Body Language Analysis №4010: Lisa Murkowski Responds To Donald Trump’s Criticism — Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Dr. Jack Brown
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

Yesterday, President Trump criticized Lisa Murkowski — a Republican Senator via a tweet.

In the video above, Senator Murkowski responded to Trump’s tactic (beginning at 0:26), “I am in, ahum, in a position where I’m not looking to a re-election until 2022. That’s a long time away — and, quite honestly, I don’t think it’s, it’s wise to be operating on a daily-basis thinking about what a statement, or, or ahum, a response, ah, that, that, causes you to be fearful of, of — of your electoral prospects. We’re here to govern.”

In the entire second half of her statement, beginning at 0:38, Senator Murkowski displays a “Self-Righteous Head Wiggle” (aka “High Confidence Head Wiggle”). A Self-Righteous/High Confidence Head Wiggle (SRHW/HCHW) is a rapid, side-to-side shaking of the head and neck. An analog behavior can sometimes also be exhibited with the torso and/or jaw (with motions existing in isolation or superimposed with the more common head and neck oscillation).

Sometimes a SRHW/HCHW will be very evanescent (a microexpression or near-microexpression), but often times (as with this example) it can last much longer.

A Self-Righteous/High Confidence Head Wiggle is displayed during hyper-alpha moments of very high confidence when particularly strong opinions are being expressed. It’s very much a type of nonverbal swagger.

Please watch the video, as the SRHW/HCHW is a dynamic process, and is not able to be captured via a still image.

Although not always present — in this example, the SRHW/HCHW is accompanied with an additional superimposed backward vectoring of the head and neck. This is seen when there are emotions of contempt, disgust, and/or disbelief are also present. This variation is seen beautifully, during 0:50, as Senator Murkowski says, “… fearful …”

In other examples (not seen here), there may be an overlapping forward motion (with coexisting condescending emotions or arrogance).

Fascinatingly, the vocal pitch often temporarily grows higher during the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle. In this example, this phenomenon is heard during the same moment when the Senator from Alaska says, “… fearful …”. This is a fantastic example of congruity of body language and paralanguage.

Another detail in this exchange is Lisa Murkowski’s two displays of Lip-smacking (during both 0:29 and 0:54). Lip smacking is also a signal of high confidence.

Summary: Senator Murkowski exhibits very high confidence with her response to President Trump’s criticism of her. She’s in disbelief at Donald Trump. She’s not afraid nor intimidated by him.

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See also:

Body Language Analysis №4009: Donald Trump regarding Jeff Sessions — “Time Will Tell”

Body Language Analysis №4007: Donald Trump, Robert Mueller, and Anthony Scaramucci’s First Press Conference

Body Language Analysis №4005: O.J. Simpson’s Parole Board Hearing

Body Language Analysis №4003: Donald Trump, “Let Obamacare Fail”

Body Language Analysis №4001: Jodie Whittaker, Dr. Who, and Flirting from a TARDIS

Body Language Analysis 3988: Kim Jong-un, ICBMs, False Joy, and Fake Laughter

Body Language Analysis №3978: Keanu Reeves, Chuck Spadina, Sincerity, and Empathy

Nonverbal Communication Analysis №3929: Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron

Nonverbal Communication Analysis №3905: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, and Deep Joy

This post and the associated website serve as reference sources for the art and science of Body Language/Nonverbal Communication. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author. In an effort to be both practical and academic, many examples from/of varied cultures, politicians, professional athletes, legal cases, public figures, etc., are cited in order to teach and illustrate both the interpretation of others’ body language as well as the projection of one’s own nonverbal skills in many different contexts — not to advance any political, religious or other agenda.

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Written by

Body Language/Nonverbal Communication Expert and Physician www.BodyLanguageEQ.com

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