One of the most interesting and dramatic aspects of Obama’s body and para language is that it changes so much from speech to speech and location to location. While many candidates slow down their speech slightly to charm their southern audiences and increase their rate for New York news shows, Obama transforms. For example, if you had never heard him speak before and watched him give his Selma Alabama speech you would note his voice is extremely slow and takes on the relaxed consonants and cadence of Alabama. When he is interviewed on1/10/2007 concerning his response to the Bush Speech his voice pace is face, his speech is clipped, and his consonants are crisp.
When he is out in crowds he stops to talk to someone he laser focuses on them. He gives them significant extended eye contact, leans forward and stays in their intimate zone of space. These behaviors we observed in the “charismatic Clinton.
Remember what makes a candidate look honest and powerful to us when we view him or her on the small screen, may be counter to what may look appropriate to the audience he or she is speaking to when they are taped in front of a live audience. When speaking, behind a podium or on a stage without he does something rather unusual he turns his face and body to sides or moves his entire body towards the audience to shows his desire to empathize and connect with them. However, when we view that on video we may read it differently subconsciously. For example, In the Selma speech he turns his face and body to his right side then left again and again, rather than focus to the front and center. Front and center speaking is read as more honest, more forthright and powerful. On the tapes speech 2 of 5 on you/tube he actually leans his body from the waist up out towards the audience of students as he makes each point. Typically candidates stay straight up and down to show they are “Straight” and strong on issues.
Obama’s body language cues are different in debates and interviews than in speeches. In Third televised debate Keys Obama becomes visibly angry he jabs out his finger at the interviewer in a symbolic weapon even a one time at the end of the interview. At one point he even puts up both hands with the forefingers out symbolically firing as if there were guns in each hand pushes his hand out toward, not just in a symbolic stop sign, but a more aggressive pushing away motion. Nonverbally when can see he is an emotional man. Look for interviews like his response to Bush speech. Watch his mouth goes up more on his left side. Our emotional right hemisphere controls the left side of he face when there is a split face and one side shows more than the other note which side. The mouth twisting up to his left says he was feeling very emotional and though he wished to control it he couldn’t.
Body Language Influences on the Presidential Vote
As an expert in body language I am often asked to do reads of political leaders. (Yes, I know your thinking, “How do you become an expert on such a weird thing.) I have communication degrees with a specialization in body language, taught the topic at the university level, and have researched, written and spoken on it for over 25 years)
Last week I was asked by Psychology today to study tapes of the speeches and interviews of the top presidential candidates over the next few weeks I will be posting to my blog the detailed notes I took as I read over 12 hours of tapes on the candidates. I wanted to start my discussion with a research study on the influence of body language on political choice - body language influence on Presidential voting.
Body language influences us in so many ways, but did you know it profoundly effects who is chosen as president of the United States. Researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research studied the effects of charisma on politics The study involved a group of Harvard undergraduates who were shown 10-second silent video clips of candidates in 58 gubernatorial elections between 1988 and 2000--candidates unfamiliar to the study participants. When asked who they thought had won the election the students were still able to choose the candidate who won 60% of the time. They didn’t know anything about the background of and more importantly never heard a word they said. Their choices where made purely on the basis of body language!
What explained this? "Shapiro was reluctant to call it charisma, although his colleague Danial J. Benjamin, a fellow at the University of Michigan...had no such qualms. He noted 'We found that snap decisions based on charisma are good predictors of election outcomes'."
How did they define Charisma? They used a definition from German sociologist Max Weber, who studied charisma, described it as a gift of power, leadership. They were looking at the body language seeing those strong power characteristics and saying that is the body language of a leader. In fact, According to US psychologist, Alex Todorov, people respond intuitively to faces so rapidly, that their reasoning minds may not have time to influence the reaction. The results of the newest research say that when we see a new face, our brains decide whether that person is attractive and trustworthy within one-tenth of a second.
