directed the story wonderfully weaving reality scenes and dreamy dance sequences together beautifully. When you leave the play or movie signing the songs it is surprising to remember that the story is about two Murderers! Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart aspire to be famous and will stop at nothing to accomplish their wish. Aided by a lawyer played by Richard Gere, they may get to do just that. Starring in the film are Rene Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the two main characters. In other roles are Gere, Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs, and John C. Rielly. Using the press, and their grandstand lawyer theatrics the two women to get what they want. It ended up winning 6 academy awards including best picture and well deserves its spot on my list. My favorite song is, “He had it coming.”

4. Oliver! (1968) Everyone knows the story of Oliver Twist. If you have ever heard someone take on a funny little boys voice and say, “Please sir could I have some more?” this is the musical where the line originated and occurs near the beginning of the film when Oliver asks the head of the orphanage for an unheard-of second bowl of gruel. The book written by Charles Dickens is the story of an orphan who longs to be loved. He runs away from the horrible funeral home where he is sent after the gruel incident and joins up with a gang of street kids who make a living by pick-pocketing people of the city. Jack Wild who later starred in the Saturday Morning kids shows, “HR Puffing Stuff” was one of the gang members. I saw the stage musical as a little girl. I was on the third balcony and unaware that I needed glasses so I couldn’t actually see the actors but I remember that I loved the music and had the album on my turntable for years. It certainly has many songs that you will find yourself singing along after the movie has ended. Oliver! it ended up winning 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Score. The story has been redone a thousand times, but the 1968 movie version stands out as the best to date. I love every single song. If I had to pick it would be two songs, “Who will buy this wonderful morning?” and “Where is Love?”


5. Godspell is a 1970 musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off-Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since. Several cast albums have been released over the years and one of its songs, "Day by Day" from the original cast album, reached #13 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the summer of 1972. I saw the play at Ford’s Theater in DC when I was sixteen and said, “Someday I will be in that musical? I finally was in a community theater production when I was 29!!! I was the oldest female in the cast and in my doctoral program. Most of the cast was in High School or college! The structure of the musical is that of a series of parables, based on the Gospel of Matthew (though three of the parables featured are only recorded in the Gospel of Luke). These are then interspersed with a variety of modern music set primarily to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ treated briefly near the end of the performance. It started as a college project performed by students at Carnegie Mellon University and moved to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Greenwich Village. It was then re-scored for an off-Broadway production which became a long-running success. • Opening • Prologue: Towers of Babble • Prepare ye The Way of the Lord • Save the People • Day By Day • Learn Your Lessons Well (my solo) • O Bless the Lord • All for the Best • All Good Gifts • Light of the World Act II • Learn Your Lessons Well (Reprise) • Turn Back, O Man • Alas for You • By My Side • Beautiful City † • We Beseech Thee • On The Willows • Finale • Day By Day (Reprise) My favorite song is a tough choice. The song “On the Willows” Is so beautiful but. I think I would choose By My Side as my favorite. That was not my solo when I was in the play, and I remember every night I wanted to sing it!!!

6. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. First staged on Broadway in 1971, it highlights political and interpersonal struggles between Judas Iscariot and Jesus. The opera is based very loosely on the Gospels' account of the last week of Jesus' life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem, and ending with the Crucifixion. The three-album set was on my turntable for three years. Long before the movie came out. We studied every song in a 12 week Sunday school class at my church. I still think that the lyric song by King Herod, “Jesus prove to me that your so cool, walk across my swimming pool.” is one of the most clever lines in musical history. The work's depiction offers a free interpretation of the psychology of Jesus and the other characters. A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas, who is depicted as a tragic figure who is dissatisfied with the direction Jesus steers his disciples. Twentieth-century attitudes and sensibilities as well as contemporary slang pervade the lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. My favorite song is “Everything is Alright.”

