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President Trump Met Vladimir Putin For the First Time. Here's What a Body Language Expert Saw

President Trump Met Vladimir Putin For the First Time. Here's What a Body Language Expert Saw

Link to actual article: http://time.com/4849232/g20-summit-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-body-language/
Jul 07, 2017
All eyes were on U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 

Friday when they sat down for their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The meeting, which had been scheduled to last 30 minutes, stretched to more than two hours. Trump reportedly raised the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, though Putin denied any meddling on Moscow's part.
The two leaders' conversation included discussions on "Ukraine, Syria, some bilateral and other issues," according to the Associated Press. They also discussed "fighting terrorism and cybersecurity."
Trump and Putin gave brief public remarks before their meeting. "We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned," Trump said. "And it's an honor to be with you."
"I'm delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President," Putin said through an interpreter. "And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive results."
TIME spoke with Patti Wood, a body language expert, to read between the lines. Here are some key takeaways:
'He's the one that's initiating'
The first glimpse of Trump and Putin came before their official meeting, when they were seen shaking hands in a video shared by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet. Wood spotted something unusual in that footage.
"If you look at that handshake, Trump does something that is different than many other handshakes I've seen him do with other world leaders. He's the one that's initiating. His body — and whole body, actually — steps forward and leans forward as he goes to shake hands. And he offers his hand . . . more palm-up, more in supplication, which again is unusual. Usually he offers it palm down to be on top. And if you look at his demeanor, he seems to be happy."
By comparison, Wood said Trump's handshake with Merkel on Thursday showed the German leader making the first move.
“She offers her hand with the palm up in supplication to him and at the same time she has her head down and tilted to make eye contact with him to say, ‘Hey, we need to shake hands.’ That’s letting go of some of her power . . . h e’s just standing there, and she has to make the effort to shake hands with him. And then when he shakes hands with her, it’s very brief. He’s not really in-the-moment with her. It’s just 'O.K., this is a photo op.'"
'He’s supportive underneath Putin’s arm'
In the same video, Trump taps Putin's arm with his left hand during their handshake and later pats his back — a gesture that typically indicates support, Wood said.
"When you use your left hand in a handshake, typically it’s a power move, it’s a controlling move to say, ‘I surround you.’ But there are variances in that. There are slight nuances. And in this particular case, Trump puts his left hand up underneath, which is the supportive cue, up underneath Putin’s arm and taps it three times.
Now that’s going to sound odd, but three actually has a strong symbolic reference in nonverbal communication, and typically it means a true feeling or a true emotion. So you combine all those together: He’s supportive underneath Putin’s arm, he’s touching it three times in a gentle pat. It means, ‘I support you, I really support you.’
Now that is also interesting if you compare it to other handshakes where he takes that outside hand and he might grip above the elbow or grip all the way up on top of the arm or hit — have actual hitting motion — to strike the person to say, ‘I can hit you, right here. I can hit you symbolically in front of the world.’ So the tapping motion and the hitting motion are quite distinctly different.”
By comparison, Trump's handshakes with other world leaders — including his recent white-knuckle grip with French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO Summit — have drawn attention for being awkward or aggressive.
'His slouch is a little bit more pronounced'
Trump's behavior during sit-down remarks with Putin before their private meeting resembled his stance in other settings, Wood said.
“Trump has a standard seating position in these scenarios, where he has his legs spread apart and he’s doing that particular steeple pose with his hands clasped and pointed between his legs," she said. "That’s all about manliness."
But she noticed some slight differences on Friday compared to Trump's previous interactions with leaders, including his post-election meeting with former President Barack Obama in the White House. For example, she said, Trump faced toward Putin during most of their exchange, and he again initiated their handshakes.
“Typically, Trump’s legs are slightly further apart. And that seems like a small thing, but it’s actually quite distinct because the legs’ breadth apart speaks to a feeling of power and manliness and alpha, so in this case, they’re not quite as far apart.
The other thing that’s interesting as you compare their demeanors is Trump usually does lean forward and he has shoulders slightly slouched. But in this case, I went back and compared this particular meeting with other meetings, and his slouch is a little bit more pronounced."


 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.
     

