GESTURE POLITICS
The tell-tale body language that gives their game away
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JUDI JAMES is one of the top body language experts in the UK, with regular appearances on TV and newspapers to analyse what political leaders, royalty and even Big Brother housemates are really saying.
We have asked her to turn her skills to the leaders of the main parties in the General Election race.
Judi, above, said: “In political analysis it’s called the science of sensation – voters forget what a party leader said, they might even forget what they did, but they’ll never forget how they made them feel when they listened to them speak.
“A leader needs to inspire his or her audience and that comes from personal charisma.
“Body language sends out subliminal but powerful messages that can play a huge part in the voting process but getting it all right for the spin doctors can mean getting it all wrong for the guy in the street.”
Here, Judi reveals what our political leaders are really saying on the
campaign trail.
NICOLA STURGEON The SNP leader and First Minister has the kind of battleground leadership signals that could get you fighting for her even if you’re unsure of the cause.
She is the only one of the four leaders who unashamedly uses alpha signals, often standing in full splay with both hands on her hips in a gesture that relates to chest-puffing or feather-fluffing in the animal kingdom. It’s a gesture of aggressive arousal that is done to intimidate but also avoid actual conflict.
Nicola’s gesticulation is sparse and she has no need for regular emphatic hand gestures as her verbal tone and the timing of her delivery is so strong. She thins her lips by pulling them in to signal righteous anger and when she’s at the lectern her leg splay and the way she often keeps her weight wellbalanced on both feet suggest someone certain of their facts and brimming with confidence.
She was the first woman leader I ever analysed who stepped beyond the “fashion tips” line. Her delivery was so assured and so powerful during the leadership debates that not one newspaper asked me what she was wearing or who might have styled her hair. I punched the air in delight.
VERDICT:
Perfect wartime leadership signals that could inspire you to fight but as a rebel without a cause the fire might appear too dramatic. She’s the most congruent of the four – words, tone and gestures all in
harmony.
ThErEsa may
It’s less about “strong and stable” and more about “sweet or stern” for the Prime Minister’s body language, which can flip from anxious and faltering to strident and deadly at the flick of a switch.
Giggling on the sofa with husband Philip on The One Show, she looked endearingly vulnerable but set her in front of Corbyn and she can turn like a viper, leaning forward to attack with her index finger raised to the ceiling to signal absolute dominance and her vocal tone dropping an octave to emerge as a powerful bellow.
These two sides make her a fierce negotiator as her more charming side could let her under the radar for the warrior woman to be let loose.
Her Achilles heel seems to be her coaching. UK voters like quirky. What they hate is artifice or being patronised which is why the constant, robot repetitions of the same soundbite will cause problems.
Mrs May seems to agree. Before each “strong and stable” she puts in an “er” or does a vocal skip that suggests it’s embarrassing her as well.
Facial expressions are telling, too. Unlike Mr Corbyn she has no poker face. Her mouth skew is her greatest “tell” in terms of showing dominance or embarrassment.
VErDiCT: The right kind of leadership body language. Tough, charming and easily in charge. She should quit while she’s ahead, though, and power down the soundbites and TV interviews. Her debating in Prime Minister’s Questions is fine but her over-honest facial expressions might fare badly when she’s grilled by the public.