7. The Producers I was going to see this musical on Broadway on the famous September 11th. I made a trip back to New York City a month later and got a third-row center seat. The people in the seats around me came from all over the world to support New York City and Broadway. The energy was so fantastic. It is my favorite live musical memory. Nathan Lane's sweat showered on me I was so close to the stage. I loved it. We gave a three-minute standing ovation at the end of the show. The musical was adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics by Brooks and music by Brooks and Glen Kelly. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show is accessible to a wide range of audiences and draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals and Nazis, and many show business in-jokes. The original production opened on Broadway on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards. It spawned a successful London production running for three years, national tours, and many productions internationally, and a 2005 film version. My favorite song is “Spring Time for Hitler. “ The song is odd, disturbing, and very hummable.

8. The Wizard of Oz (1939) The old movie used to be only shown once a year on television. It was a big event each year akin to Halloween or Easter in its "specialness" We had the first color TV on the street. So, everyone in the neighborhood came to our house to see this movie in color the night it first came on Television. It was so fun to have all the kids at my house. Color film was created after the filming for the movie started. They had already shot the Kansas scenes in black and white. So they created one of the most magical moments in film history. The movie starts out in black and white in Kansas where Dorothy, played by Judy Garland lives. After a tornado strikes her farm, Dorothy wakes up to the full technicolor land of Oz. A true film magic moment. I can't express how powerful that scene was to watch as a child. Dorothy, with the help of a tin-man, a scare-crow, and a lion must find the only man who can get her home to Kansas, The Wizard of Oz.. The movie gave us "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "We're Off to See the Wizard", which have become great classic children's songs over the years. My favorite song is the famous, “Over the Rainbow.”

9. The Sound of Music (1959) The musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Many songs from the musical have become standards, including the title song "The Sound of Music", "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and "Do-Re-Mi". The original Broadway production,[1] starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened on November 16, 1959; the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It was adapted as a 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which won Academy Awards. The Sound of Music was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere. There used to be a restaurant in Atlanta called Agnes and Murials that played the soundtrack of musicals as its background music and this soundtrack was a favorite. I have the recipe book from the restaurant and I sing the Sound of Music when I make Agnes and Murials famous fried chicken. 

10. Grease (1978) This musical has strong childhood memories for me. It is full of hit songs. I saw the movie multiple times the summer it came out. The song Summer Nights actually hit it big in the '90s as well, long after the movie was out of theaters. It starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as Danny and Sandy, a very unlikely couple. Sandy was your typical good-girl, while Danny belonged to a gang of leather-jacketed bad boy and bad girls. They hit it off in the summer, and the movie takes place as both have gone their own ways, and are back in high school that following semester. The movie shows the progression through the year as they each deal with teen issues, and their hidden love for each other. I Love the gym dancing scene. I still do the little dance when I hear the song on the radio. I don’t really have a favorite song from this. I think it is the memory of the summer I first saw that puts it on the musical on my top ten list.

Honorable mentions for Top 20 Musicals. Fame. The Michael Jackson music video Thriller, Peter Pan and The King and I (1956) Rodgers and Hammerstein brought this musical in 1956, about a British governess and her son that travel to Siam, and meets up with the ruler of the land. Her old ways clash with the King and it seems like nothing is going to work out between them. The reason for this is that women are seen as second class in this far land, and she is not going to sit by while this happens. She puts herself into dramatic situations by not being silent, and it actually gains her the admiration of the King. Starring in the two main roles as Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut of Siam, are Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. Both are very good in the film and sing quite well. So, as you are watching the movie, you aren't distracted by the singing, but rather taken along for the in-depth story. The two have a great chemistry on screen. Nominated for 9 academy awards in 1957, it ended up winning 5 of them, including best actor. There is no other choice, my favorite song is “Can We Dance.”

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://pattiwood.net/. Also, check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

A Tip From Patti

As a vocal coach and public speaking expert, Patti Wood answers a reader's question in Men's Health Magazine. Has your voice ever cracked when you got nervous? Patti explains why and what you can do to avoid it happening. Check the link.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35167078/Men-s-Health-How-to-Keep-My-Voice-From-Cracking

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://pattiwood.net/. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Inauguration Body Language Reads Continued...

I watched the Inauguration today for a body language read on Obama's presidential inauguration ceremony today.

