Donald Trump's gestures deciphered by a specialist
Adrien Rivierre, founder of the site Les Beaux Parleurs and vice-president of the French-speaking Federation of debate, analyzed the body language of the President of the United States. Surprise: Donald Trump would be more sincere than he seems.
We know that Donald Trump is not a politician like any other. His outrageous and sometimes contradictory words make it difficult to interpret his thoughts coherently. His body language is equally unsettling. His gestures and facial expressions are unusual in politics. Their analysis thus makes it possible to offer keys of understanding for better understanding the personality and the thought system of the President of the United States.
The "pincer", his favorite gesture
The hand gesture most used by Donald Trump is to place his index finger against his thumb, like a pincer that would carefully grab an object. The latter thus makes it possible to underline an idea with precision, especially as it very often performs this gesture with the right hand which is controlled by the left hemisphere of our brain, the part dedicated to rational reasoning. The repetition of this gesture seems to show that Donald Trump believes in everything he says and in the veracity of the facts he uses.
The index finger
Another strong and very common gesture in Donald Trump, that of the finger pointing “in the direction of”, which allows both to designate and to denounce. In general, it is not recommended to use this gesture because it is associated with accusation or stigma; which is why, for example, we consider it rude to point fingers at someone. But Donald Trump uses it in line with his controversial or accusatory policy on immigrants as was the case against Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.
The President of the United States also uses his index finger, waving it above his shoulders or even his head, as if pointing his finger at the sky. By this gesture, he indicates to the audience that the words he is going to say are very important and refers to the image we have of a teacher giving a lesson in front of his students, of the one who holds the truth in the face of an audience that listens.
Video - What Donald Trump's Gestures Tell Us
Non-verbal communication experts also claim that pointing the index finger up is a sign of a changeable personality who can be violent in his words and prefers to be right regardless of the opinions of others. .
Hands, palms open, in opposition
When Donald Trump wishes to defend himself or puts forward a proposal that he knows will be criticized by his opponents, he puts his two hands, palms open, in opposition in front of him. They then form a protection as if to repel a threat or protect themselves from external attacks.
In general, he always speaks with his hands open palms, a gesture usually synonymous with honesty but also openness to show that he is there to serve the interests of the people and that in a non-threatening way (open his palms to hand, for example at the security check at the airport, is the sign which proves that you are not hiding any object and therefore not posing any danger).
A very expressive face
Darren Stanton, an expert in non-verbal communication, has analyzed numerous speeches by the US president and says Donald Trump's facial expressions reflect the sincerity of what he is saying. Indeed, no matter how he speaks, when he puts forward controversial ideas or when he responds to adverse attacks, he experiences no acceleration of his breathing rate, an absence of unusual smirks and his gestures remain unchanged.
"A face that in a few minutes expressly conveys joy, disgust or anger."
These very marked facial expressions, which for the most part are unconscious and therefore very difficult to control, allow Donald Trump to more easily convey his emotions and to make an impression. One only needs to look at one of his speeches to discover a face that within minutes explicitly conveys joy, disgust or anger.
The power of these facial expressions comes from what neuroscientists call mirror neurons - the neurons that behave alike during human interaction in the brains of the sender and the receiver. In the same way that when a stranger smiles at you on the street, you feel joy and thus wanted to smile back, Donald Trump uses his face to reinforce his words and have a strong impact on his audience.
Adrien Rivierre, specialist in public speaking, is founder of the site Les Beaux Parleurs and vice-president of the Francophone debate federation.
