What does the body language of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder, and CEO of
Theranos tell us? In June 2018 she was accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). (Holmes and Theranos' former COO, Sunny Balwani, who was also
charged, have pled not guilty to the charges.) After the publication of
journalist John Carreyrou's Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup,
and ABC's podcast The Dropout, HBO has now thrown its hat
into the ring with its documentary The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley.
The documentary is the first to compile footage of Holmes in the context of the accusations that the company's machines did not work. And this new flood of footage has people wondering what Elizabeth Holmes' body language says about her — especially that whole not-blinking thing. Patti Wood, an expert in deception detection and author of the book SNAP — Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, tells Bustle that "laser focus" allows people to charm those around them.
"It's a charismatic
body language behavior. When you're in their presence, you feel like you're the
only person in the entire world, that you're the center of their focus and
attention," she explains. "It's a superpower, really, and it affects
your ability to think logically and go to your [brain's] neocortex and analyze
what's going on because it feels so good."
Holmes founded the healthcare company that eventually became known as Theranos in 2003 at age 19, after dropping out of Stanford. The company claimed to be developing technology that could analyze a fingerprick's worth of blood to detect myriad health problems. Before Theranos was accused of fraud, Holmes was lauded as the next Steve Jobs and became the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world. However, the technology was eventually shown not to be functional and the company was defunct by 2018, according to a Theranos timeline of events reported by Business Insider.
As people try to unravel the mystery of how Holmes was able to court investors to fund the development of a product that allegedly did not work, many have made mention of Holme's ability to focus on people without blinking.
Wood says this prolonged
eye contact is part of the laser focus tactic. She explains that the four
factors of a first impression are credibility, likability, attractiveness, and
power. When you're dealing with someone who is highly charismatic, the last
three factors override your need to find the person credible, she says.
While anyone can fall
prey to a charismatic person who is not well-intentioned, there are some red
flags to be aware of. "Watch out for 'robots,'" Henderson advises.
"If the person you are with looks a bit stiff and robotic, [it means] they
are gesturing without any connection to their spine in an attempt to suppress their
real behavior. Essentially, they are putting on a show for you which is not
genuine and could be a scam."
Additionally, Wood says
that your body may alert you that the person you're dealing
with is being less than truthful. You might feel unsettled, uncomfortable, or
experience a rapid heart rate. Sometimes this can be mistaken for
excitement.
Patti's additional
notes
Signs of a Dangerous Person
Trust your gut.
Your central nervous system alerts you to danger. Your limbic brain alerts
you through sight, sound, touch, smell, and kinesthetic cues. Your
body may tense or freeze. You may feel heavy, oddly fatigued, or pumped up,
nauseous, or headache or just have an odd feeling that something is off.
If you think you may be scammed, it is your limbic brain reading their behavior
at a subconscious level. And alerting you with that 'Ask questions, see if you
are right, or simply end the interaction.