Coming out of the white house to go the inauguration the "still president" Bush stepped behind Obama going down the stairs and then put his arm around and guided Obama down the stairs. This was particular interesting as I did a body language read of their first meeting after Obama was elected, for the New York Daily news, and in those photo stills Obama had his arm around Bush guiding him. This was Bush's last chance to look like the leader! Interesting, especially when you learn that Bush said something to the effect of, "Your on your own, go to your people for guidance" When Obama told Bush he was going to go to him for advice during his new presidency. Oddly this is what Bush senior said to Bush junior when Bush junior became president.

When Bush senior came down the steps he looked unusually ebullient. It was clear from his large smile and eye contact with the crowd of photographers that he was happy to be back in the limelight. You might have missed it but there was an odd moment that showed just how oddly happy Bush senior was as he came down the stairs he reached over and patted the rear end of one of the guards!

Former president Bill Clinton had his own "emotional moment" as he was entering the inauguration. When he was in the darkened hallway just before coming down the stairs his eyes wrinkled down and his mouth twisted back and down intensely as he held him his sadness. Then as he came out into the light and the crowd he lit up with his 'game face" with his great big charming smile and raised eyebrows. Hilary Clinton was calm her facial expression showed true power and pleasure. An interesting combination. I really admired that strength.

Soon to be president Obama's daughters came down the hallway and down the stairs walking several steps ahead of their grandmother, neither looking at her for comfort, support, or even acknowledging her. There posture was erect and lady like and very at ease. They seemed confident until it came to their seats. Then the youngest daughter sat down and had trouble with the blue blanket that was provided and then realized she should be standing. They kept looking at the immense crowds on the Mall. They where the only people filmed that seemed to acknowledge the incredible crowds.

When Obama came down the hallway you saw his face change from smile to a rather affected serious face. In fact I saw him put on the serious face and force it their. Odd that he chose to be serious instead of joyous throughout the inauguration.

Obama's Inauguration and Body Language

Here are my first thoughts of Obama's Body Language today... I think that the 13 minutes late to the church communicates his sense of importance. His smile was large and genuine. More body language reads to come...

That’s so rude!

There are times when someone’s nonverbal communication is so unbelievably rude you wonder if the person is clueless or just visiting from another planet. I rarely rant in my blog but after being interviewed recently for my nonverbal stories on techie rudeness I wanted to share some stories.

I was sitting in a packed plane that was delayed on the ground for an hour. The guy sitting next to me was talking on his cell phone, quite loudly with his one night stand from the night before; about all the things they did...everything...in detail for over and hour. No request from me could make him stop he just got louder. Everyone around him was squirming as he kept talking using very explicit language and repeating the phrase, “You where so drunk last night.”

I am a professional speaker and set ground rules in my programs so people respect everyone in the audience and don't use their cell phones, type, twitter or do "hip checks" on the blackberry’s. I do that because I know how frustrating it feels to be an audience member when a fellow participant is being rude. At one convention a few years ago I stayed to here the next speaker. A guy in one of the front rows cell phone rang and he took the call and started talking got up walked down the center isle to the last row and paced the back of the room talking loudly on his cell phone. It’s as if the other 100 audience members where not there. AHHGGGG!
What are your “That’s so rude!” stories?

Ten Tips for Introductions

May I introduce? The proper etiquette, rules, tips and guidelines for making introductions.

Using the proper introductions help to establish rapport when meeting people. Yes they are not always easy, but they are important. And knowing how to introduce people to one another can make you not only more comfortable in business and social setting it can make other people feel more comfortable and make you look more confident! Here are ten tips for making introductions.

The most important thing is to introduce people to each other. If you don’t know someone’s name. Or you forget whose name comes first it is alright. Don’t avoid them or just stand there hoping they will introduce them selves.

If you forget a name simply say, “Please forgive me I have forgotten your full name.” If that seems awkward to you simple say. “Hello, I would like you to meet my wife Sara and hopefully they follow through with their name. It is still less awkward than standing their you’re your unnamed wife. That shows a lack of respect for both parties. Always introduce!

In very formal setting you would say, “I would like to present to you....” Otherwise it is fine to say, “I would like to introduce you to...” or less formally, Mrs.Garmen, Mrs. Tolbight,”
When your introducing someone at a party or say out at a restaurant at the mall or a bar you could also say. Mrs. Jones, you know Mrs. Robinson, don’t you?” Or Sarah have you met Molly. Or Julie do you know my Mother?