Last week I was asked by Psychology today to study tapes of the speeches and interviews of the top presidential candidates over the next few weeks I will be posting to my blog the detailed notes I took as I read over 12 hours of tapes on the candidates. I wanted to start my discussion with a research study on the influence of body language on political choice - body language influence on Presidential voting.
Body language influences us in so many ways, but did you know it profoundly effects who is chosen as president of the United States. Researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research studied the effects of charisma on politics The study involved a group of Harvard undergraduates who were shown 10-second silent video clips of candidates in 58 gubernatorial elections between 1988 and 2000--candidates unfamiliar to the study participants. When asked who they thought had won the election the students were still able to choose the candidate who won 60% of the time. They didn’t know anything about the background of and more importantly never heard a word they said. Their choices where made purely on the basis of body language!
What explained this? "Shapiro was reluctant to call it charisma, although his colleague Danial J. Benjamin, a fellow at the University of Michigan...had no such qualms. He noted 'We found that snap decisions based on charisma are good predictors of election outcomes'."
How did they define Charisma? They used a definition from German sociologist Max Weber, who studied charisma, described it as a gift of power, leadership. They were looking at the body language seeing those strong power characteristics and saying that is the body language of a leader. In fact, According to US psychologist, Alex Todorov, people respond intuitively to faces so rapidly, that their reasoning minds may not have time to influence the reaction. The results of the newest research say that when we see a new face, our brains decide whether that person is attractive and trustworthy within one-tenth of a second.
Hilary Clinton Body Language
Representivtive Hilary Clinton steeples when she talks. This gesture is unusual for women to do. She takes her hands and clasps the fingers together so they are more open on the bottom and create a point or steeple on the top. Specifically she does what is called a low steeple or cannon, where she holds this point at her waist level or slightly above her waist level with the point out toward the audience. In everyday interaction a person using the low steeple has a strong differing opinion and wants to shoot “cannon” at you. For Hilary I believe she is taking the offensive when making controversial points.
She is showing signs of voice strain. If you know it is not from mike problems or for speaking too much, voice strain occurs when someone speaks to long or two loads in a low register to show authority in their voice and also when someone is aggressive pushing their points at their audience.
There were little personal ticks in the video I watched of her on you/tube were Hilary Clinton announces run for President. Particularly interesting was something she did in what you would assume was a well planned, and you would assume well rehearsed and coached speech. As she says makes the statement, “...and let’s definitely talk about how every American can have quality affordable health care. “ The statement is an affirmative positive statement,”American can have, but her head shakes back and forth in a no as she says “… every American can have..” rather than up and down. This is a subconscious "leakage" cue that signals she doesn’t believe that statement is true. In this same video she also presses her lips together to suppress or pull back from an angry grimace after she says, “George Bush.” This seemed like a planned little act rather than a natural catching of an inappropriately negative reference to the president. Her paralanguage and facial expressions shift from forced and false warmth to what seems more natural derision and sarcasm as she talks about Bush or the current administration.
One of the things that Hilary battles against as a female candidate is that men are uncomfortable around unsmiling women. Which explains why women typically smile more than men – Women maintain community by smiling and men maintain dominance when not smiling and when Hilary does not smile she is showing what many might read as inappropriate dominance.
Hilary Clinton Body Language
Representivtive Hilary Clinton steeples when she talks. This gesture is unusual for women to do. She takes her hands and clasps the fingers together so they are more open on the bottom and create a point or steeple on the top. Specifically she does what is called a low steeple or cannon, where she holds this point at her waist level or slightly above her waist level with the point out toward the audience. In everyday interaction a person using the low steeple has a strong differing opinion and wants to shoot “cannon” at you. For Hilary I believe she is taking the offensive when making controversial points.
She is showing signs of voice strain. If you know it is not from mike problems or for speaking too much, voice strain occurs when someone speaks to long or two loads in a low register to show authority in their voice and also when someone is aggressive pushing their points at their audience.
