sophie-zadeh

[sophie-zadeh]

Fear of Public Speaking and Its Common Negative Behaviours

Fear of public speaking is said to affect 75% of people. This fear often prevents people from progressing at work; however, in extreme cases, it's debilitating, with some people avoiding any situations where they may need to speak. In this article, I share my experience working with children and adults who fear public speaking. We look at fear as an emotion and how it manifests in negative body language that affects presentation delivery and audience perceptions. We then look at simple strategies to control fear and its related behaviour.

Fear of Public Speaking

Most adults who attend my public speaking and presentation skills workshops come to overcome their fear of public speaking. Their fear holds them back in many ways, including speaking in a meeting or life event, delivering a presentation, promotion and performing well in interviews.

The emotion of fear typically manifests a host of negative behaviours, impacting how information is communicated and received. It can create all kinds of weird behaviours that the speaker doesn't realise they are displaying because the emotion consumes brain capacity, reducing self-awareness. Negative behaviours affect the audience's perception of the individual and their message, hindering influence.

Speech anxiety, also known as Glossophobia, is said to affect 75% of the population. I can't find a statistical source, but I agree it's a reasonable estimation of a general fear of public speaking. I rarely encounter people who are significantly affected, enough to call it a phobia–sufficient for it to be debilitating–where people live their lives avoiding and evading situations where they may need to speak.

I'm not minimising a general fear of public speaking because even slight fear can significantly affect behaviour and influence perceptions, but I have only encountered one or two individuals (out of hundreds) who experience extreme fear. I have changed my strategy in these rare cases, knowing that the usual route won't work. These people are at a completely different level from most people who fear public speaking.

I have personally experienced this severe fear of speaking as a child and young adult, so I know how awful it feels. By my thirties, I was, or so I thought, largely over this crippling fear and okay with speaking to groups in teaching and training roles. I'd transitioned from working with groups of young children in my twenties to working with adults–much easier than going straight into training adults. Somehow, I ended up in a role where I had to train hundreds of people from a stage–a total nightmare at the time. During my first five-minute stint on stage, where all I had to do was demonstrate simple instructions, I quickly realised I lost the ability to read notes due to the consuming emotion of fear diminishing my cognition. Somehow, I got through, possibly assisted by a borrowed valium that seemed to have no calming effect. I continued to borrow a close friend's valium as I learned mental and behavioural strategies to get me through the next series of events–a covert, self-mustered, on-the-job crash course in survival! As for the valium, not once did I feel any calming effect; perhaps the fear was still too great, or maybe the tiny dose was far too small. I ditched it and felt no difference.

These days, I enjoy public speaking. Moreso, I enjoy helping people to be able to do it. I believe that experiencing a crippling fear of speaking in my younger years is fundamental to succeeding in enabling people who experience severe fear to speak in public. And that fumbling my way through public speaking in my thirties helped me formulate strategies that work. If I can do it (public speaking), anyone can. Since then, I've delved into the science of behaviour, communication and confidence and have much more to give.

I should add that I don't remove people's fear. Instead, I get them to a place where the fear is manageable, and they know they can do it. Their confidence starts here and continues to grow when nurtured. From there, practise and experience will take them further, allowing desensitisation and more experience in managing their fear.

Fear of Public Speaking can be Positive

Fear is a justified emotion to experience during public speaking, especially before and at the start of a talk. It shouldn't always be considered negative; when you can control fear, it can help you perform better. Fear shows that you care and that you want to do it well. I would be more concerned if it were absent. So, the next time you experience fear before a talk, remember it's a sign that you're invested in what you're about to say and how you say it.

Fear often subsides (somewhat) during the talk and, at that point, can turn to joy, where even people who were very scared suddenly start to enjoy speaking. Although this doesn't mean their fear is gone forever, it will likely still be present the next time they deliver a talk. Typically, I see a visual change marking the point where stress behaviours subside and calm and happiness emerge. It's not uncommon for these people to begin to enjoy public speaking because of that feeling, followed by elation at the end and shortly after the event. I have experienced this too. With more practise and experience, the joy and elation (that you can do this) subsides, switching to a joy and passion of sharing your message. Presenters begin to inadvertently express their passion at this stage, becoming more engaging. The audience feels the passion and is likelier to listen, enjoy and remember the message.

It's practise and experience that get you to this stage. Until then, you can fake it by controlling and concealing stress behaviours and displaying positive behaviours–this is what I teach people to do.

Typically, in a class of around 15 participants, I've found that around three to four students will consciously observe the point of relaxation and change in behaviour when a nervous peer delivers their talk. When we discuss it, more students start to notice. Improved observation skills can help you be aware of and control your behaviour.

Fear-Related Behaviours That Are Common During Public Speaking

Where Do Fear related behaviours stem from

When you experience fear, changes occur within your body to prepare you to deal with the situation. A threat (real or perceived) is the universal trigger of fear. What the threat is will differ between people; for example, threats relating to public speaking could include:

Fearing people’s perceptions of you.

Making a mistake.

Forgetting your words.

Being in the spotlight.

Emotion-related bodily changes are normal and usually occur to aid survival in life/death situations. The fear of failing to present well is not a life-threatening risk, but the body still acts in the same way, sometimes to the extreme.

During the emotion of fear, the body prepares to deal with the threat with increased focus and muscles that are ready to run or fight. In some cases, especially during extreme fear or when running from the threat is not an option, movement reduces, and the individual can appear paralysed. These bodily changes result in common fear-related behaviours. Sometimes, peculiar behaviours that are specific to an individual emerge.

Fear related behaviours

Fear-related behaviours can be voluntary or involuntary. During behaviour analysis, I look for signs of both, but when I help people with their presenting, I focus on voluntary behaviours as these can be controlled and modified. Involuntary fear-related behaviours include sweating, shaking and a high blink rate.

The most common fear-related voluntary behaviours that present during public speaking are:

Pacifying, self-soothing behaviours

Blocking behaviours

Movement-related behaviours

Fast movements and speech

Freeze response

Occasionally, peculiar behaviours emerge. These quirks are common to the individual, and they aren’t usually aware they are doing them. I’ve observed only a handful of people displaying peculiar behaviours, all centred on either the mouth or legs. During public speaking, the strange behaviours I’ve observed are leg movements, the most extreme coming from a TEDx speaker. In this case, the foot pointed, the leg slowly twisted with a knee bend, and the foot ended up by the speaker’s rear end! The speaker repeated the behaviour many times. I should add this wasn’t one of my clients. I have seen similar, less extreme leg movements in some children practising delivery. Such strange behaviours are uncommon, so don’t worry too much about whether you may be displaying them–you probably aren’t. Just in case, see the awareness section later in the article.

Let’s look at the fear-related behaviours that commonly occur during public speaking.

Pacifying, self-soothing behaviours

These behaviours help to soothe or distract from the discomfort of the situation. One part of the body (usually the hands) manipulates another part of the body or an object. For example, the hands fiddle with a pen or the teeth bite the lips. While these behaviours can occur anywhere on the body, during public speaking, the most common self-soothing behaviours I observe surround the hands, with fiddling fingers, rubbing fingers and thumbs together, fingers gripping and squeezing clothing, or hands soothing each other.

Blocking behaviours

These behaviours, a natural protection mechanism, are typically focused around the torso. One part of the body (often the arms) covers another, such as crossing the arms over the chest or gripping something (such as a handbag or folder) in front of the body. A physical barrier across the body can be comforting during a situation's discomfort, equating to a psychological barrier.

During public speaking, the most common blocking behaviour I observe is the hands touching in front of the body, often accompanied by the hands or fingers rubbing together. Another typical example is when a speaker takes comfort in hiding behind a podium. Sometimes, there's an expectation of a speaker speaking behind a podium; however, if it isn't an absolute must, and you want to connect to your audience and facilitate positive feelings, I suggest you refrain from using a podium.

Movement-related behaviours

Equally as common as fiddling hands, movement-related behaviours occur during the fear response because of increased adrenaline. As such, parts of the body move, often outside of the speaker's awareness. While this can include the fiddling hands already mentioned, the legs and feet are greatly affected. I commonly see swaying behaviours, where the speaker sways from foot to foot. Sometimes, the feet come off the floor. Rocking behaviours (back and forth) are less common but often observed. Occasionally, the legs jiggle, although this is more common in children than adults.

Pacing behaviours are also included here. It's not good to pace or walk around without reason while delivering a talk. That's why TED speakers have a red-circle carpet to stay within. Some movements can be helpful during a presentation, such as hand gestures and taking some steps when there's a good reason to, for example, when illustrating or emphasising a point.

These behaviours sound extreme, yet are very common. I have observed many people, from children to executives, rocking or swaying without knowing it, so unless you have observed yourself, don't assume you don't display them.

Fast movements and speech

Movements and speech typically speed up during the fear response because the body is physiologically primed to act in response to the threat. Eye, head and limb movements can increase speed, and time perception can change. During high anxiety, faster movements are common; however, during public speaking, it's fast speech that I most commonly observe.

Fast speech often signals that the speaker wants to get through their talk quickly to escape the situation. I usually see this teamed with an unnaturally swift exit from the stage at the end of a talk. Children do this a lot. Adults typically have more awareness of the speed at which they exit the stage, and while they may want to run, they exert control to conceal their feelings.

Freeze response

When animals and humans experience fear yet perceive they are in a situation they can't escape, the freeze response is common, sometimes only momentarily. I see the freeze response fairly commonly during public speaking practise, where a student's limbs appear paralysed, often slightly away from their body, with straightened palms and fingers. This can be long-lasting or ends as the speaker relaxes into their talk. Hand gestures do not occur, and the voice typically sounds less expressive/more monotone.

In this article, when referring to behaviour observations, I mainly refer to those observed during my public speaking workshops and courses, where attendees, many of whom experience fear, have come to learn and practise their skills. They learn to observe the behaviours of their peers and become aware of their own behaviours so they can self-regulate to conceal negative behaviours, present with more credibility and communicate more effectively.

From the perspective of the audience's perceptions, minimising fear and controlling behaviours is beneficial. Stress behaviours can be distracting, allowing you to lose your audience as they focus on your behaviour instead of your message. Stress behaviours can also convey a lack of confidence, minimising your credibility and influence–if you're uncomfortable delivering your message, why should anyone buy into it? Additionally, since emotions can be contagious, displaying stress behaviours can leave individuals in your audience feeling uncomfortable, diminishing their experience during your presentation and increasing the likelihood of negative perceptions.

Controlling fear-related behaviours

The best way to eliminate fear-related behaviours is to tackle the source of the fear response by slow breathing. You can learn more about it in this in this article. If the emotion of fear is reduced, fear-related behaviours, voluntary and involuntary, will be reduced, and more cognitive energy will be available for self-awareness and self-regulation, which is critical to concealing and controlling voluntary behaviours.

Self-Awareness During Public Speaking

Since fear can increase negative behaviours and reduce the ability to think clearly, being aware of what your body and voice are doing while presenting can be difficult. However, increasing self-awareness can start now; you don’t have to leave it until a stressful situation before focusing on what your body is doing. Start by considering what your body is doing right now, how it reflects your current feelings, and what it looks and feels like. You can also improve general awareness of body language by looking at people around you. An improved self and other awareness developed by ongoing deliberate consideration can improve awareness over time, making it easier to be aware of and control behaviour during important events like delivering a presentation or an interview.

One of the best ways to improve your body language awareness during public speaking is to record yourself as you practise or present. If you just recoiled at the thought of recording yourself, you’re not alone; most people do. However, seeing how you perform, especially while under stress, is one of the quickest routes to improvement. When you can see how you behave and what idiosyncratic behaviours you display, you can then begin to control them with conscious awareness as you present in the future. Any fear-based behaviours you identify will not only occur during public speaking; they are likely to show during any stressful situation. The ability to control these behaviours will improve your communication skills and how people perceive you.

[sophie-zadeh]

Behaviour Analysis: What is Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS)?

This year I gained certifications in Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS™) and Facial Action Coding System (FACS), two scientific systems that can be useful in analysing human behaviour. This article focuses on explaining SCAnS™, while a separate article focuses on FACS.

What is the Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS™)?

Developed by the Emotional Intelligence Academy (EIA), SCAnS™ is a behaviour analysis methodology used to code human behaviour. The Six Channel Analysis System helps to discern potential deception by identifying clusters of behavioural points of interest across multiple communication channels. The six channels are:

Face

Body

Voice

Linguistic Content

Interactional Style

Psychophysiology

Academically peer-reviewed and tested in counter-terrorism contexts, SCAnS™ is considered the gold standard in behaviour analysis. It’s used in the security sector for screening by airports, national intelligence and global diplomacy. It’s also used by law enforcement, military, recruitment and negotiation, and by behaviour analysts, such as myself, for deception detection on private or criminal cases.

Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS) Development 

Body Language Myths

Six Channel Analysis System development began in 2008 to combat widespread myths surrounding lie detection and credibility assessment. Unfortunately, these body language myths are still common among body language ‘experts’ and law enforcement professionals. Part of my work involves dispelling these myths, which have filtered down to the general public. When believed, these myths can be damaging within all types of relationships. Common myths include eye direction, nose and ear touching and gaze avoidance.

Since 2008, SCAnS™ has been reviewed, tested and implemented in various settings. This year (2023), the SCAnS™ training programme was rolled out as a pilot programme for behaviour analysts to gain certification. I completed the pilot programme and can share my experience about the process, in case you’re interested in gaining the certification too.

How Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS) Works

The Six Channel Analysis System utilises 27 behavioural indicators, known as Points of Interest (PIns), that fall into one of the six communication channels (face, body, voice, linguistic content, interactional style and psychophysiology). EIA claims the 27 PIns are evidence-based, with five or more peer-reviewed research papers connecting the behaviours to deception.

SCAnS™ coders observe behaviour, usually from video, identifying PIns. Clusters of three or more PIns, from two or more communication channels that occur within a seven-second timeframe are documented as potential indicators of deception. Coders hypothesise and document meaning and areas to dig deeper, concluding the report with potential areas of deception and suggestions for further lines of inquiry. 

Contrary to popular belief, this kind of behaviour analysis is not typically used in courts as evidence of deception, and, in many countries, it isn’t permitted in court. Instead, such analyses are most useful for criminal investigations, pre-trail, as they help guide investigations to uncover the truth.

Studying Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS)

Bear in mind that I completed the SCAnS™ training pilot programme, so changes may have been made since. I had also completed an MSc in Communication, Behaviour and Credibility Analysis, with EIA and Manchester Metropolitan University, so had (somewhat) learned the basics of SCAnS™.

