Yesterday my wife and I were were discussing Sarah Palin's video trying to refudiate all the attacks on her in the wake of the shootings in Arizona.
My wife took one look at the video and exclaimed that I should look at Palin's body language. She said it indicated dishonesty, and that her body language frequently was at odds with what she was saying.
As a result, I did a little googling this morning, and found that my wife was not alone in her observations. I found comment after comment, both in posts on sites and comments responding, expressing the same thoughts.
Some examples below.
FWIW, I will admit that I find it almost impossible to watch this video. I have been around long enough that I know a sociopath and grifter when I see one, and I do not enjoy watching one that for some reason 1/3 of Americans believe qualified to be president. To tell the truth, it scares the crap out of me.
But with that aside, on to the point of this diary, Palin's body language, and its disconnect from reality, and the hints it gives to the intrinsic dishonesty of her presentation.
I will start with one of the most telling. The following excerpts are all from a blog of a woman who is apparently considered to be an expert in analyzing body language, at least according to the "About" intro on her blog.
Dr. Lillian Glass known as "The First Lady of Communication" is one of the world’s most well respected and foremost authorities in the field of Communication. As a reknown Body Language Expert, she demonstrates her skills in numerous fields from entertainment to law to politics.
She combines her unique background to educate and inform the public in an entertaining and compelling manner .
Dr. Glass is a sought after Media Personality and is often seen on televison, commentating on new events from her unique perspective. She is a regular commentator on CNN and Headline News’ Nancy Grace Show and is the resident "therapist" for the Chelsea Lately Show. She is often seen on MSNBC, Showbiz Tonight, and is the Body Language expert for "Dancing With the Stars", Entertainment Tonight, and the Insider.
Dr. Glass has a monthly Body Language Column called "The Real Story" in Cosmopolitan Magazine. She also provides commentary on celebrity body language for such magazines as US Weekly, Life and Style, In Touch Weekly, and OK Magazine.
The author of over 14 books, her best sellers include the original "Toxic People- 10 Ways of Dealing With People Who Make Your Life Miserable" Talk to Win", "He Says She Says", and a body language book titled "I Know What You’re Thinking- Using the 4 Codes of Reading People to Improve Your Life."
Dr. Lillian Glass Body Language Blog About
She then proceeds to go through the video and dismantle Palin's body language step by step. Following are just some excerpts, read the whole post. One note: Although Dr. Glass claims to have no political bias, if you read the entire blog entry she has written, it is pretty clear which side of the fence she is on, and it is NOT Sarah Palin's. Just saying.
But the point of this post is just to demonstrate that there really is a reason to look at Sarah Palin's body language in this video. It is very revealing of the truth behind the facade.
Unlike body language experts who have a political bias, I do not. Instead, I always try to maintain my objectivity . Thus, I have no agenda when it comes to Sara Palin. I am merely reporting what I observed on her latest video message that she posted on Facebook. W hat I observed was very disturbing as there were too many moments where I believe she continued to exercise poor judgment.
BAD ACTRESS
Watching Sara Palin’s recent speech on video was like watching a very bad actress perform. Her words and her body language were out of synch and completely disconnected in so many instances.
Her monotone and incongruent body language .where she shook her head NO when she should have been shaking it YES and vice versa was also disturbing. It seemed very insincere and contrived.
Absent was any apology for her use of violent imagery. Using inappropriate terms such as blood liable were as disturbing as her imagery of our founding fathers who using dueling pistols to settle their differences.
In light of the circumstances. This inappropriate talk once again reflected very poor judgment on Sara Palin’s part.
When she said in her speech "I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the victims, she disturbingly shook her head NO when she needed to shake it in the affirmative.
Body language wise she was saying I don’t agree with the beautiful Catholic mass. When people’s body language does not match their words they are usually thinking about their own agenda and what they want to say next, instead of being in the moment and being genuine about what they are saying.
She continues to shake her head NO as she says The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country.
It is clear through her body language that she does not believe what she is saying here . Her words about Catholic mass does not ring true to her based on her body actions.
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Then she does the absurd as she shakes her head in the affirmative YES as she said It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day.
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Sara Palin’s Disconnected Body Language During Video Message – Lack of Appology for Crosshairs , Inappropriate Use of Term " Blood Libel" Inflames Public
Here are other observations gleamed from posts in the time since the Palin video appeared.
Sarah Palins body language during her Victimhood 2011 video is revealing: tight-lipped, tense-jawed, obviously angry. The only time she smiles a little is when she's attacking the media.
'Jews for Sarah' Rally Around
Also, notice also how often she shakes her head "no" while talking about how wonderful the country is and in other odd places. Notice how she smiles or tries to hide a smile in inappropriate places. An expert in body language would have a field day with that speech.
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Have to agree with the body language comments — though I honestly couldn’t watch the whole thing. What strikes me is not only the tone, but the set of her face looks different too. She’s got an angry mom of a teenager thing going on — a tight-lipped, I am furious with you, but I’m going to speak in a well-modulated voice so that I don’t leap across this table and grab you sort of control to it.
While the setting and voice are trying to be presidential, she looks more angry and afraid than anything else.
Blood Libel: Sarah Palin’s Sociopathic Quest For Victimization and Martyrdom
Her body language already gives it away that she senses defeat. We can only hope it is a defeat so grandiose that she slinks away to a dark hole never to be seen again.
Your name now, even to your Republican cohorts, is... Poison.
Blood Libel: Sarah Palin Accuses Pundits in New Video Statement on Tucson Shootings
When she uses the words NO or NOT she shakes her head in the affirmative of NO or NOT.
That establishes a baseline pattern of body language.
When she claims remorse she shakes her head NO. When she claims people are targeting her unjustly she shakes her head no. When she claims talking about guns means votes she shakes her head NO!
Get a body language expert in here ASAP Rachel. This woman is not telling the truth.
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When ever she speaks of Jared she shakes her head NO.
There is something wrong with this lady. She doesn't think Jared is nuts. When speaking of Jared I don't expect people to NOD in the affiramtive of NO.
There were at least a hundred NO's to things her body language should have said yes to.
The Maddow Blog - Sarah Palin Responds
Just watched Sarah Palin 's "blood libel " video. At the very least, coordinate the body language with the words. This is so fake.
Palin: Journalists incite hatred after AZ shooting
UPDATE: FWIW, observing body language is not "stupid".
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously.
John Borg attests that human communication consists of 93 percent body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves[1]; however, Albert Mehrabian, the researcher whose 1960s work is the source of these statistics, has stated that this is a misunderstanding of the findings[2] (see Misinterpretation of Mehrabian's rule). Others assert that "Research has suggested that between 60 and 70 percent of all meaning is derived from nonverbal behavior."[3]
Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person. For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement, and intoxication, among many other cues.
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Recently, there has been huge interest in studying human behavioral clues that could be useful for developing an interactive and adaptive human-machine system. Unintentional human gestures such as making an eye rub, a chin rest, a lip touch, a nose itch, a head scratch, an ear scratch, crossing arms, and a finger lock have been found conveying some useful information in specific context. Some researchers[who?] have tried to extract such gestures in a specific context of educational applications.[citation needed] In poker games, such gestures are referred to as "tells" and are useful to players for detecting deception or behavioral patterns in an opponent(s).
Body Language - Wikipedia