Trump's Body Language, Hugging and Hugs Denied and the Meaning of the Man Hug


When does a hug become performative, or a power play? (i.e. the Comey handshake) There is a man hug ( see excerpt from my book SNAP Making the Most of First Impressions Body Language and Charisma below. That is a sign of affection. This is not a man hug. Trump patted him ever so briefly broke the handshake (the man hug extends it and the hand on the back or shoulder brings the person in close and it lingers) and whispered to him so Comey had to bend down to Trump. Trump broke the handshake with the pat making the he pat was an power play, a top down admonishment.

- Why would Trump go in for an unwanted hug even when the spotlight's not on him? Some huggers where raised to be huggers based on their culture and or their family. Some huggers are expression their personality by always hugging.  Some  people who are huggers don’t feel connected or that they have fully expressed themselves  until they hug. Their hug is part of their identity, and may even create for them a unique moment or marker in their interactions.  I study and teach body language and personality assessment. The extroverted huggers in my audiences over the years say, “I am a hugger!” “If someone doesn’t want to hug, I make them!” I think it may feel like a win to some huggers, while others feel like they are able to give their affection in hug and set the tone. Some report, she didn’t want that hug, but then she gave in!” It’s a very interesting mixture of power and warmth. Remember Trump refused to shake hands for years. Look at the old news stories on his anti handshake days. Back then he gained power by not shaking hands as a handshake is an agreement to start the interaction unarmed.

What's the meaning of a hug denied, from the rejected hugger's point of view? Thinking of the instance at NATO when Macron seems to deny Trump's open arms. This instance is interesting for several reasons. As you watch Macron is seen walking on the far left towards Trump, then he veers over to shake hands with her. Some have shared that it was women first etiquette, but he veered so far left it looks like purposeful game of “fake you out!”, meant to unsettle Trump the way he tried to unsettle Macron with that, “I am not letting go” handshake on Macron’s visit to the us.  It’s a snub and we see a mircrofacial cue of anger by Trump in response, his lips press together and his eyes narrow tightly and his check and chin muscles tighten


- In your opinion, do you think these hugs are purely about power, or might he genuinely crave physical connection.   It varies, from person to person and it can also serve both functions for some people. 

.” I first noticed the man hug being exchanged by the male athletes in my communication classes at Auburn University. The young men would see a fellow athlete in the hallway or on the campus green and want to give a hug of warmth and friendship, but they were out in public view. People were watching. So they would give a combination handshake-hug. In the handshake-hug, the men first stick out one hand for a handshake and then, with their right hands locked in the handshake (to keep the two participants from getting too close), each wraps his left arm around the other’s shoulder and hugs. The two men hug with only their upper bodies touching and their lower torsos held out and away. Finally, to insure that no one can misconstrue this partial hug as a sissy move, each takes the hand that he briefly held against the other’s back and pounds hard three or four times.
In fact, you could tell if the men were close buddies. They would strike each other harder, just to show how much they cared! Men showing affection through hitting says, “I love you, guy, but not that way.” Unlike the traditional hug, which symbolically and effectively brings people into the intimate zone of space, removes barriers, and unites the two persons embracing, this pounding hug brings only the upper torso into intimate proximity of less than 14 inches. The two extended right arms block any symbolic joining of the two bodies. The aggressive act of striking the back insures that each man knows the other is still a testosterone-rich, card-carrying member of the “man club.”
The man hug, or pound hug, is exclusively performed between two males. It also goes by other names, including pound shake, dude hug, shug, or the bro hug. It’s a greeting or parting ritual that demonstrates a certain level of intimacy typically reserved for close friends and family.
While the different names for the man hug have entered the lexicon, the meaning of the hug has expanded to cover other things as well. Men can now “hug it out” in other circumstances. First heard by the masses in an episode of Friends on TV, the phrase hug it out means that one person gives another (usually a male) a pound hug to help the man get through a difficult or sad situation. Instead of being a spontaneous show of affection, this hug is preceded by a request for permission before it is given. So the exchange sounds something like this:
Person 1: “Man, my girlfriend just dumped me.”
Person 2: “Do you wanna hug it out?”
In an episode of Entourage, two of the guys were in a screaming argument on an elevator. Once the doors opened and they were in public view, one guy turned to the other and said, “Wanna hug it out?” In this use, the pound hug, preceded by the phrase “Wanna hug it out” means: “Hey, we were arguing, but now that we are in public, let’s show we are friends for now. Then we can continue this later in private.” The phrase “Lets hug it out, @#$#,” means “Let’s be friends again” after an argument, or when one man feels he has insulted another.