Since I had completed the MSc, my training included a one-day virtual group training refresher and an hour of private virtual coaching. It appears the general training now available from EIA includes a two-day virtual group training and a passive online element that sets the foundations before the live training. 

I’m assuming the two-day training is more robust because I felt that the one-day ‘refresher’ training didn’t go far enough. It was a pilot programme, so knowing EIA, I trust our feedback was considered to improve training. 

There were, without doubt, many elements that I hadn’t learned on the MSc programme, that were assumed we would know. I believe this was also the experience of my peers. Even though I’ve been working in the field for years, and am more knowledgeable about behavioural indicators than some others on the MSc, there were knowledge gaps. It was challenging, and I did wonder how others with less knowledge could pass when I wasn’t sure whether I would pass. I did, I passed at 86%, but I’m very pedantic and put a tonne of effort into it.

I searched for answers to fill my understanding via books and research papers, finding no explanations in some cases. This was somewhat concerning for me, given the behavioural indicators are science-based. I’m not saying they aren’t, but I did struggle to find evidence in some cases. I was particularly looking for information on the shoulder shrug and eye closures. 

The Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS) Assessment

To gain certification, trainees code four videos of individuals using SCAnS™ methodology. These are real-life investigations and you’ll probably recognise the individuals or may have memories of the cases from news reports.

Like with Facial Action Coding System (FACS), and CatFACS, there’s a requirement to gain 70% accuracy with coding. EIA assesses your coding against certified coders' results. Unlike the FACS test, where results are automatically calculated with instant grading, SCAnS™ is marked manually. Therefore, an additional remarking fee is charged if you fail to reach 70% accuracy the first time round. You can resubmit as many times as you need to. 

Key Benefit of Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS)

Where SCAnS™ excels, is in its cross-channel analysis. Most behaviour analysis systems focus on just one communication channel, for example, statement analysis, body language or facial expression. My primary area of investigation was initially body language and facial expression. However, around 2016, I studied and gained certification in statement analysis, adding this to the mix.

I wanted to see how much information statement analysis could glean in comparison to body language and facial expression. What I found interesting, were the claims purporting that statement analysis was the only way to detect deception and other means did not work. I found that statement analysis did not glean more information than other means, it simply added information. It makes common sense that more channels will provide more information. Views that a single channel is the way to go are close-minded, a mentality that doesn’t bode well for behaviour analysis, where open-mindedness is key to not going down a rabbit hole of false belief.

Wrapping Up Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS)

Like FACS, SCAnS™ is viewed as a gold standard in behaviour analysis, each used for different purposes, with science-based methodology. Both offer a comprehensive, unobtrusive and more objective methodology, and both can be difficult to master with time-intensive training and coding. I’m okay with this though, because it takes effort to be good at anything. I hate to think about behaviour analysts practising without rigorous training–and yet, unfortunately, they are out there.

All methodologies such as FACS and SCAnS™ are open to subjectivity and bias; however, The rigorous assessment with its 70% agreement pass mark mitigates reliability issues.

Like with my FACS article, I hope I haven’t discouraged you with my honest experience. I’m thrilled I’m certified as a SCAnS™ coder and would do it all again if I needed to. I encourage you to persist in attaining certification too. Let me know how you go and whether you need any help.

[sophie-zadeh]

Cat Behaviour: What is CatFacs?

After gaining Facial Action Coding System (FACS) certification, a scientific system used to code and measure subtle facial movements in human behaviour research, I’m now studying CatFACS. If you’re wondering whether CatFACS is a coding system for cat behaviour, you guessed right, that’s exactly what it is! 

This article focuses on explaining CatFACS, which, like other animal FACS, has its foundations in human FACS, developed in the 1970s by Ekman and Friesen. To learn more about human FACS, check out this article: Behaviour Analysis: What is Facial Action Coding System (FACS)?

What is CatFACS?

CatFACS is a Cat Facial Action Coding System. Like human FACS and other animal FACS, CatFACS measures subtle facial movements, scientifically termed Action Units (AUs).

Action Units

Action units are unique anatomically based facial movements involving one or more muscles. Action units create distinct changes in the appearance of facial areas and work together (or on their own) to create facial expressions. Facial Action Coding System, human or animal, does not measure expression. Instead, it focuses on the smallest constituent components of expression–independent action units. 

Coding these small components, instead of combinations of action units, allows for research of facial movements unrelated to emotion, such as communication and pain signals. 

Since we don’t share a common language, animals (and some humans) cannot verbalise feelings such as pain. Therefore, recognising pain in animals is helpful to improve animal care and ethics, such as veterinary treatment and farming practices.

Animal FACS

There are similarities and differences across species in facial musculature and movements, hence FACS adaptations for different species. As well as human FACS, there are currently eight animal FACS:

CatFACS (cats)

DogFACS (domestic dogs)

EquiFACS (domestic horses)

OrangFACS (orangutans)

ChimpFACS (common chimpanzees)

MaqFACS (rhesus macaques)

GibbonFACS (hylobatid species)

CalliFACS (marmoset species)

These systems allow for comparison across species in communicative and emotional contexts, offering valuable insight into the differences and similarities between humans and animals.

If you’re interested in learning more or studying any of these, check out the AnimalFACS website, where you can freely access the manuals and tests.

FACS and CatFACS

Human FACS is considered the gold standard for facial movement analysis and has been used in scientific research for decades. Its development created a standardised system with a common descriptive language, providing a more objective methodology for measuring facial movement. The same methodology and language are used across all FACS systems.

Some action units are consistent across species, others are unique to the the species. For example, cats have whiskers and ear movements that humans don’t have. Cats also have a half blink (AU47) that humans don’t have, and both humans and cats display blinks (AU45/AU145) and eye closures (AU43/AU143). Believe it or not, cats, like humans, display a lip pucker (AU18/AU118). If you’re like me, you have cute imagery swimming around in your imagination right now.

Human FACS has led to fascinating research and discoveries. Research findings include facial movement patterns connected to emotion, deception, and medical and psychological disorders, for example, differences between suicidal and non-suicidal depressed patients. Its use is wide and varied and includes fields such as consumer research, behavioural science, computer graphics, animation, forensic science, neuroscience and social and clinical research.

Cats have 276 Expressions

Recently, new findings in cat expression research hit mainstream media, so you may have already heard that researchers have counted 276 expressions in cats. Researchers used CatFACS to code action units in expressions of 53 adult domestic shorthair cats. Twenty-six distinct action units made up the 276 expressions (action unit combinations). 

Expressions were sorted into two key categories–friendly and aggressive. Findings revealed the presence of eye closures during friendly interactions between cats, with ears and whiskers moving forward. Conversely, during aggressive encounters, ears were flattened and rotated (outwards), with constricted pupils.

The researchers also observed 139 expressions produced during playful interactions. Several action units associated with play behaviour were observed, including the lip corner puller, the movement occurring when humans smile, the lower lip depressor, lips part and jaw drop/mouth stretch. 

How CATFACS Works

Trained CatFACS coders study videos of cats within the context of the area of research, for example, communication, cognition and emotion. If you’re excited about the prospect of a new career studying cat faces (I get it!), don’t get too carried away. It’s not a full-time job, it’s usually researchers, their assistants and research students who do the coding.

Coders identify and document the presence of action units and action descriptors, occurring independently or in combinations. Unlike in human FACS, action units are not rated for intensity. Like in human FACS, action units are divided into upper face (4 action units), lower face (12 action units, including whisker movements), action descriptors (7), head and eye movements (12), and gross behaviours (6). CatFACS also has ear action descriptors (7).

Studying CATFACS

CatFACS is available to study free of charge from the AnimalFACS website. However, it can seem complex to study if you are unfamiliar with action movements and facial expressions. I began studying CatFACS several years ago, while I was studying (human) FACS. I decided to leave CatFACS until I had mastered FACS, feeling I needed a solid foundation of FACS first. Now I’m certified as a FACS coder, I’ve re-started studying CatFACS and I’m ready to take the test. 

Human FACS is very complex, with a whopper of a manual and instructions for coding the intensity of action units. CatFACS seems easy in comparison, with a slim manual. As mentioned, CatFACS does not code action unit intensity. That said, it’s not ‘easy’. It’s one thing to learn the action units and another to learn to spot these subtle movements on a moving cat. 

The CatFACS Test

The test consists of 20 downloadable short videos of cats. You score whether each action unit is present (1) or not (0), inputting answers into a supplied scoresheet. Once complete, you email your scoresheet to AnimalFACS, who compares your results to the scores of certified coders. Like with FACS, to pass, you need to gain a reliability score of .70 or higher (70% Agreement). If you don’t reach the 70% agreement mark, you receive feedback and can resubmit a test.

Why am I Studying CatFACS?

Understanding action units is important in my work, due to the association between these movements, emotion and communication, which is what my work is all about. I’ve done the hard graft in learning human FACS already; therefore, given I’m a crazy cat lady, it seems silly not to. I’m not sure whether I’ll ever need to use it, but it’s interesting to observe cat behaviours and to follow the science relating to the meaning or purpose of action units.

I’m considering learning more animal FACS after CatFACS because it’s interesting (and a bit quirky). I feel the more I learn and observe, the more I hone my skills for any behaviour observation, be it animal or human.

[sophie-zadeh]

What is Facial Action Coding System (Facs)

This year I gained certifications in Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and Six Channel Analysis System (SCAnS), two scientific systems that can be useful in analysing human behaviour. I’m currently working on gaining CatFACS certification. If you’re wondering whether CatFACS is a coding system for cat behaviour, you guessed right, that’s exactly what it is! This article focuses on explaining FACS, while separate articles focus on CatFACS and SCAnS.

What is Facial Action Coding System (FACS)?

Facial Action Coding System is a method for scientifically measuring Action Units (AUs), unique anatomically based facial movements involving one or more muscles. It’s considered the gold standard for facial movement analysis. Action units create distinct changes in the appearance of facial areas and work together (or on their own) to create facial expressions. Facial Action Coding System does not measure expressions. Instead, it focuses on the presence and intensity of independent action units.

Primarily used as a research tool for scientific investigation, FACS has led to fascinating research and discoveries. Research findings include facial movement patterns connected to emotion, deception, and medical and psychological disorders, for example, differences between suicidal and non-suicidal depressed patients.

Behaviour analysts look for the presence (or lack of) action units when investigating behaviour due to their connection to emotion. We also look for specific combinations of action units that form facial expressions of emotion to guide understanding of an individual’s mental state. During deception detection analysis, it’s crucial to know whether emotional expression is aligned with verbal communication because a mismatch can be a red flag. However, it’s important to remember that FACS does not measure expression or ascribe emotional interpretation. It has though, contributed to our understanding of the relationship between specific action units (and action unit combinations) and emotion.

Facial Action Coding System (FACS) Development

Previous approaches focused on measuring underlying emotion; however, Ekman and Friesen considered this approach subjective and open to bias. That is, despite their proposal that specific action unit combinations represent emotional expression. Instead, they focused on the objective measurement of frequency and intensity of action units, the smallest constituent component of expression. This allows for research of facial movements unrelated to emotion, such as conversation punctuators, pain and depression.

In the 1970s, Ekman and Friesen developed FACS, building on the work of Swedish anatomist, Hjortsjö. Facial Action Coding System was substantially updated in 2002. The development of FACS created a standardised system with a common descriptive language, providing a more objective methodology for measuring facial movement. Its use is wide and varied and includes fields such as consumer research, behavioural science, computer graphics, animation, forensic science, neuroscience and social and clinical research.

Facial Action Coding System has been modified into BabyFACS to facilitate objective research of infants since facial morphology differs between adults and infants. If you’re an animal lover like me, you’ll be excited to know that FACS has been modified into eight (to date) animal-based research systems, including ChimpFACS, OrangFACS, EquiFACS, CatFACS and DogFACS. These systems allow for comparison across species in communicative and emotional contexts, offering valuable insight into the differences and similarities between humans and animals, addressing interesting questions, such as, ‘What makes us uniquely human?’.

How Facial Action Coding System (FACS) Works

Trained FACS coders identify and measure action units, occurring independently or in combinations, usually for scientific research. They study human faces in still images (with a neutral comparison) or on videos. Identified action units are rated on a five-point intensity scale from A to E (trace to maximum). The lower face is coded first (16 potential action units), then the upper face (14 potential action units). There are also miscellaneous action units and action descriptors to look for, as well as head (8) and eye position (6) action units, which are sometimes important in research.

Researchers can infer emotion in a second system, for example, the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EMFACS) or Facial Action Coding System Affect Interpretation Dictionary (FACSAID), measuring action units and associated emotional expression.

Studying Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

The FACS training is available to purchase online from The Ekman Group’s website. The training is self-instructional, including a manual, videos and score checker. It is encouraged to study with others to compare facial movements and scoring. I studied alone, so it is possible. That said, I had a fairly robust prior understanding of the action units that are associated with emotion. I prefer to work alone, but, at times, I longed to compare and contrast action units within a group.

Part of the problem with studying FACS is the manual’s volume, academic style, terminology, repetition and complex instruction. These are not conducive to learning. Coming from an education and training background, I felt somewhat frustrated by this. It was incredibly tedious and, at times, I did wonder whether I would be able to pass the test or not. Perhaps the tediousness wouldn’t be as intense in a group setting–dependent on group dynamics.

Due to the tedious training and life/work commitments, I studied FACS on and off for several years. I had a couple of acquaintances who were also studying FACS on and off; however, our periods didn’t coincide, despite hopes to coordinate. Endorsed by The Ekman Group, Erika Rosenberg runs in-person and online FACS training. I planned to perhaps take this route if I failed, but it wasn’t necessary.

The complex system requires a significant time investment to learn, with approximately 100 hours of self-study and practice; I’m certain I invested significantly more hours. Therefore, training can take many months to complete and gain certification via the FACS test.

I moved through the manual, celebrating the end of each chapter. Since taking the FACS test and gaining certification, it makes more sense why it was designed that way. For it to work as a scientific method of measurement it needs to be robust. I wonder how many people start but don’t finish–I was almost one of them.

What I struggled with most was the intensity scoring. The manual describes intensities as trace, slight, marked, pronounced, severe, extreme and maximum. I especially struggled with marked and pronounced–there’s a fine line difference that can easily be influenced by mood. Ekman himself acknowledges that perceptions can change when coding, depending on emotional state or mood. Furthermore, individuals assign weighted meanings to words, which changes how we perceive them. I found myself asking my Husband several times, “Would you describe this movement as marked or pronounced?”.