There were little personal ticks in the video I watched of her on you/tube were Hilary Clinton announces run for President. Particularly interesting was something she did in what you would assume was a well planned, and you would assume well rehearsed and coached speech. As she says makes the statement, “...and let’s definitely talk about how every American can have quality affordable health care. “ The statement is an affirmative positive statement,”American can have, but her head shakes back and forth in a no as she says “… every American can have..” rather than up and down. This is a subconscious "leakage" cue that signals she doesn’t believe that statement is true. In this same video she also presses her lips together to suppress or pull back from an angry grimace after she says, “George Bush.” This seemed like a planned little act rather than a natural catching of an inappropriately negative reference to the president. Her paralanguage and facial expressions shift from forced and false warmth to what seems more natural derision and sarcasm as she talks about Bush or the current administration.
One of the things that Hilary battles against as a female candidate is that men are uncomfortable around unsmiling women. Which explains why women typically smile more than men – Women maintain community by smiling and men maintain dominance when not smiling and when Hilary does not smile she is showing what many might read as inappropriate dominance.
She is showing signs of voice strain. If you know it is not from mike problems or for speaking too much, voice strain occurs when someone speaks to long or two loads in a low register to show authority in their voice and also when someone is aggressive pushing their points at their audience.
There were little personal ticks in the video I watched of her on you/tube were Hilary Clinton announces run for President. Particularly interesting was something she did in what you would assume was a well planned, and you would assume well rehearsed and coached speech. As she says makes the statement, “...and let’s definitely talk about how every American can have quality affordable health care. “ The statement is an affirmative positive statement,”American can have, but her head shakes back and forth in a no as she says “… every American can have..” rather than up and down. This is a subconscious "leakage" cue that signals she doesn’t believe that statement is true. In this same video she also presses her lips together to suppress or pull back from an angry grimace after she says, “George Bush.” This seemed like a planned little act rather than a natural catching of an inappropriately negative reference to the president. Her paralanguage and facial expressions shift from forced and false warmth to what seems more natural derision and sarcasm as she talks about Bush or the current administration.
One of the things that Hilary battles against as a female candidate is that men are uncomfortable around unsmiling women. Which explains why women typically smile more than men – Women maintain community by smiling and men maintain dominance when not smiling and when Hilary does not smile she is showing what many might read as inappropriate dominance.
Presidential Candidates...
While Hillary Clinton shook her head side to side no while making a positive statement once in speech, Mitt Romney does it often in interviews. He does it repeatedly in an interview with Hannity on Fox news. For example when saying, “ I don’t think people care a lot about which church you belong to he shook his head side to side indicating a no as he said, “I don’t think people care a lot…” When someone makes a positive definitive statement and shakes their head no it appears that they are lying. (This head shaking cue is one I taught in my interviews and interrogation techniques courses to law enforcement) So it looks like he actually believes they DO care a lot! He even does it on a video on his own website as he discusses what he believes. Like a twisted mouth shows your talking out of the side of your mouth this may be a habitual cue showing he is not sure what he believes.
He also like McCain in several of his interviews uses a “masking”, a tense fake smile to cover his displeasure at how the interview is going.
While many candidates, Giuliani, Clinton and Edwards use aggressive and powerful chopping motions as they speak Romney’s hands more often stay cupped and sweep out which makes him appear less definitive and aggressive and on the issues. He even does this in a video of his speech on topic he feels strongly about the Islamic Jihad.
He also like McCain in several of his interviews uses a “masking”, a tense fake smile to cover his displeasure at how the interview is going.
While many candidates, Giuliani, Clinton and Edwards use aggressive and powerful chopping motions as they speak Romney’s hands more often stay cupped and sweep out which makes him appear less definitive and aggressive and on the issues. He even does this in a video of his speech on topic he feels strongly about the Islamic Jihad.
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