Rand Paul desperately needs a body language consultant.

[AlexAmore]

This is not because Rand is below average with his body language...it's because he is average and we desperately need him to win.

This website is like Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight, but for body language. The blog analyzes for deception, likability...etc. Estimates are that 90% of communication is nonverbal. Mastering body language is the difference between success and failure in most cases and yet so unappreciated.

Here are some observations on Rand:

http://www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2014/08/nonverbal-communication-analysis-no_86.html

http://www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2015/04/nonverbal-communication-analysis-no_7.html

http://www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2013/03/nonverbal-communication-analysis-2328.html

I personally know the power of good body language. I've taken courses on it and applied it in my practice when dealing with clients and have seen a day and night difference. It's absolutely shocking to see the results.

[Mr.NoSmile]

This is not because Rand is below average with his body language...it's because he is average and we desperately need him to win.

And the deciding factor shall be how many times Paul puts his hands on his hips or wags his finger at you.

[65fastback2+2]

the main problem here is...body language is learned just like any other language.

And just like a baby learns the language from their parents, they learn the body language from the same methods.

That is the problem with interpreting body language...they want to assume all movements have the same meaning from person to person, when they dont.

Like one of the links you posted talked about scruntching up the face showing that you are condescending...hello, the meeting was outside...maybe, i dunno, the sun peaked out from behind a cloud? Way too much assuming going on.

I havent found anything in his non-verbal to be overly communicating anything poorly.

[specsaregood]

//

[EBounding]

When a unilateral eye or eyebrow rub is displayed - usually during or just prior to a statement, but sometimes afterwards - there is a very high likelihood that a lie is about to be told, is being said - or has just been spoken.

How many times does Rand Paul touch his face or neck during this particular speech?

Perhaps Senator Paul believes those who belong to the groups he terms, "radical Islam" are indeed a threat - but this threat is greatly exaggerated. Or maybe he believes that those who he calls radical Islamic - are radical yes - but not truly Islamic (however he may believe that this will get him the numbers he needs for the republican nomination). Paul may believe that our greatest threat comes from Russia ... Or from within our own borders.

I think the author covered all the bases there. There's no way the author can be wrong.

[Inkblots]

Good posture and clear, but not distracting, gestures while speaking are important and worth practicing. But obsessing about the meaning of every little bit of "body language" is a waste of time, in my view.

[Brian4Liberty]

the main problem here is...body language is learned just like any other language.

And just like a baby learns the language from their parents, they learn the body language from the same methods.

That is the problem with interpreting body language...they want to assume all movements have the same meaning from person to person, when they dont.

Like one of the links you posted talked about scruntching up the face showing that you are condescending...hello, the meeting was outside...maybe, i dunno, the sun peaked out from behind a cloud? Way too much assuming going on.

I havent found anything in his non-verbal to be overly communicating anything poorly.

Yep. And cultures vary dramatically too. It's interesting to watch different cultures interact, and watch the miscues. What does that head shake mean? How much personal space is comfortable? Then you can also have misinterpretations from people who use the same language differently, with different idioms and different uses of words and phrases.

[Brian4Liberty]

I think the author covered all the bases there. There's no way the author can be wrong.

There is certainly something in the study of body language. But the people who claim that they can tell if a person is lying or telling the truth based upon a few twitches is usually a charlatan.

[Natural Citizen]

Well. I don't know. I do actually observe the way that people carry themselves. I don't do it on purpose but I usually make an assessment of a person's character in the first minute or so in meeting or seeing them. It is the ones who go out of their way to carry themselves in a way that isn't natural to their personality that stand out to me. Except in a bad way. They seem so fake.

I'm a what you see is what you get kind of person so I prefer people to be themselves instead of...oh....posing? Is that the word? You have to be yourself. It's the only way.

[Crashland]

I agree that a body language coach would be helpful. It is important to project confidence, and although body language is interpreted differently by different people, doesn't mean there aren't lessons to be learned that are backed up by scientific studies. If you know what audience you are trying to reach and what you are trying to communicate (or not communicate) then an expert in the field could definitely come in handy.

[AlexAmore]

Wow, I can't believe there are so many misinformed people on the topic of body language. Or, I'm just seeing the result of cult-like worship...Rand can do no wrong. If it makes you feel better, she also critiqued Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie and showed how inept they are.

Body language isn't just some cultural thing or learned behavior. People blind from birth project the same body language as anyone else. This is an instinctual evolutionary aspect of humans an animals. Watch any documentary about wild animals and focus on how EVERYTHING is about body language...certainly, their vocal communications are usually primitive at best.

Rand can learn to stop doing hurtful things with his body language just as any actor can learn to act better. We usually hate actors that can't pull of certain emotions properly, even if we can't consciously understand where our dislike is coming from. This can all be improved with practice and study.

I'll just throw a few studies (of hundreds) out there done by Stanford and others:

"I had done studies with my students that found there was a direct correlation between how competent a campaigning politician's face was and how great his margin of victory turned out in the final election," Todorov said of his earlier work, published in the journal Science last year. "We might assume that our judgments are founded on deliberate and rational thought processes, but observers had made their judgments about politicians based on a one-second look at their faces. I mentioned the findings to Janine, who suggested we look into just how fast we form these (judgments about) character traits."