In business at formal business events Introduce individuals to each other using both first and last names. If you are in a casual social setting or party it is fine to use first names. "Jim, Id like you to meet my neighbor, Sarah." Or, very casually, "Sarah, Jim.", "Jim, Sarah".

Whose name do you say first? Though even Miss Manner and Emily Post disagree on whose name comes first I believe you should honor the highest person by saying their name first. So think authority defines whose name is said first. Say the name of the most important person first and then the name of the person being introduced.

Introduce people in the following order:
· Younger to older, “Mrs. Hopkins I would like you to meet my little sister Mary Jones.”
· non-official to official,”Mr. President I would like you to present to you Mr. John Brown.”
· junior executive to senior executive, ”Mr. Iacocca I would like you to present you to our new junior executive Mr. Sam Horn”
· Colleague to customer, “Mrs. Hawthorne (The customer) I would like to introduce you to my college Mr. Mike Frank.”
· 2 year employee to ten year employee. Sam Coke I would like you to meet John Hordin.
· Trump rules. A customer visiting an office trumps the CEO. Mr. Camp I would like you to meet our CEO Mr. Mike Smith. There are also choices to make. Let’s say that you are introducing people to a speaker at an event and not everyone knows the name of the speaker. You could either say. MS Patti Wood I like you to meet my college Mr. Mike Stewart. Mr. Stewart (or just plane Mike) I would like you to meet our speaker today Patti Wood or you could say the lower status person’s name first Frank Smith I would like to introduce your to our speaker Dr. James Nelson. Dr Nelson this is Frank Smith he has been at the Atlanta Training office of UKS for two years. He works with Jennie Waddington. It is OK if you mess up the order. No small children were harmed, just keep going.

If you're in a formal business setting, say a convention, introduce someone who has a title’s doctor, for example’ include the title as well as the first and last names in the introduction. Use proper titles. Don't introduce your parents as 'Mom' or 'Dad' unless that is how they would like to be addressed. You can say, “I would like you to meet my mother Ms. Jones.

If the person you are introducing has a specific relationship to you, make the relationship clear by adding a phrase such as 'my boss,' 'my wife' or 'my uncle.' In the case of unmarried couples who are living together, 'companion' and 'partner' are good choices.

Use your spouse's first and last name if he or she has a different last name than you. Include the phrase 'my wife' or 'my husband.' Mr. Jones I would like you to meet my husband Eric Mann.
Introduce an individual to the group first, then the group to the individual. For example: 'Dr. Noble, I'd like you to meet my friends Hassan Jubar, Kim Nordeck and Michael Smith. Everyone, this is Dr. Mark Noble.'

Give them something to talk about once you have introduced them, preferably something they have in common. For example:” Sara this is Paul.","Paul, Sara is the biggest Baseball fan I have ever met" Now you have them a conversation starter. If you need to go, once they get a bit of a conversation going you can excuse yourself politely

Stand up. The rule used to be that only men were supposed to stand when being introduced to a woman. Now, gender no longer plays a role in most business introductions in the U.S. and European communities. In business situations, one should always stand up when being introduced to someone else.If you are traveling to another country, whether it be for business or pleasure, or if you are meeting someone whose culture is unfamiliar, always check to see what the specific manners are for that country or culture. If you are in a casual setting or in a group setting you won’t get beat up if you don’t stand, but you should stand. You don’t get to shake hands if you don’t. The exception to the rule. If you are eating you don’t have to stand or shake hands.

If your introduced to someone respond. You don’t have to say, “Nice to meet you.” It is the polite response, but you may not be sure yet if it will be nice. You don’t have to say, “It is a pleasure to meet you unless it is a pleasure.You do have to say something. You should repeat the person's name back; In a formal setting saying "Hi" or " Hello" is not enough. Instead, say, “Hello” "Do you prefer being called David or should I call you Dave?"

For more free tips on body language register for my FREE Body Language Teleclass, once your registered you will receive all the info and even if you cannot make the call we will provide you with the FREE mp3. Register here http://www.pattiwood.net/program.asp?PageID=7830

The History Channel Presents "The Secrets of Body Language" - See Patti's Feature in This Compelling Program!