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.
     

Melania Trump Slaps President's Hand Away to Say "She Won't Be Treated as a Child," Says Body Language Expert, Patti Wood




Yesterday US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
As always, the eyes of the public were watching their every move, and much has been made of a particular public moment between the couple.
After disembarking from the plane, the President walks ahead of his wife and holds his hand back for her to take Melania, however, swats it away, in what appears to be a display of couple disunity. But what does this mean? 

We asked body language expert Patti Wood what her opinion is.
Wood believes the First Lady’s action was deliberate: “He was walking way in front to show his power and putting his hand back to lead her like a child, her hand went under his and up and out to say ‘No, you can’t lead me like a child.’” 

However it’s also possible Melania batted her husband away because she was cautious about showing public affection in Tel Aviv.

The incident could be a further sign of how the Trump’s relationship has changed since becoming the First Couple.

Wood points out that before the residency, she thinks their relationship was “high contact,” and “highly sexualised, with him touching intimate zones of her body in public freely and easily, typically as he smiled and even gloated.”

In the past few months, however, we’ve seen Trump often powering out in front of his wife and leaving her behind. “He wants to be seen as a president. Not as part of a presidential couple,” Wood explained to The Independent. 

But in February, we saw the opposite happen: when Melania went to take her husband’s hand, he simply patted and dropped it, suggesting he didn’t want to hold hands.

Wood believes, on the whole, that Trump is calling the shots when it comes to their public image: “He is determining how they will present themselves. 

“She tries to hold his hand at times in an affectionate way, which makes me think that was their normal way of walking. She is used to affection and often leans it to get it, but we see him turn away or smack her hand away in an admonishing way. 

“There are also several photos where her response to his behaviour is hurt or anger.” 

According to Wood, Melania’s body language around Trump has changed a lot in the past few months - she used to be “a model married to someone that desired her,” and her body language was “very loose, open and comfortable in her own skin.”

But now, Wood says Melania has become someone “whose shoulders go down, whose mouth turns down, who gives furtive, down-gazing looks, and who is tense, tight, small and unhappy.”

In fact, so much has been made of Melania’s facial expressions that ‘Sad Melania’ has become a meme, and many people believe she is unhappy in the marriage.


Melania looks like someone reluctantly serving out a community service sentencing for making a poor life choice #TrumpTrip

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.
     

Everything You Can Learn About President Trump From His Weird Handshakes

Everything you can learn about President Trump
from his weird handshakes

Here is the link to the article I did http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/learn-trump-weird-handshakes-article-1.3196082

There are enough power plays in a President Trump handshake to make your head spin.
With Trump alternating between scripted speeches and private talks through most of his nine-day foreign trip, the world has been left looking for the real stories hidden in his body language — which has made his jarring handshakes famous again.
Trump’s powerful paw stole the show Thursday as he blitzed through meetings with foreign leaders in Brussels at the G7 summit.
There he was, holding the hand of French President Emmanuel Macron for so long that it made the world uncomfortable.
There he was later in public, yanking Macron’s arm around as if spasming.


What's in a shake?
Similar grab-and-pull gestures befell Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and (the clearly exasperated) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Each shake became a viral, and baffling, quirk of the commander-in-chief.
One body language expert, who has studied handshakes for years, says she’s never seen American Presidents doing anything like Trump’s seemingly awkward grabs and yanks.
It's very unusual,” Patti Wood told the Daily News.


It's e timing is not normal, the ritual of it is not normal.”
But experts argued that, strange as it is, it’s intentional — and it’s all about dominance.
On the surface, Trump’s apparently out-of-control shake seems like a warm gesture — an embrace so overwhelming he loses himself in the moment.

