Below is a five-minute local news video with the authors of a book on body language for job interviews. While most of what they say won't be news to readers of this blog, it's interesting to watch the body language on display during the interview. What sticks out for you? I share my impressions after the video:
Scroll down for impressions:
The first thing I noticed is the (reasonable) nervousness of the male author - he's appropriately using his hands but maybe he's thinking about his body language too much and so he trips over his speech a bit. The tall barstools are terrific for exposing the whole body here - compare the ramrod straight posture, big social smiles and submissive hands in laps of the guests with the upright but more relaxed and dominant bodies and faces of the hosts. Not unlike a job interview!
Note that the male guest mirrors the male host, and the women do this as well. My favorite part was the put-on look of surprise at one point from the female host - it lasts way too long and is a dead give-away that she's not actually surprised but that she wants to convey that emotion to the audience. What did you see?
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Kim Philby
This is a video of Kim Philby, who at the time of this video was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union. The "Third Man" refers to a person believed to have tipped off two other British spies so that they escaped arrest by defecting to the USSR.
Watch for the micro-expressions appearing after Philby answers two questions.
Casey Anthony
Watch for the brief almost-smile that appears on Casey Anthony's face as she comes through the door and sees the media waiting for her. After that her face goes blank and she drops her gaze to the floor for a moment before looking ahead again.
What the Facial Action Coding System can tell us here is that she DOES smile for a brief moment. However, is this micro-expression of happiness a sign that she is guilty? Definitely not. Although a smile might seem to be a very odd reaction in this situation, it could be prompted by nervousness, or even fright. Sometimes people do smile when they are nervous (ever seen someone get the giggles at a funeral or other "serious" occasion?).
It's also important to remember that we do not know what she is looking at when she smiles. We know the media is there (you can hear them asking questions), but we do not know who or what else is in her line of sight. The smile could be prompted by something she is seeing, by relief at leaving, by excitement to see all the people waiting for her...the list is endless.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Why is This Man Smiling?
The following picture is from the New York Times - the man is smiling (a real smile, involving the eyes), but those around him are not. What do you think is happening?
A young movie star with his bodyguards stepping onto the red carpet? Or a suspect in international piracy arriving to the US court in manacles?
You may remember one of Amy's video from the workshop showing murder suspect Casey Anthony entering a room, handcuffed, flashing a smile at the reporters and photographers assembled there. Are these the smiles of narcissistic sociopaths delighting in their crimes? Or are we so conditioned to smile at experiencing such strong attention (name called, photos) that we can't help it? Or, is it something else entirely?
A young movie star with his bodyguards stepping onto the red carpet? Or a suspect in international piracy arriving to the US court in manacles?
You may remember one of Amy's video from the workshop showing murder suspect Casey Anthony entering a room, handcuffed, flashing a smile at the reporters and photographers assembled there. Are these the smiles of narcissistic sociopaths delighting in their crimes? Or are we so conditioned to smile at experiencing such strong attention (name called, photos) that we can't help it? Or, is it something else entirely?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Paul Ekman grades "Lie to Me"--the show he inspired
Reading Between The Lies
By Marc D. Allan
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 12, 2009
With the first season of "Lie to Me" completed, Paul Ekman is ready to assign grades to the Fox drama he inspired:
A-minus for entertainment value, B-plus for realism.
Ekman, a professor emeritus at the University of California at San Francisco and a social psychologist who works in the area of deception and demeanor, said 85 percent of what "Lie to Me" depicts is accurate.
"Baum does care to get it right," Ekman said.
He was speaking of Samuel Baum, who created the show after learning about Ekman's work using facial expressions and verbal tics to help determine whether someone is telling the truth.
"I thought a franchise set around someone who did that kind of work would give real scope to the kinds of cases you could explore -- one week a political thriller, one week a family drama," Baum said. "A little movie every week."