Patti Wood is on a History Channel special this month entitled, “The Secrets of Body Language”
She is one of the leading experts in Nonverbal Communication in the world who were interviewed about how to read body language and paralanguage (voice.)

The next airing of the History Channel body language special will be this Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 5:00 EST.

If you would like to contact Patti about speaking or coaching please go to her website for contact information at http://www.pattiwood.net/

Body Language Observations of the 2nd Presidential Candidates Debate - McCain vs. Obama October 08

The “fighting rules” were strict, allowing little interaction.

The candidates had to stay six feet apart, in their designated area.
******* (I have listed some of the debate rules at the bottom of the article).
Thank goodness there were no lecterns, just chairs upon which to perch while the other was speaking. This way, we could see more of the candidate’s bodies despite the fact that the other debating rules meant there was little engagement with each other. They would have very little interpersonal debate, but rather give “short speeches” in response to questions asked.

Obama came onto the stage in a long relaxed stroll. In this debate Obama was respectful and McCain did not have to tap him to get him to shake hands. They shook hands each grasping the other’s elbow in the classic politician’s handshake showing power and control.McCain had more energy than I had ever seen him have. His voice tone and energy was often positive and hopeful. He was coached well to be upbeat in the beginning of the debate but, overused that “we can do it”, “we are Americans” hopefulness later in the debate when he should have been mad at Obama for aligning him with Bush and calling him on it.

At the beginning of the debates Obama was calm, blank eyed and seemed more coached and less passionate and at times although he kept gesturing, his eyes seemed dead eyed. . While Obama spoke McCain paced the stage a bit nervously.McCain needed to be strong in this debate, show more energy confidence and power than Obama. Obama needed to be more cool, collected and in control. McCain showed more energy but overall did not seem presidential. He has more knowledge but his energy was wasted in attacks, verbal and nonverbal. He walked toward towards Obama as he attacked, but then would step back. Neither move showing strength. He often showed snarly smirking facial expressions as he walked toward Obama and pointed at him in little jabs. While discussing the Bush/Cheney-backed energy bill "stuffed full" of goodies for the oil companies. "Know who voted for it? That one," he says, not looking at Obama. "Know who voted against it? I did..." This was the biggest nonverbal memorable moment in the debate and was all negative for McCain. A big mistake.

Powerful debaters let attackers come to them and smile or act bored. Obama smiled as if McCain's attack didn’t mean a thing. McCain needed to show his confidence and superior experience knowledge but with the exception of a few questions, like what we should do about Russia, his true deep knowledge was not shown.

Obama attacked McCain during the debates by standing near his chair or walking forward using his hand to make fists. He didn’t look at him, and that worked. I didn’t like any of the attacks but Obama’s method of attack worked.
While McCain talked and Obama waited and listen for his next question, Obama sat on his stool with one leg down up with his foot resting on the bar with his legs spread open to take a posture of “cool power.”
I could almost see a black and white photo of him in that same pose on the cover of a jazz CD. This was not the same pausing, awkward Obama. His coaching between the debates was clear. Answer the questions quickly and strongly. Often Obama leapt out of the chair and strode toward Moderator Brokaw as he answered Brokaw's question. Obama loves a podium. He was more awkward in the town hall setting. He had a hard time at first approaching the audience and individual questioners. But, gained confidence later and scribbled notes more frequently. His notebook spilling over the small table.With the physical; contrast one tall and slender, the other short and older; their physical differences seemed more pronounced as they walked on the stage in this setting.

Remember, we tend to choose the winning candidate in a debate seconds after it begins. Typically, we make these choices based on the charismatic factors of Likeability, attractiveness and level of dominance. Though McCain was more comfortable in the town hall format and sincerely engaged the people and talked to the questioners in an authentically warm way, his gestures showed up too late. Obama had it made before he opened his mouth.More notes to come later today. In the meantime, check out this story with me and several other experts:http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-debateside8-2008oct08,0,4755608.story********The format: Under the terms of a 31-page Memorandum of Understanding, Candidates must stay in their designated areas. The NBC host Tom Brokaw will moderate, picking questions from a pool 150 undecided voters from the Nashville area, pre-selected by Gallup so that they're demographically representative. The live questioners will ask their questions directly, and Brokaw will intersperse them with selections from a reported six million others received by email. Cameras aren't allowed to show the reactions of the live questioners -- just their initial questions. Tom Brokaw will identify a person and call on them; the questioner will ask the question, and then be seated. The candidate to whom the question was posed will have two minutes to respond, and then the other candidate will have two minutes. Then there'll be one minute of open discussion.