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/62/69K40/index.xml?section=topstories

After the first presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy, radio listeners thought Nixon won and TV watchers thought Kennedy won by a landslide.

http://www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2011/01/watershed-body-language-moment-nixon.html

"Surgeons' tone of voice in routine visits is associated with malpractice claims history. This is the first study to show clear associations between communication and malpractice in surgeons."

http://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060%2802%2900022-3/abstract

[Jan2017]

maybe some whitening toothpaste (?) if I was gonna be critical . . .


http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/sunblush/paulinternal146215_zpsg9kivxpz.jpg (http://s372.photobucket.com/user/sunblush/media/paulinternal146215_zpsg9kivxpz.jpg.html)

but really, not much wrong I see here at least . . .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSoNSx3i9BA

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/sunblush/randronpaul004j_zps23e926b6.jpg (http://s372.photobucket.com/user/sunblush/media/randronpaul004j_zps23e926b6.jpg.html)

[anaconda]

At least it looks like he may have finally shelved the "Man Coming Over The Hill Singing" line. For the love of God.

[anaconda]

maybe some whitening toothpaste (?) if I was gonna be critical . . .


I tend to agree with the teeth criticism. The teeth thing should have already been a work in process since November 2010 or before. Elsewhere, it looks like Kelley may have dropped the trampy nail polish. Time will tell. Neither should make a difference, but politics isn't much about substance.

[65fastback2+2]

Body language isn't just some cultural thing or learned behavior. People blind from birth project the same body language as anyone else. This is an instinctual evolutionary aspect of humans an animals. Watch any documentary about wild animals and focus on how EVERYTHING is about body language...certainly, their vocal communications are usually primitive at best.


hardly, and while some may get it...they've most likely been coached and practiced.

You hardly ever see Stevie Wonder looking at the person he is talking to...he is usually staring off into space...which traditionally communicates that you arent listening to the other person, except we know Stevie is blind and that isnt being taken into account.

As this one Director of the National Federation for the blind put it "communication is an art, not a science": https://nfb.org//Images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm98/bm980604.htm

[65fastback2+2]

Wow, I can't believe there are so many misinformed people on the topic of body language. Or, I'm just seeing the result of cult-like worship...Rand can do no wrong. If it makes you feel better, she also critiqued Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie and showed how inept they are.

Body language isn't just some cultural thing or learned behavior. People blind from birth project the same body language as anyone else. This is an instinctual evolutionary aspect of humans an animals. Watch any documentary about wild animals and focus on how EVERYTHING is about body language...certainly, their vocal communications are usually primitive at best.

Rand can learn to stop doing hurtful things with his body language just as any actor can learn to act better. We usually hate actors that can't pull of certain emotions properly, even if we can't consciously understand where our dislike is coming from. This can all be improved with practice and study.

I'll just throw a few studies (of hundreds) out there done by Stanford and others:

"I had done studies with my students that found there was a direct correlation between how competent a campaigning politician's face was and how great his margin of victory turned out in the final election," Todorov said of his earlier work, published in the journal Science last year. "We might assume that our judgments are founded on deliberate and rational thought processes, but observers had made their judgments about politicians based on a one-second look at their faces. I mentioned the findings to Janine, who suggested we look into just how fast we form these (judgments about) character traits."

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/62/69K40/index.xml?section=topstories

After the first presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy, radio listeners thought Nixon won and TV watchers thought Kennedy won by a landslide.

http://www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2011/01/watershed-body-language-moment-nixon.html

"Surgeons' tone of voice in routine visits is associated with malpractice claims history. This is the first study to show clear associations between communication and malpractice in surgeons."

http://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060%2802%2900022-3/abstract

or this study that concluded


The data were analysed in a hermeneutical and phenomenological sense. The results consisted of a typology of 19 different forms of body expression. All in all, we found that the congenitally blind participants expressed themselves mainly in a functional and concrete manner. They also seemed to have limited experiences with abstract, symbolic body expressions. The conditions and the importance of different factors for different body expressions are discussed.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15017410701685927

[WD-NY]

I agree that a body language coach would be helpful. It is important to project confidence, and although body language is interpreted differently by different people, doesn't mean there aren't lessons to be learned that are backed up by scientific studies. If you know what audience you are trying to reach and what you are trying to communicate (or not communicate) then an expert in the field could definitely come in handy.

If you could get Rand to do/learn/practice one thing between now and Iowa, what would it be?

I'd get him to work out with weights and a real good trainer 3 days per week --

[Jan2017]

If you could get Rand to do/learn/practice one thing between now and Iowa, what would it be?

I'd get him to work out with weights and a real good trainer 3 days per week --

Well that is honestly a great question - probably it's own thread if it already hasn't been asked.

Athletically , and yes I'll concede that translates into body language more than my "behind the podium" jpg's -
like gait walking up to the Presidential podium and debate podiums would be helped by the weights and other - racqetball or whatever.

Obama was - still is for a year and a half - a very athletic-type President (whatever that means)

So, before Iowa . . . I'd like to see Rand work on his fastball and maybe get a gig throwing out
the first ceremonial pitch at a Cedar Rapids minor league baseball game in July or so. Iowans love that kinda stuff.

It's all good . . . that were talkin' about this now particularly.

[Sola_Fide]

Rand's body language is very professorial, which I like.

[DevilsAdvocate]

I've noticed this at well. He really needs to work on it.

Check out his body language here, I wonder what kind of signals he's sending with this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWnMoCmMRLI