Interpreting Body Language: The Head Shake
A reader asked me the following:
I have a question that I wonder would be of interest to your website viewers. On this video clip, Hillary Clinton keeps make affirmative statements, but her head keeps shaking “no”. The back and forth ‘no’ motion on her head seems to be opposite her words, and it is very distracting. I do not have any political judgments, so I am not being biased about Hillary. I just am perplexed. Her body language makes me feel very uneasy and mistrustful.
This interview with Senator Clinton is just after she won the New Hampshire primaries.
What Senator Clinton is doing here is what I would call a head swagger. It’s actually her confidence that is causing this, and it is not what I would call a head shake no when she is saying something affirmative.
Read moreWhen people shake their head no when they say yes (a gesture, I believe), it is a quick, swift movement. It comes from the subconscious, and it is most alway brief. It doesn’t languish on like this does, and furthermore, when conscious thoughts kick in, the person usually stops the “no” movement abruptly and switch to a “yes” motion. You can see the thoughts “kick-in” to conscious awareness. It quite fast, and fascinating to witness.
I bet if you were to ask Senator Clinton if she was aware that she was shaking her head in this interview, she would tell you she had no idea until she witnessed it firsthand by watching the video herself.
Here is another post on the head shake (sentence and link added 10/09).
Got a question about a candidates body language or facial expression? Ask me.
Note to Readers:
(1) I do not endorse any candidate. I am merely trying to help people understand the candidates as best as I can. (2) I do not wish to get involved in the political debate. I merely wish to answer genuine and honest questions about body language, and facial expressions.(3) As long as I believe I can remain unbiased, I will continue to do so. (4) I do not moderate my comments, and I don’t plan to, but if people decided to make my blog a political place to vent, I will start moderating until the elections are finished, or I will stop talking about politicians in general. (5) Respectful opinions are welcome, however, political bashing will not be tolerated.