“He’s kind of like a clumsy big bear,” said Lillian Glass, a Florida body language consultant.
“He’s a guy that kind of wears his emotions on his sleeve, as we all know. So when he really likes you, he grabs you toward him, like you’re his buddy. It’s a very show business thing, very Hollywood.”
He usually completes the look with his immediate grin and unbroken eye contact.
But there’s something more subtle and sinister at hand.

Trump’s presidential handshakes have become notorious for their unnatural movements — he grabs the hand, hesitates, pulls the person toward him and holds the gesture just a few moments too long.
It’s unsettling — likely on purpose.

“It sends a very specific message of power,” Wood told The News.
“It puts (the other person) off center, off kilter. ‘Oh, you can trust me. Oh, no you can’t.’ It’s an alpha contest of who’s going to be in charge.”
Wood noted that the world has mostly seen the Trump shake during his meetings with either fellow world leaders, or with other Washington dignitaries from whom he will expect loyalty.



A clearly exasperated Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after one of Trump's signature shakes.

Another reason she says the domineering shake is calculated: It’s a new thing for him.
Prior to his presidency, the famously germ phobic business mogul was ardently anti-handshake. He called it a “barbaric” gesture that put him at risk of catching “all sorts of things.”
Trump has been in the perpetual public eye for decades, but was rarely seen giving so many handshakes until he entered the White House.
That's when the Hollywood moves wouldn't cut it anymore. With every new encounter, he now had a lot more to prove.

Full Daily News article - http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/learn-trump-weird-handshakes-article-1.3196082


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.
     

Photo Read of Kisses for BBC


There are several striking things about this photo. Notice first how far he is leaning towards her from where he is standing. See the huge weight shift that puts him off balance and leaning down and onto her cues that show how far he will go to get to her and what risk he will take to be with her. Notice the secure comfortable wrap of his fingers around her. I love that though her face is scrunched up and her lips aren’t soft and merged into his in romantic kiss, she is laughing and playful, combined with her hand up about to touch him intimately on the side of the face. She shows with these cues her playfulness and tenderness and because, it’s often the man who cradles and or touches the side of their partners face, her power.


Very passionate kiss, especially for a public kiss, all their lower body windows appear to be touching, (black on black is hard to read) but looks like heart window, ventral front window and pelvic window are touching, I like how her right hand is sunk into his back forcefully pulling him towards her with strength and passion and they have their mouths not just outer lips connected and kissing. For decorum’s sake she has her left hand straight down, which gives him more power in this photo. I also like how his face has the hint of playfulness on it.


Tender cheek kiss, love how she hold her head high up and towards him with a smile that goes all the way up to her eyes showing true joy.


Above she shows some awkwardness and reluctance in letting the front of her body connect, Note how she arches out at the pelvis so there is not a sexual connection in this formal photo. But he is showing such tenderness, holding his head tilted close to her and his hand up and around her shoulders. I love that you can see, even with just a view of the side of her face that she is smiling. They are tender and happy with each other.


Above, love the sweet loving kiss he gives to the side of her head. The way he does that makes me read that he does that tender enduring kiss often. She is leaning sideways to bask in his tender kiss, and look at her full open mouth smile. The other rather remarkable set of cues is their matching hand raise that shows they are in synch with one another, and that he feels comfortable and connected to her power.


Above her in teal dress. She really wants to have a good smooch. She is tilting her head to the side and forward to get a passionate kiss. He is more reticent, pursing his lips, but smiling with his eyes and with his fingers pushing her slightly away to formalize the kiss. Note how her visible hand is down at the side almost frozen in place, letting him run the power connection. 


Note above that she is opening her torso, heart and mouth window towards him and he is choosing to keep his lower windows behind the podium and turned toward the camera, and his mouth window, the obviously most important window to open for a kiss is closed and the lips are closed and mouth is turned down and the muscles pulled back slightly and chin wrinkled and tucked back, and eyes partially closed, all cues of disgust, (though lacking the single most important cue of disgust a wrinkled nose. Just his head goes forward slightly. Note how both have their arms and hands down. The arms and hands touching a partner often signal tenderness and connection. Lacking totally from this photo. May be situationally determined as he is behind the podium and he likes to maintain presidential power body language in public photos 



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.