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) Test

The test consists of 34 short videos displaying individuals (head and shoulders) speaking or listening. You score the action units present, as well as their intensity. To pass, you need to gain a reliability score of .70 or higher. This can be tricky as the video quality isn’t clear. That said, out-of-test behaviour analysis is often based on unclear footage. For example, blurred police body cam footage is sometimes all you have to work with. You save each video score as you move through the test. It’s recommended to check all answers before the final submission. I certainly recommend this because I changed all of my answers during the checking stage.

I don’t know how long you have to complete the test. I suspect you have it for as long as it takes because there was an expiry date showing, if I recall correctly, 1976! Obviously, that wasn’t correct since it would have expired when I was three years old. I figured it would have been correct if it was important and if it did actually expire. Don’t take my word for it though, it’s an assumption.

I also don’t know what happens if you fail the test–whether you have to pay again and get a new set of videos, or whether you keep adjusting your scores. These were all questions I searched for answers to, convinced I would fail. I couldn’t find answers and my enquiry to The Ekman Group’s website directed me to ask Erika Rosenberg future questions (without answering my current question). I thought this was odd and didn’t want to bother Erika, so I settled for unanswered questions.

I contacted Erika after passing the test as I had expected to receive EMFACS (EmotionFACS) instructions and an update to the manual. Erika kindly supplied the EMFACS instructions on seeing my certificate and explained that there was no update to the manual and that what I had read about an update was outdated information. I couldn’t actually recall where I had read that.

Drawbacks of Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

While FACS is a comprehensive system for measuring visible facial movement, it omits subtle changes in muscle tonus and other facial phenomena such as tears, sweating and blushing. Plus, focusing on the face provides data from only one communication channel.

Using FACS alongside other methodologies could provide more valuable data and insight; for example, the Six Channel Analysis (SCAnS) methodology identifies data from six channels of communication: voice, linguistic content, interactional style, facial movements, body movements and psychophysiology.

In addition to the significant time investment for training, FACS coding is time-consuming and can be prone to human error, bias and subjectivity. Typically, it takes over two hours to code one minute of video, rendering it unsuitable in settings requiring real-time analysis, for example, clinical settings where detecting action units associated with pain can improve the quality of care. However, all thorough behaviour analysis, no matter which system is used, is time-consuming. That is why I stipulate, on my behaviour analysis services pages, that it takes approximately one hour of analysis per one minute of video footage.

Automating Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

You might be asking, ‘Why don’t we automate FACS?’. Automating FACS would remove the human requirement—the need to invest time in training and coding, reliability and subjectivity. However, computer scientist and digital activist Joy Buolamwini posits that current artificial intelligence (AI) systems used to measure the face are flawed due to the embedding of unconscious human bias during development.

Datasets used to train AI contained more images and videos of males and whites, leading to algorithms that perform better on male faces than female faces and significantly better on lighter-skinned faces, with skewed datasets producing skewed results. The human element of bias remains, with technology highly susceptible to bias.

Wrapping Up Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

Despite being the gold standard of facial movement measurement, offering a comprehensive, unobtrusive and more objective methodology, problems with FACS exist, including time-intensive training and coding, reliability, subjectivity and bias.

While automating FACS may be some time away, manually applied FACS has proved a valuable research tool for over four decades. We can look forward to human coders assisting in research to uncover many more exciting discoveries.

If you’re still reading, you’re possibly interested in becoming a FACS coder. I hope I haven’t discouraged you with my honest experience. I’m thrilled I passed FACS certification and I’d do it all again if I needed to. I encourage you to persist in attaining certification too. Let me know how you go and whether you need any help. If you can answer any of the questions that for me remained unanswered, please leave a comment.

[sophie-zadeh]

Dan Andrews Family Car Incident with Ryan Meuleman

Guest Post

I’m excited that Colin Ector, talented Statement Analyst and author of this article, has shared this article with me. Colin published the article on 30th June 2023 on his blog, Through the Lens of Statement Analysis.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

—Sophie

Dan Andrews Family Car Incident with Ryan Meuleman

By Colin Ector

10 years ago, Dan Andrews and his family were involved in a car accident where 15-year-old Ryan Meuleman was seriously injured. Andrew’s wife is reported to have been driving when the teenager rode his bike into the side of their car when they were on their way home from the beach.

The Herald Sun revealed that lawyers for Ryan had launched a Supreme Court Damages claim against Andrews and his wife Catherine. There is also a question of whether Andrews himself may have been the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Andrews refuses to speak publicly on the incident now, although he did give a radio interview on January 16th 2013, just over a week after the event. This close, the event should be fresh in his mind which should allow for reliable recall.

What can we learn from his words? He is the one who knows what happened and through analysis we can get to the truth.

Dan Andrews 3AW 693 Radio Interview with Justin Smith Jan 16 2013

Dan Andrews Statement Analysis

Questions for Analysis

Is the subject truthful? Is this a reliable account of what happened?

Who was driving the car?  Does the subject’s language support or negate the theory that he was the driver?

Was alcohol consumed?

Who was at fault regarding the accident?

Has Andrews used his position to influence the Police investigation?

Justin

“The front page of the herald sun this morning is not a good read for Daniel Andrews. The opposition leader and his wife have been accused of cold heartedness after the car they were in, driven by Catherine Andrews was in an accident with a teenager on January 7 at Blairgowrie. Ryan Meuleman is the boy 15 years old was badly hurt and sent to the royal Children's. Internal bleeding broken ribs, punctured lung. His father peter is upset at the silence of the Andrews family. Reading through the story the Andrews family say they called police to check up on the boy's condition. Mr Andrews was not keen to talk about it. He said his wife was a private citizen He's on the line. Daniel Andrews good morning.”

Noted this interview is taking place only just over a week after the incident. The details should be clear in the subject’s mind of what happened. We have an expectation of clear reliable language.

The accusation from source unknown but likely media at this point is “cold-heartedness”. The interviewer likely has no knowledge at this time of rumours that Andrews was the driver.

Ryan’s father is “upset at the silence of the Andrews family”

Andrews

“Good morning, Justin.”

Justin

“How how are you and how is your wife?”

Andrews

“Oh look it was a very traumatic incident for everybody involved but our thoughts Justin are obviously with Ryan and we're very pleased that he's out of hospital now and that he's got the best care possible and that he's going to be going to be okay. It was a very nasty incident. He um hit the side of our car very hard um it was very very traumatic for everybody involved.”

The subject (Andrews) does not directly answer the question of how he is, or how his wife is. He answers that it was a “very traumatic incident for everybody involved”. He includes everybody involved into this trauma. It avoids saying that he is fine and so is his wife unlike the boy who is in hospital. His answer has the effect of putting them all in the same boat. They are all victims. This is the first thing he says making it a priority for him.

The subject uses the name of the interviewer here right from the start. We will watch to when he uses this and when he does not. This may be familiarity with the host, it can be to include the host or sometimes it can be used in a controlling or dominating fashion. The subject’s intention is not clear at this point.

The subject reports that Ryan hit the side of our car very hard. There is an “um” which is a slight pause, but the sentence is otherwise reliable.

This is an “incident” rather than an accident. Andrews linguistically lays the blame of this incident at the feet of the boy. “He um hit the side of our car very hard”.

The subject (Andrews) repeats his previous statement that it was traumatic for everybody involved. He qualifies this for emphasis with the inclusion of the word “very” twice. We must consider that he has a need to persuade us that he and his wife should be included in the status of victim in this incident. This in turn raises the question of whether he is harbouring guilt in this.

Within his first response to a question that he does not answer the subject (Andrews), has revealed two things he wants us to know as his priorities.

Everyone is a victim here. Him included.

The fault for the “incident” lays at the feet of Ryan (the boy)

Justin

“Were you move just so people have an understanding of what happened, were you moving at the time?”

This is not a good question from the interviewer. This question has removed much information that would have been gleaned from the subject had he simply asked, “what happened”. When a subject is asked “what happened” they have to go into their memory and will begin wherever the incident starts for them. This can be anywhere. This direct question about the subject status regarding movement denies us this important information.

Andrews

“Yeah we were we’d turned right from a standing start into a, into a side street um there's a bike path that runs parallel to the street we’d turned from and you know the next thing we knew he was in the uh in in the windscreen having hit hit us if you like at a sort of perfect 90 90 degree angle to the side of the car so it was a very nasty accident.

“Yeah” is casual but reliable in context.

The subject speaks for them all again here. “we’d turned right”. They were not all or both driving. The subject unifies himself with his wife. Is this appropriate? We like people to speak for themselves. They were both in the car and the subject may feel protective of this wife’s actions or there could be another reason for this use of “we”. The subject is answering the question of “were you moving?” which could also provoke the unified answer.

“from a standing start” To turn right the subjects car will have crossed over the oncoming traffic lane. This is an indication there was traffic on the road they turned from, and they had to wait for a gap to turn.

Why the need to tell us “from a standing start”? Unnecessary wording is always important.  Does the subject want us to believe they couldn’t have been going fast as they were not moving moments before? This may be an indication of the opposite. Did the driver of the car have to pull into the side street quickly due to traffic on the main road where they were at a “standing start”

A “standing start” is a phrase often used in reference to the start of a race.

The subject does not tell us that Ryan came out of the bike path. We cannot say it for him. It may be the case, but it is not reliably reported by Andrews.

“the next thing we knew” is a Temporal lacunae or a jump over time. There is missing information here. What happened here?

Again, the subject is speaking for them both. An account should be what you did. What you saw. Here the subject is telling us the next thing they both knew.

Is the missing information that they were going fast into the side street?

The use of “In” for “in the windscreen” tells us that Ryan was through where the windscreen would usually be either fully or indented inside the driver’s area. This was a hard hit into the windscreen.

“the next thing we knew he was in the uh in in the windscreen having hit hit us if you like”. He was in the windscreen is passive which conceals responsibility. It does not tell us who put him there or how he got there. This passivity is then immediately followed by a weak assertion that it was Ryan’s fault. “having hit us”.

“Having hit us” is a weak assertion. The addition of “if you like” weakens this assertion to a preference.

A “sort of perfect 90 degree angle” is not a 90 degree angle. “Sort of” and “perfect” are contradictory.

Should the subject be pressing that his wife did the right thing rather than hiding her in the overuse of “we”. Why would he do this? Should he be telling us that “she pulled into the street. There was no way she could have seen him or got out of the way”

This entire sentence is then made even more sensitive to the subject as he makes it an unnecessary reason why it was a very nasty accident.

There is a lot of sensitivity and unreliability about this part of the interview from Andrews. There is in fact, enough to conclude that Andrews is withholding information about the incident from this sentence alone.

“it was a very heavy hit and we're just all very grateful and and very pleased that he's been able to be treated properly and that he's come through it.”

Does the subject wish to move away from the topic of what happened? He has removed everything that happened between “having hit us if you like at a sort of perfect 90 degree angle” and “he’s been able to be treated properly and come through it”

By whom was the heavy hit?

The subject continues with his unity of “we, we’re”

It is interesting he uses the phrase “come through it” after the boy was through the windscreen. The brain knows what it knows..

Why would Ryan (the boy) not have been able to be treated properly? Is the subject going to claim that he helped get good treatment for the Ryan?

Justin

“Yeah should you have given way to him or is it the other way around?”

Andrews

“well look I don't want to get I don't want to be you know finding fault with him but he struck the righthand side of our car. We didn't see him. He was not visible on the road or anything like that um you know he then went over the car after having gone into the wind screen. It was a very nasty incident and one that you wouldn't wish on anybody”.

The subject does not want to answer the question here making it sensitive to him.

He tells us in the negative what he doesn’t want to do which is finding fault with Ryan. Anything in the negative is important to the subject.

The word “but” refutes or minimises what came before. In this case that the subject does not want to find fault with Ryan

“We didn’t see him”. The overuse of speaking for them both continues. If the subject’s unity with his wife is protective, then he should be telling us what she did. He could have said “Ryan came out of nowhere. There was no way my wife could have seen him or avoided him”. He does not.  This overuse of “we” is often used by those who wish to hide in the crowd. At this point in the statement, the question for analysis of who was driving remains open and unanswered. We cannot say who was driving. The subject has not told us that his wife was driving. He has not used her name which may be an indication of a strained relationship at this point in the statement and his continual overuse of the pronoun “we” is concerning.

“One that you wouldn’t wish on anybody” This is unnecessary to say and may be to portray himself as the good guy often an indication of the opposite.

Justin

“yeah the windscreen broke I believe”

Andrews

“yeah so we”

Justin

“and your wife your wife sustained some some cuts”

Andrews

“oh some very minor cuts we had our three little kids in the car and they were sort of there was glass showered everywhere and it was very nasty and I I I can only imagine um what it must have been like for Ryan's father. I'm obviously a father and no parent would want to get that call to say that their son that their child had been involved in an accident”

Justin

“what was it what was it like at that time when you you both realised what had happened and you got out of the car? what condition was Ryan in at that time was he was he conscious at all?”

Andrews

“He was conscious. Yeah he was conscious at all times. He was lying on the road just behind the car. We'd stopped the car. ( ) Got out. I rang triple o immediately and my wife then you know sat sat beside him and tried to comfort him.”

The overuse of “we” continues. This time it was them both that stopped the car. This is not an action that can be shared unless he pulled up the handbrake from the passenger seat which is unlikely. If he is not willing to say his wife stopped the car, we cannot say it for him. Why would he linguistically share this action? We must consider he is concealing who was driving the car?

This overuse is not appropriate. It is sometimes used when subjects are unified in deception or as a way of crowd sourcing guilt. The subject does not want to be alone in this statement.

The subject has still not said that his wife, (who remains unnamed) was driving the car. He has not assigned linguistically any actions to her relating to the car. Now however, for the first time he tells us of his wife’s action. He tells us that she “sat, sat beside him” presumably on the ground. Andrews allocates no actions to his wife regarding the car.

The argument that Andrews is defending his wife with his overuse and unity of the pronoun “we” is becoming a stretch. He has not linguistically defended her actions as the driver of the car in any way.

Andrew’s wife who remains nameless in his verbalised perception of reality has only been allocated an action by herself when sitting on the ground next to the boy whilst Andrews is taking control on the phone. All actions previous to this, even though she is supposed to be the one driving have been allocated the pronoun “we” by Andrews.

