WHAT’S DONALD TRUMP HIDING? HIS BODY LANGUAGE
SAYS IT ALL
BY JESSICA FIRGER ON
1/12/17 AT 1:02 PM
Experts have long known that humans communicate with much more
than just words. Nonverbal cues are critical in everyday situations, from
parenting effectively to dating to acing a job interview, or even getting
served in a timely fashion at a restaurant.
These cues are also important for assessing and forming opinions
about the people around us, including public figures. Plenty of research shows
that hand gestures, posture and facial expression and other visual
communication cues (even how close a person stands near others) are ripe for
interpretation. Often-cited (and debated) research from psychologist Albert
Mehrabian suggests that 55 percent of human communication is through body
language, 38 percent is the tone of voice and only 7 percent of the message
understood is the result of the words that come out of a person’s mouth. This
assertion may not hold true in all circumstances, but it does suggest that
nonverbal cues are critical to communication.
What makes this particularly interesting is that often these
visual cues don’t match up with what the person says, especially when it comes
to people in public prominence. More recent research suggests that when
people’s nonverbal communication isn’t in line with their words, these visual
cues are probably a better way to read their thoughts and feelings. Take, for
example, Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump held his first press conference as the
incoming commander in chief. The event quickly turned raucous as Trump denied
he had any involvement with the Russian government and criticized members of
the press. Amid his more obvious, aggressive forms of communication (yelling
and finger-pointing) was a message that the president-elect is on the defensive
and perhaps has a little something to hide, says Patti Wood, a body
language expert for more than 30 years, speaker and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and
Charisma.
Wood has been analyzing the nonverbal communication of
politicians since George W. Bush Jr. was in the White House, and she has made
some interesting observations about Adolf Hitler’s salutes and Sarah Palin’s
winks. Trump, she says, is a great study of how a person’s gesturing, posture
and facial expressions can be both confusing and persuasive.
“He is the perfect person to say the nonverbal has the power,”
she says of Trump. “People don’t hear the words, they don’t really pay
attention to the verbal message. It doesn’t matter at all.”
When Wood assesses someone’s communication skills—verbal and
nonverbal—she thinks about what’s customary for any person in a given scenario
and environment (in this case, a high-profile press conference held by the
president-elect). She also considers the “baseline” behavior of that particular
person. Wood has been studying Trump’s idiosyncratic communication habits over
the past 18 months and says there have been some small changes in the way
he addresses the public since he began campaigning for the presidency. For
example, Trump now raises his hands higher when he gestures, suggesting he may
have a higher opinion of himself after winning the election.
The way he evokes feelings through facial expression has also
evolved. In the beginning of his campaign, Trump had what she calls a “broad
emotional range,” meaning he could move freely from facial cues of laughter to
rage and anger. “And then I noticed a transition where he stayed in anger more
often,” she says.
But there are also many things that remain consistent, such as
his habit of evading questions and then providing an answer that’s seemingly
unrelated and ultimately falls apart into fragmented language. “His
baseline is often the baseline of someone being deceptive,” says Wood, adding
that these are communication cues she looks for when asked to analyze a video
of an interrogation. “He’s someone who doesn’t use complete sentences and
chooses to answer questions with an odd mix of words. That would typically be
an indication of deception.”
That verbal communication is underscored by some visual cues,
such as Trump’s trademark gesture: an emoji-like AOK symbol with his index
finger and thumb touching at the tips. In public speaking, many people are
trained to clench their thumb and finger tips together to evoke the
message “I’m being precise.”However, Trump’s gesture is different, and
Wood says that can be confusing to people watching and listening. In that way,
the hand movement becomes a great distraction from his imprecise verbal
communication.
Trump, Wood adds, also uses plenty of “weapon-like gesturing.”
This includes “chopping motions,” which he employed on Wednesday when he
declared, “I have no ties with Russia.” When he reprimanded BuzzFeed for
leaking an unverified intelligence document outlining his ties to the Russian
government, he moved his hands aside as if “pushing something out of the way,”
Wood says. That’s a less subtle visual cue. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the
uncommon occurrences when his verbal and nonverbal communication actually match
up.
Even when Trump isn’t standing before a mic, his body language
sends plenty of strong messages. (It didn’t take a Ph.D. to conclude that
Trump’s lurking behind Hillary Clinton while she answered questions during the second
presidential debate was an attempt to intimidate her.)
During Wednesday’s press conference, after giving up the podium
to Sheri Dillon, Trump’s attorney, others on the stage, including his
daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, stood formally with arms
folded, hands in front of their groins. This is what’s known in the public
speaking world as the “fig leaf position” since private parts are being
shielded. It’s a stance that’s customary at public meetings like press
conferences and evokes respect but also vulnerability.
Trump wasn’t guarding his loins at this point. He stood
on the sideline swaying back and forth, what Wood calls “self-soothing.”
He could also be seen biting his lip several times, a subconscious behavioral
cue that indicates “self-punishing” and suppressed anger, she says.
In several instances, Trump turned his head slightly to see
behind him, which reflects a “primal need to be an alpha animal and know your
territory,” Wood adds. It also didn’t take long before Trump’s entire body
faced the audience. Meaning: “I want to be the center of attention.”
In short, she says, the 45th president of the United States
looked bored.
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.
