Patti analyzes the body language of Arnold Schwarzenegger as he is being interviewed on 60 Minutes. Patti shares her insights with Kyra Phillips on HLN - Evening Express.
1: SOT IN SETUP TO BRING YOU IN
Stalh: I've spent time with you, and you are so much fun and you
have enormous charm. And I have to keep reminding myself about this chapter of
your life. I do, I have to keep saying, "Wow, he did something that speaks
to character." (Arnold just stares at her and doesn’t answer the
question.)
He is very conflicted. He actually has his eyes tight and focused
in an attack glare and has his mouth in what he thinks is a neutral smile, but
is actually an asymmetrical sneer. This means he would like to attack her for
saying he has done something that mars his character, “I am mad but I am trying
to keep that in and smile.” But after the long frozen expression and
silence he finally nods his head yes and agrees with the statement.
She follows by asking, “Do you have to remind yourself or is it
always there.”
We see his most difficult coming to grips with the question. He
does a tongue flick, his mouth is dry with stress and he has to moisten it. His
head comes back slightly. His eyes don’t just shutter close with the bad
feelings he pulls his eyes shut so there are visible wrinkles at the corners
and his mouth tightens back and you can see on freeze frame his suppressed
cry of anguish. As he comes out of it he tries to pull himself together and
he says, ““It’s always there.”
Only affair 11:14 or so
2: SOT ABOUT MARIA AND THE AFFAIRS
You write that Maria did ask you before the
confrontation with the marriage counselor “Is that your child?" He is nodding his head yes. So you lied to her. >>Schwarzenegger: “you
can say that.” He has the composed smile that he
holds as if for a photograph. Then he uses a tongue eraser to erase what he
just said, He feels he shouldn’t have made that admission.
To the questions, “So, It is a recurring issue with you?”
His eyes narrow down into attack focus and he gives that tight lipped smirk his
mouth pulling up on his left and he says, “I am not perfect. “ In a very soft
voice as his chin comes down. I have analyzed his body language for many
years. His chin usually comes up defiantly in his answers to the media so here
we see his version of an admission that he was bad.
3: SOT ABOUT MISTRESS
8:32 How does money start showing up? >> Schwarzenegger: “I gave
it to her and she knew what it was about.” >> Stahl: did you think that,
if you gave her money, that she wouldn't talk, like hush money? >> Schwarzenegger:
“I don't think that Mildred was at all into talking. He is honest here. He
didn’t think Mildred would talk.
19:52:54 you write... Is my child 19:53:17
You write, "I wanted Mildred to continue working in our home
because I thought I could control the situation better that way." and I
read that to mean that, if she was in the house, you could make sure she
wouldn't tell anybody. >> Schwarzenegger: “no” He does an eye
shutter here. . It was more that it would be the wrong thing to do to let
them go and not make her feel like she's being punished when I find out that
this is my child.
What is very interesting is his response to her asking him she
remained the house keeper was that strange. He does a lip suppression cue
again focusing to control himself here. Interesting that then he changes
using a light almost playful voice and partial smile as he talks about the
bizarreness of the situation. It reads to me as if he enjoyed the bizarreness
of the situation. He at some level is enjoying being “cornered by her in
the interview into revealing the bizarreness of it.
4: SOT ABOUT TELLING MARIA HE WAS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR THE
DAY BEFORE ANNOUNCING IT PUBLICLY
You had no idea that this was something she would not want to get
back into? >> Schwarzenegger: “no”. As a matter of fact, I was thinking
that she would say, "Wow that is amazing. Welcome to the club. We
finally convinced you to be a public servant, just like my entire family."
none of that. He seems inauthentic. His
answer seems pat. He does something I call edit emotional event.
This is something self-focused people do when their behavior is not met
with the reaction they want. Here I
would expect him to describe her emotion. Instead he pauses to edit out her
reaction and instead says, none of that. So, all of a sudden, it came
to a grinding halt and I had to now deal with the drama.
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.