“Got out”. What has caused this missing pronoun? This is one place where the pronoun “we” is expected as it is an action that they both would have taken and yet there is no pronoun for this brief sentence. I believe the subject and his wife got out of the car, but something has caused his brain to omit the pronoun. This is a lack of psychological commitment to the act of getting out of the car. Was there a delay in getting out? Some conversation between the subject and his wife? What was it?

“Got out” is unnecessary to say. It slows down the pace avoiding getting to what happened next.

Finally, we have “I”, entering the statement, in the context of what happened from the subject. This makes this sentence very important to him. “I rang triple O” is reliable. The need to portray it as immediate raises the question of whether there was a delay in doing so. People who do things straight away don’t have this need to say they did it immediately. They simply state what happened, what they did etc. There was likely a delay here. This comes immediately after the subject omits the pronoun when telling us unnecessarily that they got out of the car. This may be where the delay happened.  Was there discussion in the car before getting out?

We still do not know the subject’s wife’s name. He has not said it. He takes possession of her with the pronoun “my” and gives her the title of wife but without a name.  This can be an indication of a poor relationship between them at this point. This sort of language can indicate that the spouse is more of a possession than a person.

“then” is another indication of a delay or missing information. It is also telling us that the subject’s wife did not sit down and try to comfort Ryan until after there had likely been a delay for some reason and then also after the subject rang triple zero. What was happening in these time delays? The incomplete social introduction from the subject for his wife may give us insight into this. Were they arguing about something or trying to decide what they were going to do? What could they have to discuss or argue about that is more important than a 15-year-old boy injured and lying in the road?

“Sat” is repeated. The inclusion of body posture in a statement is an indication of tension.

Why the delay in calling triple O and the tension with “sat” repeated and stuttered over? What did the subject and his wife do here? Where was the subject when his wife was sitting next to Ryan?

“There's not much you can do really other than try and offer some sort of reassuring words. um and I impressed upon the triple O operator that it was a serious issue and we needed an ambulance here as soon as we could.”

The subject is portraying himself as the good guy again reinforcing the opposite assumption. Again, he uses the pronoun “I”. Again, the pronoun “I” is used to portray himself as the “Good Guy”. The need to portray yourself as the good guy is often an indication of the opposite.

Anything reported in the negative is important. The subject tells us there is not much you can do. What did he do? We want to him to speak for himself. You could check the injured boy’s injuries. You could try to make him comfortable. The subject is telling us he did not do this, and he doesn’t tell us reliably that he gave “some sort of reassuring words”. Did he? We cannot say but he wants us to believe he is the good guy likely indicating the opposite.

For whom is this a serious issue?  For the boy it was a serious injury. For the subject it is an issue. Who is the priority here for the subject?

Justin

“all right well the herald sun is accusing you of cold-heartedness here and so is is the family. Is the story fair?”

Andrews

“Well look I’m I'm not here to bag journalists off that's never been my way. What I want to make very clear though is um we did not contact Ryan. We did not contact his father um and the reason I didn't do that the reason we didn't do that is that the police have not as I understand it, has still not interviewed him.

The subject avoids the question and is unwilling or unable to say “No. It is not fair”. He tells us in the negative what has never been his way. The good guy narrative continues.

The subject continues with the “we” format but slips into “I” revealing it is he who would have contacted Ryan’s family if it were going to happen. He is running things even though we are led to believe it was his wife who was the driver.

He's obviously a witness to the incident the police have got an important job to do um and I'm not after any special treatment. I'm certainly not after uh I'm certainly not going to interfere with the police doing their important work and I made the judgment yeah and the police the police confirmed that judgment Justin that it would be inappropriate for me to be contacting a minor uh before the police had spoken to him.

The subject tells us in the negative making it doubly important what he is not after and what he is not going to do. He qualifies this with the word “certainly” which weakens an already sensitive negative assertion.

The subject self-censors and changes “certainly not being after” to “certainly not going to interfere”. This change of language leaves it to the police if there is to be special treatment. It is also in the future. Has he obtained special treatment or interfered already enough to influence police actions? Is he confident that with his position he will not need to interfere, in order to get special treatment?

He ingratiates himself to police with flattery. “Their important work”

It is him that made the “judgement” to not contact Ryan

He does not say he intends to make contact with the family after they have spoken to Police.

Now we've just been really clear about this my wife on the night only a few hours after the incident spoke with police. She spoke with the royal children's hospital um they couldn't tell her much but directed her back to police.

“spoke with police” is not interviewed. Did the police not conduct a formal interview?

“my wife” Possession again without her name still. This is not a good relationship at this time.

She's I think had five conversations with police in less than a week getting an update each time um on his condition so we've been well informed and perhaps Ryan's father doesn't know that we've made those calls and maybe that's why he's angry. Maybe he thinks that we haven't been interested, far from it. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“spoke” is now “conversations”. Both are informal and casual. Did she make a statement on the accident? If not, is this the special treatment which the subject is no longer after by his words.

Justin

“As you know it is there has there been any attempt by by him to make contact with you?”

Andrews

“uh not that I’m aware of um there may have been but he certainly hasn't uh I I’m not I’m not I I don't know about that.

When a subject who does not normally stutter, stutters on the pronoun “I” it is a clear indication of anxiety.

Continuous negatives and the subject shuts down this question. This was a stressful question for the subject.

The subject’s language is indicative of someone who knows of attempts to contact him by Ryan’s father and has ignored and avoided the contact.

um what I do know is that you know there's a there's a comment in the paper today that this doesn't look good for me. Well you know, I've not been at all concerned with how this looks. I've been concerned with the welfare of Ryan and I’ve been concerned to make sure that I didn't at any stage interfere in the police's investigation that's that important process that they should go through you know whether it looks good or bad that's not been my concern and it's not my concern now.”

The subject has moved from the uncomfortable question of whether Ryan’s father has tried to contact him to where he portrays himself as a victim of the media. He is the victim now.

As well as a victim he continues to portray himself as the good guy. When a subject has the need to portray themselves in this way it is indicative of the opposite.

Why would you be concerned that you would interfere in the police investigation? The subject doesn’t mention the receiving of special treatment.

The subject is sermonising about the importance of the police investigation. Sermons are often included in the statements of those harbouring guilt.

Justin

“all right well just a couple of questions that I had off air to people people asking me so please don't take these as uh as trying to lead into anything else. Was your wife breath tested?”

Andrews

“the police did not breath test her no.”

Reliably stated information

Justin

“okay do you would you consider that to be unusual”

Andrews

“well, I've not been involved in an accident like that before. I don't know how how usual or unusual that is. Now this was one o'clock in the afternoon um we had three little kids in the car um you know she spent quite a lot of time with the victoria police they were on scene before the ambulance. she's cooperated with police. She spent you know there was every opportunity and she would have had no difficulty in in uh in being breath-tested if they asked her to. they didn't raise it you know.”

The subject has used a lot of words to answer a yes or no question. “Well” is a slight pause to think.

The subject then tells us why he doesn’t know if not being breath tested after an accident is usual

The subject also floats three reasons why he doesn’t know if it is unusual to not be breath tested after a car accident. He has not been involved in an accident like that before. The time of day and “3 little kids” being present in the car. This is to avoid telling us that his wife (who still remains unnamed) had not been drinking.

Is it difficult being breath tested if you have been drinking? Would she have had difficulty passing a breath test?

Did the police breath test him? If he were the driver they would have no need to breath test his wife who remains unnamed.

Justin

“Had she had a drink at all?”

Andrews

“absolutely no, no no way at all we've been at the we've been at the beach. I want to be very clear about that absolutely no alcohol whatsoever.”

Who is the subject speaking about here? He does not tell us that he is talking about his wife. He could be answering for himself as well as his wife. He uses no pronouns or names.

“No” would be reliable language. “No My wife had not had a drink” would also be reliable. Using her name would be better.

The addition of “absolutely” weakens his denial.

Stuttering on the word “no” and “we’ve” is an indication of stress at this question.

“no way at all” weakens the denial further.

A hina claus is where a subject has the need to tell us why something happened or didn’t happen without us asking. The subject needs reinforcement for his words. It is like he is telling us someone did not drink because they had been at the beach. This is a need to persuade.

He then tells us what he wants to be very clear about. This is not to tell us what is true. It is simply an intention of clarity which has no bearing on truth. It adds to the need to persuade.

More additional unnecessary words. “absolutely and whatsoever”. The subject has demonstrated an excessive need to persuade that no alcohol was involved whilst being unable to say who he is talking about, and without telling us reliably that there was no alcohol.

Justin

“was ryan wearing a helmet?”

Andrews

“he was yes, and I and I'm very thankful that he was.”

This is a reliable sentence from the subject.

It tells us that he, when not having the need to persuade and deceive will give reliable language. The contrast is evident.

Justin

“all right and look the last one uh is that uh why do do we need a four-wheel drive is that as your as your taxpayer car?”

Andrews

“well it's not a four-wheel drive it's a it's a ford territory like it's a large vehicle it's a family vehicle um it's not on a four-wheel drive as it's as it's as described in the paper it's just a normal ford territory”

Justin

“that seems fair you've got three children so that seems fair oh well yeah yeah”

Andrews

“So, look Justin I want to be really clear about this you know our thoughts have always been right from the moment the incident occurred, have been with Ryan to to give him whatever support we could um and to make sure that we were kept informed and we have been regularly uh I was never going to interfere with a police investigation. If people mark me down for that well then I can't help that but the the last thing I was ever going to do was try and speak to him before the police had spoken to him. That would just not be right. I'm just very grateful that very grateful that he's been able to get the best care possible at the royal children's hospital. That he's going to be going to be okay.”

What is this support for Ryan that the subject speaks of? He has not contacted him or his family.

Justin

“I mean this is something that not everyone is obviously going to care about but but would it have been better for you if you had have been not not so much up front but you had disclosed straight away look my family and i've been in an accident it's under police investigation early on?”

Andrews

“Well some people might come to that judgment you know i think a one or two line statement that probably would have posed more questions than it answered or wouldn't have done much good i think it's more fulsome statement that would have seen us putting our version of events out there into the public domain before the police had an opportunity to speak with the other party you know I don't think that would have been appropriate um you know people will make their own judgments on that but I I just make the point again that  Ryan's welfare has been foremost in our minds and second to that I've been absolutely determined not to be interfering with Victoria police investigating what was a very serious incident. Thankfully he's going to be okay thankfully his injuries weren't more serious. i wouldn't wish it on anyone and my my thoughts and my best wishes are for him for his family”

The subject is the “good guy”

What does being absolutely determined with not interfering with Victoria Police’s investigation look like?

Being “absolutely determined” is to be committed. Being committed takes effort and work.

“I’m certainly not going to interfere with the police” is now “I’ve been absolutely determined not to be interfering with Victoria Police”. A change of language indicates a change in reality.

We do not have to be determined to not do something we do not desire to do. The additional word “absolutely” weakens this.

Is there an unintentional recipient to this statement? Is Victoria Police the unintentional recipient?

What is the difference between “Police” and “Victoria Police”? Is “Police”, rank and file officers and  “Victoria Police” Higher up the ranks in charge?

If the subject does not get the “special treatment” will he then submit to his desire to interfere with the Victoria Police higher up officers?

Andrews

“uh you wouldn't wish it on anyone Justin”

Justin

“yeah no absolutely and, and also to your family too I hope your wife is fine and your children are okay and yourself. Thank you very much all. Right thank you Daniel Andrews State opposition leader”

Dan Andrews Statement Analysis Conclusions

Is the subject truthful? Is this a reliable account of what happened?

This is not a reliable account of what happened on the day of the accident between the Andrews vehicle and Ryan Meuleman. There are many indicators of sensitivity and missing information about what happened.

Who was driving the car?

The subject had and created many opportunities to say his wife was driving the car at the time of the accident. He consistently used the pronoun “we”, for all actions involving the car which served to conceal the identity of the driver.

An argument could be made to say he is protective about his wife and so unified them in the accident. However if he wished to buttress his statement in protection of her, we would expect to hear more reliable language saying what she did, and what she would have been unable to do in avoiding the accident. For example, “My wife could not have seen Ryan or avoided colliding with him”. He did not do this. Instead, he used the pronoun “we” to hide in the collectiveness of them both.

He did not linguistically defend her actions as the driver of the car. In all actions involving the car the subject used the pronoun “we” unifying himself and his wife in the control of the vehicle.

In a casual conversation we may say “we went for a drive, and we stopped at a café” showing unity in the actions involving a car. Context is key. The context in this café example shows the unity of a recreational drive and visit to a café.  The context of the radio interview with Andrews is not the same. The actions of each individual had consequences, which should lead the subject to speak for themselves and to say who did what and when. In this context repeated use of the pronoun “we” is not appropriate.

The language used by the subject leaves the question of who was driving suspiciously open. As the question of who was driving, was not addressed by either the interviewer or Andrews further questioning is required to make a solid conclusion. It is noted however that the language used by Andrews is consistent with him being the driver although not conclusive.

Was alcohol consumed?

The subject does not tell us reliably that alcohol was not consumed by either his wife or himself.

Who was at fault regarding the accident?

From the statement the subject has a need to persuade us that Ryan was at fault for the accident making it likely that either some or all of the blame lies with the driver of the Andrews vehicle.

Has Andrews used his position to influence the Police investigation?

Whether directly or indirectly the language is consistent with the use of position to gain favour with both Police and Victoria Police. He is likely aware they will listen to this interview.

There is a call now (June 2023) for the Triple Zero Emergency call from Andrews to Police to be made public. If this happens it will provide us with a valuable sample for analysis. Emergency calls are an excellent source of information usually free from contamination. They have helped solve many cases in the past. Emergency call operators job is to gain information free from outside concerns such as keeping their interview subjects happy, entertaining the public or ratings figures. All things that radio hosts have as concerns.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you can read more analysis on Dan Andrews’ behaviour and statements:

Body Language Analysis: Dan Andrews' Alleged Fall

Statement Analysis: Dan Andrews' Alleged Fall

STATEMENT ANALYSIS SERVICE

As well as writing for my blog, Colin Ector analyses statements as a paid service. If you have a written or verbal statement that you’d like Colin to take a look at, please get in touch for details.

[sophie-zadeh]

Facial Expressions of Violence and Aggression

Emotions

Emotions are involuntary, immediate and transient information-processing systems. They work below the surface of consciousness, triggering brain and bodily functions that drive behaviour, motivation, decisions and actions.