He centered the show on a character named Cal Lightman (played by Tim Roth), an in-your-face investigator who leads a firm that helps law enforcement and government agencies.
The Lightman Group -- partner Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), newcomer Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) and researcher Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) -- is typically hired to investigate crimes. But occasionally its clients are people such as a multimillionaire who wants to know whether his fiancee really loves him.
Read the rest of the article at the Washington Post
By Marc D. Allan
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 12, 2009
With the first season of "Lie to Me" completed, Paul Ekman is ready to assign grades to the Fox drama he inspired:
A-minus for entertainment value, B-plus for realism.
Ekman, a professor emeritus at the University of California at San Francisco and a social psychologist who works in the area of deception and demeanor, said 85 percent of what "Lie to Me" depicts is accurate.
"Baum does care to get it right," Ekman said.
He was speaking of Samuel Baum, who created the show after learning about Ekman's work using facial expressions and verbal tics to help determine whether someone is telling the truth.
"I thought a franchise set around someone who did that kind of work would give real scope to the kinds of cases you could explore -- one week a political thriller, one week a family drama," Baum said. "A little movie every week."
He centered the show on a character named Cal Lightman (played by Tim Roth), an in-your-face investigator who leads a firm that helps law enforcement and government agencies.
The Lightman Group -- partner Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), newcomer Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) and researcher Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) -- is typically hired to investigate crimes. But occasionally its clients are people such as a multimillionaire who wants to know whether his fiancee really loves him.
Read the rest of the article at the Washington Post
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Analysis of Body Language - Joe Navarro
Once you start looking at this stuff, you can't stop! Where in the past a flight delay may have made you frown like the rest, now you can kick back and enjoy the smorgasboard of body language available to you in the airport, or anywhere else humans gather and you have a spare moment.
Below, Joe Navarro talks with Ann Curry about decoding body language in pictures and video:
(Sorry for the heaping helping of US politicians - but they are a body language gold mine!)
Below, Joe Navarro talks with Ann Curry about decoding body language in pictures and video:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
(Sorry for the heaping helping of US politicians - but they are a body language gold mine!)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Body Language by Joe
Much of the material Amy shared in the Body Language portion of the workshop was adapted from the terrific new book "What Every Body Is Saying" by Joe Navarro, an ex-FBI agent and body language expert.
Here he talks about signs of discomfort, especially those people show facially:
My favorite part is at the end where he discusses how people in a discussion use body language to demonstrate whether or not you are welcome to join the conversation. Most of us have probably experienced this and understood the message being conveyed, even without realizing exactly what on someone's body was telling us "hey, get lost!"
I (Jennie) really enjoyed Joe Navarro's book. They aren't all so well written or as backed up by research, so definitely recommended.
Here he talks about signs of discomfort, especially those people show facially:
My favorite part is at the end where he discusses how people in a discussion use body language to demonstrate whether or not you are welcome to join the conversation. Most of us have probably experienced this and understood the message being conveyed, even without realizing exactly what on someone's body was telling us "hey, get lost!"
I (Jennie) really enjoyed Joe Navarro's book. They aren't all so well written or as backed up by research, so definitely recommended.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Body Language/Facial Expressions in the Media
Much of the workshop's first half featured the research of Dr. Paul Ekman, a leader in the study of facial expression. You can learn more about his advanced training at his website, but you can also learn quite a bit from the blog he's keeping as technical advisor to the U.S. TV show "Lie to Me", which is loosely based on the work of Dr. Ekman and his colleagues.
On the main show website, be sure to check out some of the videos -- here's a great one describing the genuine "Duchenne Smile".
Elsewhere, find the user-contributed "Faces in the News". Do you have a good example of a famous face "saying it all" in contradiction to their words?
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On the main show website, be sure to check out some of the videos -- here's a great one describing the genuine "Duchenne Smile".
Elsewhere, find the user-contributed "Faces in the News". Do you have a good example of a famous face "saying it all" in contradiction to their words?
--
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