Vice Presidential Debates--Palin and Biden’s Body Language

My Ramblings on Body Language:

The non interaction rule set by McCain’s team worked to Biden’s benefit. His usual over the top anger and ranting was much more restrained. Yes, Biden was angry. Yes, he pointed and used one handed and two handed chopping motions to make his points, but this time his anger made Biden appear earnest and sincere.

Yes, he got angry at Palin very early in the debate and he occasionally pointed his finger at her and many times he jumped in to say she was wrong before he was called on. Still, he could have been more attacking and he would have looked far worse.

Palin started with a smile and kept a smile on for most of the debate. Click here to hear my comments on the O'reilly Factor: http://www.pattiwood.net or read the interview below.

Palin walks the “B line” well.
What is the B line?
Well, women have to walk a line between being too feminine and being perceived as weak or going too far to the other side of the line and being perceived as a B***ch. Powerful women have the hardest time with it. Hilary Clinton didn’t have a problem choosing. She stayed strong and in doing so came across too far on the “B side”.

Palin wants to be more feminine so she uses her beautiful beauty queen smile to mask her anger. At times, especially near the end of the debate, the smile became a “snarl” and made her look condescending. We don’t like “masking smiles” on powerful people.

Palin did a little blinking when she started but not the highly nervous 50 to 60 blinks per minute or the 80 blinks per minute often called the “Nixon effect”. She went to her strength, her down home folksy manner of delivery. Her little "betcha’s" and other contractions were a little much when she talked about the big issues, but overall they evoked a “ Reaganistic” warmth and the approval ratings soared. Tune in for more as I talk about Palin’s winks and Biden's head tilts later...


To view my ABC News article and more on this subject visit my site.

Interview with Hillary Reynolds of Her Way Up...

"Her Way Up" is a soon-to-be launched online community for businesswomen. We are currently looking for women business owners (all industries) to profile. -Hillary Reynolds

1) How long have you been in business? I have been a professional speaker and body language expert since 1982

2) What made you decide to launch your own company? Actually people in my audiences said I should start my own speaking company.

3) Are there any women in business who you admire? And why? Some I admire for their business acumen. It is harder to find successful women business owners who are not stressed and have a balanced happy life. I know a women business owner who have great business success, or have a great family lives having both is difficult. It has taken me years to achieve a balanced happy life and I am so grateful to have it.

4) What have been the greatest challenges that you have faced? Living with economic uncertainty has been my greatest challenge. Also, I can be creative, and disciplined and motivate myself, but sometimes I would like a business partner to bounce ideas off of or to say, “Tomorrow will be great!” I have an awesome assistant, fellow speakers and entrepreneurial friends, and family that have really made my success possible and we always support each other. Yet I would love someone who is invested in my business to share things with on a daily basis.
5) What has been your greatest victory? When I started my business I would stand up and do the “Rocky” dance when I got a booking and saw each engagement as a victory. Now, though I have been on TV many times and quoted weekly in national publications, my greatest victory happens each time an audience member calls or sends an email that a course I taught or a speech I gave motivated them to a positive change in their life. It means so much to me. I feel so blessed to get to do what I love to do and knowing I have a small part in helping people is awesome.

6) What advice would you give to other women who are thinking of starting their own companies? Have a year of income in the bank that is not a loan. Take a negotiation and sale class. Create a business plan and budget and post it in the office. Set profit goals for each month and then put a calendar on the wall and mark you income and outflows for the month so you actually see them. That monthly goal can be very motivating. And most importantly, surround yourself with team mates, family and friends that you love and give to and who support your vision and remember love is always more important than the bottom line. Your job won’t sit and cuddle on the couch with you.