Emotions create facial expressions, which provide moment-by-moment glimpses into the emotional state of others. Like emotions, expressions are immediate and transient, lasting only seconds. Emotions can continue if the trigger continues to trigger. Moods last longer–seconds, minutes, hours, days and sometimes years, for example, depression. 

Typically, emotions last between a fraction of a second and six seconds. This can depend on the emotion; for example, surprise is typically the shortest in duration, lasting only until the source of the surprise is realised. Surprise then switches to another emotion, depending on the surprise's source. If something suddenly floats down in front of your face, surprise would occur instantly (unless it was expected). Then, if it was a giant hairy spider, your emotion may turn to fear. If, on the other hand, it was a $100 note, your emotion may turn to happiness. 

Observing emotional expression in others influences your emotions and actions. Facial expressions provide opportunities to predict behaviour.

In this article, we'll examine the emotions contributing to aggression and violence and how recognising their corresponding expressions can predict violent events and imminent danger. We’ll look at the research on emotion recognition in violent offenders and how brain differences may contribute to emotion recognition deficits, perpetuating violence.

Dangerous Emotions

Triggered by violations of ethics and morality, anger, disgust and contempt contribute to feelings of hatred.

Anger

Triggered by injustice and goal obstruction, anger shares the same neural pathways as offensive aggression and can motivate a violent response.

Fear

Fear can become dangerous when freeze and flight options are limited, switching to anger when the fight response is activated.

Disgust

Disgust relates to aversion–eliminating or repulsing something toxic. Moral disgust has a social basis, elicited by moral violations.

Contempt

Disgust and contempt are separable but overlap. Contempt relates to perceptions of status and moral superiority, devaluating and diminishing others.

Facial Expressions Predict Violent Events

Matsumoto and colleagues first established a link between the emotional expressions of leaders and ensuing political aggression in 2013. Subsequent research found that group violence followed speeches where the speaker displayed more facial expressions of anger, disgust and contempt (described as the emotion triad of hate). Further investigation of speeches by leaders of extreme political groups found elevated expressions of anger, disgust and contempt in speeches that were followed by violent events three months later. Before non-violent events, Matsumoto found only anger was elevated. It seems that the emotion triad of anger, disgust and contempt combine to create a potent mix that can lead to violence and aggression.

We don't yet know the workings surrounding this phenomenon, but one possibility is that group members who experience anger, disgust and contempt seek their leader's emotional congruity. Perhaps recognising their leader shares their emotions is perceived as approval for action. Another possibility is that leaders inadvertently prime behaviour by transmitting dangerous emotions. On investigation, Matsumoto's preliminary studies show that the priming of anger, disgust and contempt creates hostile thoughts, language and behaviours. 

When leaders express their emotions of anger, disgust and contempt, and group violence follows, could they be deemed guilty of incitement? Under Australian law, an individual who urges the commission of an offence is guilty of incitement. However, it must be intended. Establishing whether emotions are expressed purposefully, with intent to incite violence, would be difficult. 

Facial Expressions Predict Imminent Aggression and Violence

Moving away from group violence, individuals experience aggression and violence at a one-to-one level, with statistics estimating that 41 percent of Australians have experienced violence since age 15. One in four women and one in eight men experience domestic violence, which affects not only individuals but their families and society, resulting in homicide, suicide, injury, trauma and homelessness. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Violence, more than one in three recorded murders in 2022 related to domestic violence. 

Anger Facial Expression Variants

In 2014, Matsumoto and Hwang studied expressions relating to loss of control and premeditated aggression. They found that variants of the anger expression were displayed before imminent assault. One variant, the loss of control face, shows at a higher intensity, with a slight lowering of the brows and strong raising of the upper eyelids and lip tightening. 

Another anger variant, the premeditated assault face, is low intensity, with a slight lowering of the brows, raised upper eyelids and lip tightening. A variation of premeditated assault face included tightened lip corners and raised lower lip—significant because the facial movement occurs during controlled anger. 

Disgust Facial Expression Variants

Could specific variants of the disgust expression also predict violence? 

Nose wrinkling is associated with core disgust, a basic innate level of disgust which aids our survival by helping us avoid potentially toxic substances or objects that enter the mouth. The nose wrinkling drags the upper lip upwards and the brow downwards.

A variant of the disgust expression is the upper lip raise–an independent raising of the lip by musculature surrounding the mouth, as opposed to the lip being dragged upwards by nose wrinkling. This variant is associated with moral disgust and, therefore, is more likely to occur before violence. 

Evidence that specific expressions predict aggression significantly impacts crime control and criminal justice. However, we don’t know whether individuals display these expressions without engaging in violence and whether individuals engage in violence without displaying these expressions.

The ability to recognise imminent aggression may be helpful for law enforcement officers, enabling protective interventions. It may also be useful for individuals who have a higher likelihood of experiencing violence.

Domestic Violence and Facial Expression

Recognising Impending Aggression

Individuals who have experienced aggression may better recognise anger. It is indeed stated that ‘truth wizards’, who are exceptionally good at detecting lies, grew up in homes where recognising emotion was a survival strategy to avoid abuse. In that context, it makes sense. 

Workers who experience large amounts of aggression in their work, for example, law enforcement and hospital staff, may also have a greater ability to recognise anger. However, this has no bearing on whether they are good at detecting lies; most evidence finds that law enforcement officers are no better at detecting lies than anybody else. This is likely due to a lie bias, the tendency to believe people are lying, which is higher amongst law enforcement officers. Conversely, the general population has a truth bias. 

Research surrounding the impact of abuse on emotion recognition in adults is lacking. However, several studies have found that physically abused or maltreated children have increased sensitivity to expressions of anger. Adults reporting childhood maltreatment have been found to have increased sensitivity to lower-intensity expressions of anger. 

Developing sensitivity to angry expressions from aggression exposure could protect individuals via rapid threat identification, potentially enabling abuse prevention. Sounds easy. 

Strategies for domestic violence intervention cannot be understated. However, despite advantages in anger recognition developed from exposure or training, victims may still be unable to prevent imminent violence. Domestic abuse of women is more prevalent than men, and women and children typically bear strength disadvantages. Potential victims may not have the time or ability to evade or pacify the potential abuser. 

Victims often cannot escape abusive relationships due to the potential for escalated violence, stigma, isolation, nowhere to go, economic inequality and lack of services and police help. Victims from different cultures face additional obstacles, including language barriers, institutional discrimination, residency status and entrenched gender norms.

Entrenched Attitudes to Domestic Violence

Societal attitudes and perceptions perpetuate negative public response to domestic violence, and cognitive entrenchment and confirmation bias can fuel cultural issues within law enforcement communities. Perpetrators' denials are believed, and victims are perceived as the problem. 

The Queensland government's inquiry into law enforcement responses to domestic violence found a failure of leadership, with evidence of significant sexism, misogyny and racism, providing shocking examples of attitudes towards domestic violence victims. These included: 

“rape is just surprise sex” and “she’s just a filthy grub trying to get back at him… waste of our time”.

The report also highlighted the impact on victim-survivors:

“…I’m 4’11 and 48 kilos my partner is 6’3 and 95 kilos. There is no way I could hurt him and he threw me around. They took me away and put me in custody.”

“They could have taken me seriously, maybe then I would not have been electrocuted and raped by my ex and dumped by the side of the road…”

Dysfunctional law enforcement cultures, such as the one described, may not benefit from facial expression training where systemic issues exist. However, judicious cultures might.

Further research on facial expressions might determine whether specific emotions occur in victims or perpetrators after an event, for example, fear, anger, sadness and shame. Observing such expressions could guide police response decisions. But should we wait until an act of violence is imminent or has occurred? Emotion recognition training could prove helpful as an early intervention tool.

Altered Perceptions of Emotion/Expression Recognition

Neural Processing Differences

Neural processing of angry expressions is connected to social adjustment and regulation of aggressive impulses. Studies of violent offenders consistently demonstrate abnormalities in frontal lobe structure, potentially affecting expression recognition. Evidence of differences in emotion recognition has also been found in abused or maltreated children due to developmental differences. 

Facial Recognition Deficits in Offenders

Several studies have found facial recognition deficits in offenders.

Sedgwick and colleagues(2017) found facial recognition deficits in violent individuals with antisocial personality disorder and schizophrenia. 

Hoaken and colleagues (2007) found lower accuracy in facial recognition in violent offenders. 

Nyline and colleagues (2018) found offenders less accurate in identifying fear and sadness and decoding emotions on female faces.

These findings suggest that flaws in neural processing are potentially connected to brain structure. With the current understanding of neural plasticity, emotional intelligence and emotion recognition training may prove helpful for intervention or rehabilitation. However, emotion recognition training may only be helpful in specific types of abusers, as differences in emotion decoding ability have been found in abuser subtypes.

Interested in intimate partner violence (male abusers), Babcock and colleagues (2008) found:

Emotion/expression decoding deficits appeared in generally violent or antisocial abusers. 

Borderline or dysphoric abusers were particularly accurate in decoding expression.

Family-only abusers made no more errors than nonviolent men.

Anger Bias

Social information processing theory suggests aggressive individuals may hold an anger bias (an assumption of anger) when interpreting behaviour. Research supports the theory:

Several researchers found that individuals with higher levels of aggression were more likely to misattribute expressions as angry. 

Kirsh and colleagues (2006) found that participants consuming high levels of violent media responded faster to depictions of anger and slower to happiness. 

Mellentin and colleagues (2015) found that anger-prone and aggressive individuals are biased towards perceiving anger and hostility. This increases the likelihood of reactive aggressive behaviour to discourage potential aggression.

Sensitivity to Anger Expression

Alternatively, offenders may be more sensitive to expressions of anger, accurately perceiving subtle anger instead of misperceiving it. Wilkowski and Robinson (2012) separated anger recognition accuracy from anger bias by focusing on the intensity of angry expressions. They found that aggressive individuals are perceptually sensitive to anger, concluding that what may appear to be a bias is a refined skill. 

Evidence that abused or maltreated children display anger sensitivity could explain why violent offenders are biased towards angry faces. As mentioned earlier, individuals who have experienced aggression may better recognise anger. If the aggression is present early in a child’s life, they may develop sensitivity to angry expressions.

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence

Studies of abused children and violent adult offenders support intergenerational transmission of violence theory. Whereby violent adults exposed to childhood violence negatively influence another child's development via abuse. Abuse is commonly known as a risk factor for further domestic violence and mental illness.

Early intervention during childhood, focusing on emotional development and emotion recognition, offers an opportunity to break cycles of intergenerational violence.

Seinfeld and colleagues (2018) found that immersive virtual reality could be helpful. They found male domestic violence offenders were less able to recognise fear in female faces, instead classifying them as happy. The researchers used a virtual female to substitute the male offender's body in a virtual reality environment. A virtual male approached, exhibiting abusive behaviour and progressively encroaching on the offender's personal space. Following the virtual reality experience, offenders' recognition and classification of female fear faces improved.

While this process is unsuitable for children, immersive virtual reality and gaming technologies may provide a helpful intervention in engaging children in emotional development activities.

Wrapping Up

Facial expressions provide us with a glimpse into the transient emotional state of another. These glimpses offer the opportunity to predict behaviour, in turn influencing our own emotions and behavioural responses. Research findings surrounding the facial expressions of violence and aggression and emotional processing differences are interesting and provide the potential to control acts of violence and break cycles of intergenerational violence.

For further reading of the science mentioned in this article, click here to download a bibliography.

[sophie-zadeh]

Video Shorts: Four tips for public speaking

With the help of students from one of my public speaking courses for kids, here are four tips to help you become a more engaging and charismatic speaker. We talk about hand gestures, the voice and eye contact.

A big thank you to my students for your part in this video presentation 💕

Approximate Transcript

My name’s Sophie Zadeh, and here are four tips to help you become a more engaging and charismatic speaker, presented by students from my after-school public speaking course.

Tip one, hand gestures. Hand gestures help communicate the meaning of your message. When you use hand gestures alongside speech, your audience’s engagement is piqued, with something to see and to hear. 

Because you’re communicating on two levels they see and hear your message. Multiple brain regions are activated, instilling a clearer understanding.  Some words can be described with hand gestures, for example, something growing, coming together, far away, tall, round or tiny. 

Between these words, hands should flow naturally alongside speech; these movements are called beats and help communicate where you are in the conversation—for example, when you pause in speech, your hands also pause.  Hand gestures should be natural, but to use them naturally, you can start by deliberately practising them in a safe space.

Tip two, speak clearly and loud enough to be heard. But not too loud!

Because that may come across as aggressive, and scaring your audience is a definite no-no. 

If your voice isn’t clear or loud enough, it becomes too hard for your audience to maintain attention; they lose interest and give up trying to listen—your message, no matter how important or brilliant, is lost.

Tip three, speak with confidence. Your voice changes when you’re feeling shy, uncertain or lacking confidence. Typically the volume reduces, and you’re more likely to mumble because you don’t want to be heard.

Speak confidently by being aware of your voice and practise to become more familiar with your talk. When you know your talk inside-out, you gain more confidence in your ability. If there’s still something in your talk you’re uncertain about, remove it or change it so you can confidently say it.

Even if you feel scared or uncertain, you can conceal it by modifying your voice; become aware of it and speak loud and clear. Why is this important? When you sound confident, people are more likely to buy into your words, so you’ll have a higher level of influence.

And finally, Tip number four, eye contact. Eye contact is essential because it helps you connect with your audience via a powerful hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin is released when we make eye contact, making us feel good.  What's more, your audience will feel like you are talking directly to them, as though it's a conversation between you and them. The problem is, if you are shy, self-conscious or haven't practised enough and are trying to recall your speech, you're likely to look away from the audience. This is okay and normal in small amounts; however, if you look away a lot, you'll lose the connection, and your audience will become less engaged. 

I hope we inspired you to try these tips; if you need more help, please get in touch or leave a comment. Thank you. 

[sophie-zadeh]

Six Tips for Video Conferencing

I'm grateful for an increased openness for individuals and organisations to communicate more via video conferencing technology since the COVID-19 pandemic.

For me, it opened up opportunities to work with organisations globally, from the comfort of my home and without leaving a carbon footprint from travel—both of which are important to me. For others, it opened opportunities to relocate and work from home or abroad, meet family and friends from a distance, use healthcare and coaching services from around the globe, and interview from a distance. Brilliant! On the downside, it can be incredibly draining.

