President Donald Trump’s most recent handshake with Brigitte Macron (the French Prime Ministers wife) in this video
Here are my rough notes. The link to the story will go up later.
You may want to get my book Snap Making the Most of First Impressions Body
Language and Charisma and reference the chapter on handshakes!
If you look at both videos of his handshake with her in the link
you see it more clearly. Interesting that at the G20 summit and since then he
has often been the initiator of handshake, where before he made others go to
him, to maintain his power as in the ritual of leaders that says I powerful
,”You must come to me.” He actually takes a large step with one foot towards
her then takes another as he stretches our his arm to her. Again this is
different he is initiating and goes to her, releasing some of his power. But, then
notice that when she steps forward to give him the traditional french cheek
kisses how he grabbed her tightly on the upper arms, so tightly she is freezes
for a moment in stress her feet together and her shoulders flex back in a fear
response. She recovers and gives tilts her head to talk to him as a way of
supplication to his power, but she tries to hold his hands to hold him slightly
away from her he not only doesn’t step back so they are at a more comfortable
social distance, (outside of 14 inch intimate space) by extending his arms, he
keeps his elbows bend holds on to her hands awkwardly gripping them to extend
the greeting, which is a bid for power and control over her. He then continues
the awkward grip of her handshaking hand and jerks bizarrely upward several
times, not letting go as if he is reprimanding a small child to obey him. Its
very unusual. See how she steps back quickly to retreat from this control. I
have conducted research on handshakes, both survey and observational research
for many years and have not seen this rough grab and tug upward in an adult to
adult greeting. As she tries to turn away and get away he continues holding on
with his controlling grab and jerk up still holding her right hand and takes
his other hands with a pat on her back that pulls her back and controls her
from both sides to control her further and bring her close again and extend the
greeting. By noting the timing of this pat, its placement and his facial
expression and her response of her tensing and pulling away that it is intended
and received as control movement. You might say, “Oh he was just giving her a
friendly pat, that is an endearing warm or comforting pat, but clearly that was
not the intent or the interpretation.
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.