Meeting one-to-one isn't too bad, but something more complicated, such as delivering a presentation or interviewing online, requires much cognitive energy—if you want to do it well. During in-person presentations and training, you need to present well verbally and nonverbally and interpret your audience and adapt accordingly—easy (with practise😉)! With online training, you do all that, switching between learning resources like slides and videos, navigating questions in chat and ensuring videos are visible, audible, and not pixelated.

Moreover, scanning your audience is only an option sometimes, depending on your platform and setup. It's also difficult to make eye contact due to the camera location. Team that with Australia's poor internet capability, and voila, you might have a recipe for disaster. This is multitasking on many levels, and research has found we can't multitask. You can't be present in all of these areas at once–moving your attention around to navigate online conferencing demands more cognitive effort. It can be difficult and exhausting, but awareness and preparedness are essential.

Here, I'll share some video conferencing tips and more general behaviour-related tips that should help you navigate your call and deliver your message more effectively.

Video Conferencing Tips

Making a Good Impression

How you show up is essential in creating a good impression, so be prepared and take some time to compose yourself. Pay attention to your appearance too–are you sufficiently groomed and appropriately dressed? Take a few minutes of slow breathing beforehand to feel calm, collected, and prepared to be present. Check in advance how you’ll appear on camera and position it appropriately. Ensure your mic and headphones are working, and turn your camera on. Be present during the meeting, actively listening and responding. Most of these rules apply to in-person meetings too.

Framing the Camera

The camera should be head height, facing forward. Status perceptions can change if your camera looks down on you or up at you because that’s how clients and colleagues view you. Tilting your screen and raising or lowering your device to find the right view can make an incredible difference to how you appear and instantly create a better impression. Allow your clients/colleagues to see enough of you to elicit trust and connection. That means being close enough to be a significant part of the view, yet not so close that you’re a floating face, and not too far in the distance that the room becomes the focus. Ideally, your head should be at camera height, with your torso and arms visible. 

Avoid Distractions

Turn off distractions (including incoming emails and reminders) to be present and respectful. Phone and computer notifications can distract others too, interrupting their thought and speech. If you’re expecting an important call, consider its importance within context. If it can wait, silence your phone. If it can’t wait, explain in advance. 

Avoid Negative Behaviours

Stress and blocking behaviours are common behaviours that can create negative perceptions. The most common blocking behaviour is arm crossing which occurs as we experience slight discomfort. It feels comfortable for the user; however, it’s perceived as less open and welcoming. Because how we use body language influences our feelings, the user may feel less open to ideas. All of this occurs below the surface of consciousness. 

Common stress behaviours such as face and neck touching, fidgeting and repetitive movements like swinging in a chair or swaying on your feet show nervousness or irritability and are associated with low credibility. Due to contagious emotions, they can affect the feelings of others, leaving them with a less positive experience as they interact with you. 

Subconsciously, these behaviours bring comfort, helping to pacify uncomfortable feelings. While there’s nothing wrong with them per se, they can be distracting for others and create negative perceptions. With awareness—most people don’t realise they indulge in them—these behaviours can be managed over time to the point where they disappear. They can be managed within the moment too. In most professional situations, it’s essential to conceal stress and nervousness because it affects perceptions of credibility. If you don’t appear confident in what you’re saying, why should anyone buy into you? 

Avoid Slides

Many people presenting online put up their slides and disappear, or float in a smaller window, leaving their slides to present for them as they lose their audience in an accentuated case of death by PowerPoint. The presenter is the presenter, and slides are a tool, so be front and centre. It can be a similar scenario during an in-person presentation where slides are overused; however, the presenter has more of a presence in person.

Slides should always be kept to a minimum and virtually wordless, more so online. Their purpose is to support the presenter's words to aid understanding of concepts, just like an 'illustrator', for example, a hand gesture which describes a concept alongside words. The presenter is critical for engagement and understanding, so they should be the session's focus.

My solution is to only show a handful of slides throughout the presentation, dipping in and out when needed so that you remain the presenter and maintain engagement. Keeping a full deck of slides open on your screen (for only you to see) can be beneficial for keeping you on track. This all adds to cognitive demand; however, it makes your presentation more effective and engaging.

Display Positive Behaviours

Smile

Smiling is a friend signal. It puts people at ease via a physiological response, facilitating harmony and connection. It’s polite and always important as a greeting, helping create a good impression and positive emotion (for the user and audience). Once greetings are complete, let your facial expression do its own thing—if you’re being honest, your expression will follow your emotions, responding to what you hear and say with authenticity. Depending on the context, smiling when it’s your turn to speak might be appropriate. Learn more about the smile here.

Vocal Power

Speak clearly and loud enough to be heard easily, without shouting. Avoid problematic speech, such as mumbling, having a monotone voice, or speaking too fast or quietly. Learn more about vocal power here.

Good Posture

Maintain an open and upright posture to display warmth, openness and approachability and to elicit feelings of trust from your audience. If you’re presenting, I recommend standing. This should keep you more alert and will help you to avoid slouching.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is problematic during online conferencing due to camera location; however, speaking to the camera instead of the screen at strategic points will help maintain the perception of eye contact, for example, at the start of the conference call/presentation.

Hand Gestures

Use hand gestures to increase engagement and understanding. Hand gestures add meaning to speech, visually describing specific words or following the flow, helping people understand where you’re up to during communication. For example, hand gestures typically stop as a sentence ends. Learn more about hand gestures here.

Make sure you schedule some downtime after the conference call. Slow breathe before and after the meeting to ensure you’re calm enough to handle the pressure and can restore emotion and cognition afterwards. Good luck.

[sophie-zadeh]

Voice Memos and Meaningful Communication

I turn down most media requests these days as I rarely have time and most requests are last minute—or ultra cheesy! I care less about dishing the dirt on someone and more about people learning; most requests ask me to dish the dirt. This week, however, I was happy and able to again work with Shona Hendley from Body + Soul magazine on the topic of voice memos.

As you can tell by the title, Why I think voice memos need to become extinct, Shona isn’t a fan. What do you think of them? Comment below.

I don’t mind them—within reason. Some are so long that I need to set aside time to sit down and take notes, so my response is often delayed (sorry Auntie). It’s sometimes easier to call back instead of responding. In other cases, they are great for people with vision impairment, making life easier for them—my dad included. They are, of course, great for conveying emotion.

Shona asked for my comments on a few questions, which you can read below. You can find out why Shona thinks voice memos should become extinct in the Body + Soul article here…

Why I think voice memos need to become extinct

Why do you think the voice memo is gaining popularity as a mode of communication, especially for Gen Z and millennials?

For many, it comes down to convenience. We’re living in a world where there’s so much going on that convenience matters. Voice memos can help the user communicate a message more efficiently–messaging becomes faster without needing to stop and type. However, it isn’t always the most effective means to deliver a message; if misused, the message, or parts of it, can be missed.

What positives are there to voice memos?

There are many benefits to using voice memos, depending on the individual and context. As well as making sending a message quicker and easier for the user, they are helpful for people with poor vision and when practising a spoken language, for example, when communicating with friends and family in another country.

One of the most significant advantages is the added layer of communication; hearing the tone of the message reveals more information to the listener, adding emotion. Pitch, speed, intonation, volume and inflexion help the receiver understand the message's meaning, so messages are more likely to be interpreted correctly. Text messages can be misinterpreted because the vocal delivery component is absent. For this reason, a voice memo may be the best way to deliver a message in situations where emotion is essential, for example, during an apology where conveying sincerity is important. How we deliver our words vocally can escalate or diffuse the discussion.

From another perspective, spoken words are less edited than text messages. With more room for error, they can be more honest, revealing true feelings. Hearing emotions and verbal slips may benefit the receiver in discerning honesty. And text messages can be more beneficial to the sender when getting the correct wording is essential. We often read over a text message and edit it before sending it; with voice memos, there isn't usually that opportunity.

What negatives are there about choosing voice memos to communicate over a call, text, or other communication types?

Longer voice memos can be a problem, especially when many messages are lumped into one. It’s a bit like someone talking at you incessantly without you being able to interject or clarify the meaning. Unlike a call, it’s one-way communication. Unless the receiver takes notes, parts of the message are likely to be missed, and information is less likely to be remembered. A text or a call for longer messages may be more effective communication. Although it all comes down to context, a longer voice memo may be preferable for someone who doesn’t feel heard—an opportunity to say what they need without interruption.

In some circumstances, listening to a voice memo might not be appropriate and responding may be delayed. For example, if you’re somewhere without earphones and don’t want to broadcast the message to others. It can also be easier to re-read text messages over re-listening to voice memos in situations where you need more time to absorb a message.

What makes communication meaningful? Are there certain elements it should have to be considered meaningful? What are they?

What makes meaningful communication depends on the individuals, context and goal of the conversation. In some situations, it might mean gaining a deeper understanding of someone or something; in others, it might mean reaching a common goal or coming out of a conversation feeling positive. In some circumstances, there might be a pre-determined purpose to the conversation; in other cases, a more general conversation may lead to an unexpectedly meaningful conversation. For example, the conversation may become more profound when you meet someone for the first time and realise you have commonalities.

Surprisingly, most communication between close people is not meaningful; instead, it is primarily functional.

Meaningful communication can only take place when two (or more) people are open to the conversation, which isn’t always the case, so trust and feelings of comfort are critical elements. Meaningful communication requires active listening, openness to ideas or a common goal, and honesty about feelings.

Meaningful communication is often better in face-to-face contexts where more communication channels are present, such as body language, vocal delivery and verbal communication. This provides a broader view and, therefore, a better understanding of thoughts, feelings and emotions. Therefore, when someone says something that appears to conflict with their true feelings, as perceived in nonverbal behaviours, the listener can circle back and tease out a more honest response.

If you enjoyed this article, you can read my contributions to other Body + Soul articles here:

BODY LANGUAGE CONVERSATION KILLERS

WHAT DOES YOUR POSTURE SAY ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY?

[sophie-zadeh]

Facial Expression and Art: How to create an expression using clay

In this article, I combine two areas—art and nonverbal communication. If you aren’t interested in art, you can still learn about facial expressions in the first part of the article and skip the challenges. Watch the video introducing emotion and facial expression, then read on and see the diagrams to learn about facial expressions. For creatives and those who are game for a creative challenge, Part Two is a tutorial on creating an emotional expression using clay.

Step 1

Facial Expressions of Emotion

Watch the video for an introduction and explanation of facial expressions.

Our understanding of facial expression comes from scientists studying the face and emotion through muscles and action units.

Step 2

SEVEN UNIVERSAL EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTION

When an emotion is expressed, specific muscles are activated to create a movement. We call these Action Units (AUs). Some movements/action units involve only one muscle; others involve two or more.

Most people don’t have to know which muscles are activated or the action unit numbers. What is important is what the expression looks like and what general movements take place on the face.

Look at the diagrams of the seven facial expressions.

You don’t need to learn all of these, but you might find it helpful to learn what happens in one or two expressions–happiness and sadness are excellent places to start.

Step 3

EMOJi

Emojis are used to add feelings to written text. They add another layer of communication when we’re not present to show the expression on our faces.

Emojis are designed to represent expressions accurately; however, for them to be recognised and read quickly and easily, they need to be very simple, with minimal features like eyes and a mouth. Emoji designers learn about facial expressions and muscle movements/action units to capture emotional expression.

Match the emoji expressions to the emotion

Happiness

Sadness

Anger

Surprise

Fear

Disgust

Contempt

😔😮😏😠😁😧

One emotion isn’t shown as an emoji–which one is it?…

The missing emoji was disgust. I left disgust out because emojis usually don’t have a nose, and disgust is seen mainly in the nose. Designers tend to depict disgust with the emoji vomiting because when we feel disgusted, we often feel nauseous. 🤮

CONTEMPT

You probably already understand most of the emotions mentioned and how they feel.

Many people are less familiar with the emotion of contempt, which is a dislike of someone or something. It's sometimes described as hatred or superiority–where we think we are better than others. Sometimes we express contempt towards ourselves when we mess something up.

Step 4

Draw Your Emoji

Drawing (and writing) help cement learning, so your challenge is to design an emoji that expresses each of the seven emotions.

The descriptions in the diagram below will help you design an accurate representation of the expressions.

Design a simple emoji for:

Happiness

Sadness

Anger

Surprise

Fear

Disgust

Contempt

Part Two: Creating an Emotional Expressive Face

This section is more of a tutorial for people who want to sculpt a facial expression with clay. I’ll share the basic techniques I use when sculpting expressive faces out of clay.

YOU WILL NEED…

Clay

Plastic bag/sheet–to protect the table and prevent clay from sticking, use fabric if you don’t have plastic.

Newspaper

Bamboo Skewer–my most used clay tool; use a pencil if you don’t have one.

Chopstick or a pencil–to use as a clay tool

Rolling Pin

Spray bottle with water

Piece of wire or strong string/thread–to cut the clay

Optional–additional clay tools (see images below)

Mirror

Get creative with waste; many household items can be reused as equipment.

TIP

Don't try to create your own face or the face of somebody specific. The purpose of this session is to capture an emotional expression and learn more about what emotion looks like. If you also try to capture a likeness to somebody specific, it adds a new challenge, making the project harder and taking away from what we're trying to learn.

Let your creation guide the face's final look, whether it's male, female or otherwise.

When I make clay faces, it's as though I'm creating a character. By the time it's finished, I feel like I know the person behind the face and understand how they feel.

Step 1

Decide which emotional expression you’d like to capture.

Step 2

SEARCH FOR IMAGES

It’s helpful to look at images of different people expressing the emotion you are trying to capture as you create your sculpture. But make sure that these are accurate representations of the expression. For example, if you’re creating happiness, make sure the people in the images are smiling with their eyes.

When searching the internet for images, type: ‘universal expression of (insert emotion)’.

• Have images to hand as you work on your sculpture.

• It’s also helpful to have a mirror to express facial movements on your face. Then study and sculpt the wrinkles and bulges which occur as a result of expressing the emotion. For example, wrinkles on the forehead look different depending on the emotion you express.

Step 4

Cut the Clay

Step 5

Roll the clay

• Use a rolling pin to roll out the clay slab. Aim for an even thickness of around 8 - 10 mm.

• Don’t worry about the shape for now, but make sure the height is more than the width. Excess clay is useful later and can be tucked under to form the shape of the face or trimmed if not needed.

• If you need to, you can add more clay at the edges later.

Facial Proportion

Art has many generalised rules about proportion (size and spacing) in the human face. However, none have proved correct in everyone–nor in many people.

Researchers measuring human faces have found that the 'Facial X' and the 'Facial Triangle' are the two principles that come closest to being a rule.

You can use these as a general guide to the spacing of facial features as you create your clay face.

Facial X

Two lines run from the eyes' outer corners to the mouth's outer corners, crossing at the base of the nose.

Facial Triangle

The corners of an equilateral triangle touch the eyes' outer corners and the lower lip's centre.

Step 6

Start your Clay Face

I don’t have a video of this; however, I have a video tutorial using the same technique with a clay gargoyle.

The key to creating a face is to keep moving from one area to another, working on different features for a short time and then revisiting them repeatedly instead of working on one feature until it’s perfect. When you do this, the face forms as a whole and any mistakes with proportion can easily be fixed.

Your sculpted face might take longer to look good, but you end up with a better result. Don’t be disheartened if your clay face doesn’t look good until closer to the end of the project; this is normal.

This Video shows the making of a gargoyle, following the same steps.

Watch the time-lapse videos below, showing how I create expression.

Notice the following in the first video:

My phone was visible (bottom left) as I made my sculpture. I’d searched online and saved many images of people smiling beforehand (with clean hands). I used different images at different times to help me create the face. When I was working on the mouth, I used an image which displayed a happy smiling mouth; when I worked on the eye area, I used a different image. Remember, this exercise aims to learn more about facial expressions through sculpting.

There’s no need for expensive sculpting tools. My fingers are my most used tools. I also use a wooden chopstick, a bamboo skewer/cocktail stick, and a clay modelling tool.

I move from area to area, working bit by bit instead of perfecting a single area simultaneously.

Start your Clay Face

○ Mark out the features.

○ Place newspaper behind the clay slab to form raised areas like the cheeks, forehead and chin.

○ Begin to build facial features like the eyes, nose, mouth and eyebrows.

○ Work on all the features until you’re happy with how they look, then smooth the clay where the face should be smoother and add wrinkles where needed.

Other Helpful Videos

We’re back to the gargoyle videos here, but it’s the same techniques to smooth and shape the face.

Smoothing the Clay

Shaping the Face

Finishing your Work

It's okay to finish off your masterpiece later.

To keep the clay soft and workable, wrap it in a plastic bag, ensuring it's sealed or tucked under so that moisture doesn't escape. Your clay sculpture should remain workable for a few days. To extend this time, open the bag every few days and spray the clay with water.

If it dries out too much, the clay will become unusable.

In-Person Workshops and School Incursions

School Incursions in Perth, WA

I run workshops like this in person, in schools and with adults. If you’re a teacher in Perth, WA and would like a workshop in school, check out the details here.

Adults in Perth, WA

If you’re an adult in Perth, WA, if I have any of these upcoming workshops, they will be listed here. Check back in the future if none are listed.

[sophie-zadeh]

The Blink Flurry: Deception, emotion and cognition

In The expression of the emotions in man and animals, Darwin described women “incessantly blinking… with extraordinary rapidity”. He described the blink flurry, a rapid succession of three or more blinks occurring within a three-second window.

This intriguing eye behaviour has been described under several names; it’s been called an eyelid flutter, blink burst, flicker, flickering, volleys of aftereffects, aftereffect burst, a rebound in blink rate, blinking compensation or compensatory effect.

I usually refer to this behaviour as an eyelid flutter, the same name that body language expert Joe Navarro uses; however, in this article, I’ll refer to it as the blink flurry since the bulk of scientific research refers to it as that.

Despite Darwin’s early observations, research surrounding the blink flurry is relatively sparse but spans almost a century. It's usually studied alongside blink rate frequency. It has been mentioned in research on deception detection, lexical access difficulties (difficulties searching for the right word when speaking), fatigue, cognitive processing and attention. Let’s take a look at some of the research.

Research Findings: The blink flurry/eyelid flutter

The Blink Flurry/Eyelid Flutter and Blink Inhibition

The blink flurry is usually observed after a period of blink inhibition. For example, when trying to maintain visual attention on a target, so we don’t miss something. However, this isn't always the case—it can occur without blink inhibition. Interestingly, blinking has been found to switch off attention and processing for the duration of the blink. This makes sense because when we are aroused or engaged, we blink less, holding off the interruption of a blink—this usually occurs below our level of consciousness.

Some researchers claim the blink flurry is a compensatory effect occurring after the period of blink inhibition, suggesting an effort to catch up on one’s blinking following the release from a cognitive processing task, almost like a recovery function from not blinking. However, further research has found that this may not be the case.

The Blink Flurry/Eyelid Flutter and High Cognitive Load

Most of the research discovered that the blink flurry often occurs after cognitive loading (complex thinking) or information processing. Again, if we think about blinking, this makes sense, as a high blink rate is associated with high cognitive load (as well as stress).

Several researchers concluded that the blink flurry occurs at mental transition points, such as completing a task. Blinking often occurs at transition points too. So the flurry could reflect a period of reduced alertness or attention or a release of resources in cognition.

Interestingly, researchers also discovered that females exhibited significantly more flurries than males and had a higher number of blinks in a flurry.

The Blink Flurry/Eyelid Flutter and Deception

What is most interesting, especially to you, my regular readers, is its link to deception. Are you blinking less now because your engagement is piqued? Many studies have found that during deception, blinking is inhibited, and a couple of studies have found that a blink flurry follows blink inhibition during deception. You read that right—blinking is typically inhibited during deception. One of the big myths surrounding deception is that we make less eye contact when we lie. Science tells us otherwise.

One reason proposed for blink inhibition during deception is that because of the widespread myth of making less eye contact, we compensate by making more (and not blinking) to appear honest. Another reason is that we are more aroused (and by that, I don’t mean sexually aroused) because we have to make the lie look like the truth. Furthermore, we need to determine whether the other person believes us so our attention increases.

Before you get too excited, we can’t observe blink inhibition followed by a blink flurry and declare deception because these behaviours are not always present during deception. Additionally, they can be present when there is no deception. So like other nonverbal behaviours, although there can be a link to deception, it’s complicated.

Anecdotal Evidence: The blink flurry/eyelid flutter and negative emotion

I’ve mentioned blinking while talking about the flurry because the flurry consists of a rapid succession of blinks, so there’s a connection. It could be a type of blink or perhaps an independent behaviour.

There is a huge amount of research on blinking, and a large portion of it connects blinking to emotion and communication. However, I haven’t found one piece of research connecting the flurry to emotion or communication. Yet observing the blink flurry as a behavioural response and during communication suggests it’s closely connected to negative emotion (as well as to high cognitive load).

The blink flurry seems to appear during periods of emotional loading, when people are struggling emotionally, for example, when talking about a traumatic experience. I’ve seen this often during conversations or while watching interviews and documentaries. It seems to reflect an inner turmoil stemming from emotion or cognition, a wtf moment.

Blink Flurry and Emotion Examples

The video below shows a conference host introducing keynote speaker Charlie Caruso. As the host explains Charlie’s preferred approach to Q&A, Charlie displays a blink flurry. In context, it isn’t easy to connect this flurry to emotion. However, Charlie had asked me to review her presentation, and fascinated by the flurry, I asked whether there was a point of contention surrounding the Q&A approach. Surprised that her behaviour had revealed her feelings, Charlie explained that while she encouraged questions throughout her presentation in six prior events, not one question had been asked. This made her off-the-cuff presentation difficult.

In a more personal example, after losing my mother to illness, my father displayed a blink flurry as he explained he could no longer sleep in their bed because he would look for her while sleeping.

In another example, during a press conference connected to missing person Karen Ristevski, Karen’s aunt, Patrice, was asked whether she knew of anyone who may have wanted to harm Karen. Patrice replied, “No, I don’t. There is absolutely nobody. And if that was the case…”. At this point, Boris Ristevski, standing behind Patrice, displayed a blink flurry. Boris was later convicted of the murder of his wife.

These are just a few examples that suggest a potential link between a blink flurry and emotional load or negative emotion. I have yet to observe it appearing alongside positive emotion.

Based on the theory that blinks occur at endpoints to disengage or reset, perhaps the blink flurry acts as an enhanced reset after an episode of high emotional (or cognitive) load. Maybe it indicates a release of resources in stimulus-related emotion.

The Blink Flurry/Eyelid Flutter In Summary

The scientific evidence is relatively sparse but suggests the blink flurry is connected to high cognitive load, information processing, and deception. Anecdotal evidence also suggests a link to negative emotional load.

The blink flurry is relatively common, so keep your eyes peeled, and I’m sure you’ll observe it within days. To simplify its meaning, consider where it stems from when you spot it. Is it emotion, or cognition-based? It could be someone concealing emotion if it’s hard to tell. 

When we spot nonverbal behaviours, understand their meaning and gain a better understanding of a person's feelings and emotions, it puts us at an advantage, allowing us to offer a better response. The magic isn't in the observation; instead, it's in our behaviour and how we respond to what we see. So if you spot the blink flurry and realise someone is struggling to deal with something emotionally, consider whether there's something you can do or say to help them out. 

Feel free to come back and share your observations in the comments below. And if you observe it while watching online videos, please share.

The video below digs deeper and provides references if you want to learn more about the research. If you’re not interested in the nitty gritty research, the video below will most likely bore you, although my passion for a seemingly insignificant behaviour might be entertaining. The outtakes video is amusing—me trying to be academic, yet unable to say ‘blink rate frequency’!

The Blink Flurry Research Video

The Outtakes

[sophie-zadeh]

Behaviour Analysis: Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Someone contacted me recently, curious about my thoughts on Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s behaviour. I hadn’t heard of him, but I did some research and discovered he’s the Fijian Attorney General, sometimes referred to as A to Z, because of his wide range of government portfolios.

Sayed-Khaiyum is said to be one of Fiji’s most powerful and influential men. However, interestingly, in 2020 he was interviewed by police over allegations he was involved in two bombing attacks on political rivals in 1987. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the police interview or his public response to it, but I found several unrelated points of interest across a couple of videos. 

I was interested in how Sayed-Khaiyum presented, given his level of political power. I wondered whether the amount of power had gone to his head and wanted to see whether hubristic traits were present in his behaviour. Hubris Syndrome is a disorder that can develop in people as they gain power. To learn more about it, click here for a scientific overview. Since I haven’t posted a behavioural analysis on my blog for a while, I thought I’d share some of my findings in a short video. 

Enjoy my video.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum: Video of behaviour analysis

In my video, I refer to two videos of Sayed-Khaiyum. I’ve added clips of the behaviours mentioned; however, if you want to see the source of the videos, click here for video 1 and here for video 2.

Our work is based on scientific theories relating to nonverbal behaviour and statement analysis, and remains the opinion of the author.

[sophie-zadeh]

Hand Gestures in Communication: Benefits for the audience and user

Should we be using hand gestures to communicate?

Yes, absolutely you should! There are several benefits to using hand gestures when you communicate for your audience as well as for yourself.

Absurdly, media training often teaches presenters to abstain from using hand gestures. Instead, they are trained to hold an odd, staged pose where hands are held together, forming a V-shape; fingers from one hand hold fingers from the other hand, sometimes concealing a clicker. Not only is this a blocking behaviour, creating a physical and, therefore, a psychological barrier between the speaker and the audience, but it also eliminates the second layer of communication that makes understanding easier for the audience. Furthermore, communication is more difficult for the speaker because, strangely, cognitive load lightens when using hand gestures—we’ll get to that soon.

Are hand gestures distracting?

Hand gestures can be distracting when used in the wrong way. If you use too many hand gestures, with fast movements taking up much space, then yes, that can be distracting. Using hand gestures like that can make you appear scatty and disorganised. The audience (one or more people) can end up watching your hands and not listening to your words, or worse still, think you are crazy.

When we experience intense emotion such as fear or anger, our movements and gestures can speed up and increase in size, creating a dramatic show of emotion. I experienced intense creeped-out fear when confined in the tiny walled garden of my terraced house back home in England. A creature that I can only describe as a queen bee, the size of my hand, entered my garden and buzzed around for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. In disbelief that a bug so giant existed in the UK, and in absolute horror that it may land on me, my feet froze, and my arms flailed manically beside my ducked head—or so the witnesses of my emotional display told me.

When hand gestures inadvertently emulate movements displayed during high emotion, you risk being misunderstood, and your message may end up with meaning added where it wasn’t intended. On the other hand, when spontaneous hand gestures follow in rhythm with speech (co-speech gestures), communication improves.

Benefits of Hand Gestures for the Audience

Hand Gestures are Engaging

When co-speech gestures are used, the audience is more engaged because there is something to see as well as to hear. When describing why behaviours are important, I find it helpful to describe behavioural extremes. At the extreme end of behaviours that disengage, we’d be looking at little or no movement in the body, an expressionless face and a monotone voice. Adding natural flowing hand gestures increase engagement levels, making you more interesting to listen to.

Faster Interpretation of the Message

Natural flowing hand gestures also help the audience interpret the message effectively and efficiently because more areas of the brain are activated at the same time—they hear the message and see the message as it is communicated on two levels. This means faster processing of the message internally.

Purposeful Hand Gestures

Purposeful hand gestures add meaning as they describe words. For example, imagine someone gesturing that something is growing, reducing, tall or short; I don’t need to describe how this may look as it’s easy to visualise. These gestures back up what is heard in speech, again speeding up interpretation. The message is further cemented and is, therefore, more likely to be remembered. The result; the audience gets it!

Hand gestures that aren’t purposeful, those that flow along with speech, are called beats. Beats help the audience know where you’re up to in the conversation. Blinking can serve a similar purpose. When hands stop, the conversation has stopped, often signalling it’s time for the next person to take their conversational turn.

These beat-like movements can also be helpful to indicate differences in information, for example, points. If you’re describing two different points, hands can gesture to the left for the first point and to the right for the second point, or vice versa, establishing a difference and helping the audience understand.

Benefits of Hand Gestures for the User

This is where it gets interesting. Researchers have discovered that speech and hand gestures are closely connected as they share the same neural pathways.

Hand Gestures help us Remember

Free recall is a means of measuring the vitality of attention and memory. In free recall, items of information (for example, list items, numbers or words) are presented, and the subject is asked to recall them. Studies investigating hand gestures and memory recall have found that speakers using hand gestures have better free recall than those who don’t use hand gestures. While there isn’t clear evidence on the mechanisms behind this, somehow, using hand gestures to talk frees up the cognitive load.

Hand Gestures make Talking Easier

Lexical retrieval, the process of getting from a concept in your head to spoken words, also improves when you talk with your hands. This could be related to the freeing up of cognitive load, allowing more cognitive space to think clearly. When your mind is clearer, you can process more effectively. That’s why stress and emotion cloud thinking and why meditation helps.

It could also be due to the close connection between hand gestures and verbal communication, the shared neural pathways. Perhaps hand gestures provide more oomph in those pathways, aiding lexical retrieval. Side note, I’m giggling about using words like ‘oomph’ while talking about academic research.

When children attempt to describe something with their hands that they can’t yet verbally explain, we know they are on the cusp of grasping the concept and soon will be able to explain it verbally. Furthermore, children who produce more hand gestures early on have larger expressive vocabularies later in development.

Hand Gestures Prevent Blocking Behaviours

If you’re talking with your hands, you’re avoiding blocking behaviours; your hands move as you talk instead of touching one another, maintaining an open stance. Open body language means there are no physical, and therefore psychological, barriers making you appear more open, approachable and trustworthy. In other words, people like you more.

Try Using Hand Gestures

If you don’t already use hand gestures to talk, you’re missing out on the benefits. There’s strong evidence that hand gestures are universal because chimps and Bonobos, our closest relatives, use them, meaning our last common ancestor used them. Human babies communicate with hand gestures too, preceding speech, and blind people use hand gestures, even when communicating to a blind audience.

So why don’t we all use hand gestures, and why do some people use them more than others? It’s important to realise there are cultural differences in how people use hand gestures, with some cultures using them more than others. We may unlearn hand gestures if we are raised in a culture or family that doesn’t use them, fitting in with social norms.

I’ve found in myself and with clients that making a deliberate effort to use hand gestures unlocks the ability to use them naturally. It doesn’t take long before your hands are flowing naturally alongside speech to the point where you don’t need to think about them. This is where I want you to be–try it.

LEARN • DEVELOP • SUCCEED

Want your team to communicate better?

Shoot me a line to learn about professional development training for your organisation, in-person (in Perth) or online.

Want to learn to communicate better?

Book a coaching session.

[sophie-zadeh]

How to Build and Display Confidence Through Body language and Voice

Earlier this year, I contributed to a Woman & Home article about positive body language and how it can boost your confidence—Can positive body language boost your confidence? Find out what the experts think. In a similar vein, in this article, I share the secrets to appearing confident through positive body language, eye contact and voice, and equally as important, how to use your body to feel more confident.

How to Display Confidence

How do we show confidence via body language?

Positive Body Language

Confident people exude positive body language—a relaxed upright and open posture and display less blocking behaviours, such as arms crossed over their chest, and fewer stress behaviours such as fidgeting, fiddling, and self-soothing. The problem is when we don’t feel confident and instead feel negative emotion, the body typically contracts, and blocking and stress behaviours are more likely to occur. To fake confidence, we need to emulate positive behaviours and avoid negative behaviours.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is important because it helps people connect due to oxytocin, the hormone of connection and bonding. Oxytocin is released when we make eye contact and through touch. It has an anti-anxiety effect putting people at ease and increasing positive perceptions.

People who are shy, introverted or lack confidence sometimes make less eye contact; this is perhaps connected to an increased need to look away when internally processing what they are about to say. Some people don’t carefully consider what they say and are happy with whatever comes out; others are more considerate. Less eye contact can also occur when talking about an awkward topic, which isn’t necessarily bad as it signals that awkwardness and may help others understand our feelings, allowing them to respond better.

Many people worry that they aren’t making enough eye contact due to misinformation about eye behaviours. The most significant body language myths are that eye direction, and less eye contact are indicators of deception. It’s simply not the case. It’s normal to look away—left, right, up or down—during a conversation, for many reasons, for example, emotion, recollection and minimising distractions. It’s not connected to deception, and studies have shown that contrary to popular belief, more eye contact is typically present when lying.

Become aware of your eye contact levels, but don’t assume that you don't make enough eye contact just because you look away at times, as most people are within the normal range. It you feel that you’re out of the normal range and people have hinted you make too little (or too much), then that’s when you should work on it. If you believe you make too little eye contact, there could be underlying reasons; for example, some people with autism find making eye contact difficult due to how they internally process faces. If there isn’t an underlying issue, it could stem from low confidence levels; therefore, consciously practising making more eye contact over time will help.

How do we show confidence via the voice?

Engage a Lower Vocal Pitch

Confidence is also perceived via the voice. Typically, when we feel nervous—and therefore less confident—tension in the body affects the vocal cords, and the voice comes out at a higher pitch. Higher pitched voices sound more like children's voices and are associated with nervousness. They are also associated with deception due to Arousal Theory, whereby lying generates stress and emotional loading, and Cognitive Theory, an increase in cognitive demands. These associations are unfortunate for women (in some contexts), who typically have higher-pitched voices than men. Suppose you’re in a professional situation and want to sound more confident. In that case, there’s a simple vocal trick that can easily switch your voice to a lower pitch that sounds warm and resonant—it works for both men and women and is commonly used by presenters and actors.

The trick is to engage a low hum that resonates from the chest; this can change the vocal pitch in the moment or over the long term. A minute or two of low humming can drop vocal pitch slightly and keep the vocal cords in check. This slight drop can be enough to combat the high-pitched, shaky voice when you feel nervous. Of course, this should be done privately when nobody is listening. Engaging a low hum daily, over time, can increase the natural vocal range at the lower end, which means you can engage lower vocal pitch with less effort.

People perceive us as more credible, serious, and dependable when using a lower pitch of our natural vocal range. Try engaging a lower voice pitch before interactions where you need to be taken seriously, for example, before an interview or instructing children. What’s more, displaying confidence through the body and voice, even if we’re faking it, can increase inner feelings of confidence, so we can fake it until we become confident.

Avoid Uptalk

Uptalk is also commonly referred to as upspeak, question inflexion, or rising tone and high-rise tone/terminal in the scientific community. It’s a credibility killer, occurring when the speaker ends a sentence with a higher pitch. Some questions naturally end in a higher pitch; however, a rising tone at the end of a declarative statement results in statements that sound like questions—as though you are questioning your own words. This uncertainty signal is a credibility killer because if you aren’t confident in the words you speak, then why should anyone buy into them?

Sometimes uptalk is used to imply uncertainty, and in that context, making obvious your uncertainty can be the right thing to do. In 2013, Linneman (researcher) found Jeopardy! contestants were more likely to use uptalk when giving incorrect answers, implying their uncertainty. The issue lies when you don’t want to give away feelings of uncertainty or a lack of confidence, but your voice leaks your feelings. In some cases, uptalk is habitual, occurring on most statements, where it can be perceived as a display of deference, cooperation or subordination. Conversely, falling tones are associated with assertiveness, confidence and speaker dominance.

Interestingly, there are gender differences in the use of uptalk in English intonation patterns, with women using more rising tone in declarative statements than men. Additionally, several researchers found higher use of uptalk in younger people.

The best way to combat uptalk is awareness. Start to hear it when you’re listening to people speaking, which will make you more aware of if and when you use it. If you find yourself using it, try to figure out where it’s coming from. Is it a deliberate signal of uncertainty or accidental? If you don’t mean to show uncertainty, this newfound awareness will help you avoid it going forward as you naturally become more conscious about how you talk.

Avoid Speaking Quietly

Often when people are being deceptive or aren’t confident in what they are saying, their voice is at a lower volume. In deception, this typically occurs on the deceptive word or statement. With people who lack confidence, it can sound more like a consistent quietness or a trailing off at the end of a statement you’re not confident in saying. For example, often, in interviews, women (and sometimes men) don’t like to blow their own trumpet in terms of their achievements, so they may trail off in volume when talking about their accomplishments.

To display confidence when you don’t feel it, raise your volume. I don’t mean shout, but be conscious about whether you have lowered your voice and raise it to an average level.

How to Build Confidence

It’s one thing to be able to fake confidence, showing positive behaviours when you’re feeling negative; however, isn’t it better to work on feeling more confident? Therefore our body language and vocal expression should automatically change to more positive behaviour, displaying natural confidence.

Use positive body language and lower tones

The good news is that a significant way to boost inner feelings of confidence is to use positive body language and lower tones of your voice, and that’s due to a body-brain feedback loop. Most people know that feelings and emotions are expressed via body language and voice, but research also shows how we use our body language and voice can affect how we feel and trigger emotions. So if we display positive and confident behaviours, we start to feel more positive and confident. This is part of a theory called embodied cognition, with research drawn from the areas of psychology and neuroscience. It’s not just body language and voice that can make a difference in how we feel; facial expression can also trigger emotion.

Using body language to build confidence—postural feedback

You may have already heard of the power pose, a term popularised by researcher Amy Cuddy. In her 2012 talk, Cuddy suggested that pre-power posing, in an expansive stance, for a couple of minutes before an important event can make you feel more powerful. Other research has backed this general idea with several studies finding a link between a more powerful stance/posture and feelings of power, positivity and better performance.

In 2019, Marcus Credé made an important observation—studies until then had failed to include a neutral pose. Instead of comparing a high or low power pose to a neutral condition, researchers compared high power poses to low power poses. When you compare high and low power poses with a neutral stance, the findings become clearer—what’s essential is avoiding low power poses. It’s not about being more expansive than a neutral pose, but instead, avoiding contractive body language like slumped posture and blocking behaviours (for example, crossing arms across the chest).

Now termed ‘postural feedback’, the evidence is clear: posture matters and can influence how we feel. Avoiding a low power pose is essential in creating these inner feelings of power and confidence.

You can learn more about the power pose and postural feedback in this post: The Truth About the Power Pose.

Using lower voice pitch to build confidence

I like to think of using a lower vocal pitch as a vocal power pose; it appears to act similarly to postural feedback. When you use a lower voice pitch, you’re perceived as being more credible, serious and dependable. Still, as well as that, it has been found to increase inner feelings of power and confidence, as well as better performance in abstract thinking tasks.

A series of interesting 2012 studies by Stel, van Dijk, Smith, van Dijk and Djalal found that lowering the pitch of your voice makes you feel more powerful and think more abstractly. In the studies, participants read a text aloud with either a lower or a higher vocal pitch than usual. Then, feelings of power and abstract thinking performance were assessed. Researchers found that participants who lowered their vocal pitch perceived themselves as possessing more powerful traits and performed better during abstract thinking tests than participants who raised their vocal pitch.

Uptalk and Empowered Cognition

I’m unaware of any research about uptalk and feelings of power and confidence, but that’s not to say studies aren’t out there. Based on what we know about embodied cognition, I suspect there will be a connection between uptalk and how we feel. Since uptalk signals uncertainty, avoiding it should increase inner feelings of confidence.

Slow breathing to combat nervousness and anxiety

Another way to feel more confident is to work on slow breathing. During the fear response, which is connected to nervousness, stress and anxiety, physiological changes occur within your body. These include hormone release (for example, cortisol and adrenaline), increased breathing rate, heart rate and blood pressure, changes in blood distribution around the body and switching off of some bodily systems, for example, digestion and reproduction. With most of those changes, we can’t control them, but we can actively manage our breathing rate. When we do this, focusing on our breath and slowing it down, it has a knock-on effect within the body, and all the changes start to regulate, resetting the body to its calm state.

Therefore if we can regulate feelings of nervousness, and return to a calm state, an increase in confidence should follow. To learn more about slow breathing and the body, check out my SOS—Breath now to Reduce Stress page or this post: One Simple Solution to Reduce Stress and Anxiety in Minutes.

[sophie-zadeh]

The West Australian: Power posing politicians

I was asked to contribute to an article for The West Australian on the topic of the body language of politicians, in particular, the prevalence of Mark McGowan and Scott Morrison’s superhero power pose in the run-up to the election.

What is a Power Pose? Learn more in The Truth About the Power Pose

Important Note:

The power pose was discredited; however, the current science is clear that the power pose, now called ‘postural feedback’, facilitates an increase in feelings of power. To learn more, read The Truth About the Power Pose.

Here are the questions and answers for the article:

What does the body language of politicians tell us?

Body language can tell us a lot about feelings and preferences, and if we also consider facial expressions, we can better understand someone's emotional state. Typically, politicians are trained in communicating through their body language and voice to influence feelings and behaviours through impression management. 

They learn how to modify or conceal negatively perceived behaviours and deliberately display positive behaviours to convey their desired message or image. For example, stretched fingers of both hands touching the fingertips, pointing upwards, in what we call the steeple—which signals confidence.

 Why have we seen a rise in the superhero pose/ power pose among leaders like Mark McGowan and Scott Morrison with hands on hips, chests puffed out and chins up?

When the body is more expansive in these powerful poses, it typically reflects confidence, although it can be staged for impression management. Conversely, when we feel defeated, our body language reflects this, collapsing in on itself—the universal gesture of defeat. Studies of athletes found that congenitally blind competitors displayed the same gestures/behaviours as sighted competitors when winning or losing.

With an upcoming federal election on the horizon, an increase in these superhero poses is possibly due to impression management to appear strong and confident, as we expect our leaders to be. 

  Is the superhero pose replacing the hi-vis vest image that we usually see among politicians?

The extensive infrastructure project programme has provided politicians with ample opportunity to don their hi-vis vests, building perceptions of association between themselves and the projects. This hi-vis strategy could also be a deliberate signal of compliance (with regulations), possibly encouraging reciprocal compliance from the electorate. As we move into an election phase, we may see an intentional change in strategy, promoting the image of strength and leadership.

[sophie-zadeh]

The Truth About the Power Pose

Over the past decade, the power pose has faced controversy and scientific scrutiny, leaving many people confused about its efficacy and many turning their backs on a simple practise that can yield positive results. This article sums up the debate, clears the myths and explains the current scientific findings so that you can leverage positive feelings with simple postural change.

What is a Power Pose?

Learn more about Vocal Power here.

Popularised by Amy Cuddy, the power pose is tied up in the idea that how we use our body language can change the way we feel due to a body-brain feedback loop. This is part of a larger theory called embodied cognition, with research drawn from the areas of psychology and neuroscience. It’s not just body language that can make a difference in how we feel; how we use our voice and facial expression also matters, but in this article, let’s focus on the power pose and clear up some of the myths.

Most people associate the power pose with arms and legs stretched outwards or arms akimbo (hands on hips), but it doesn’t have to be either; a power pose is simply a powerful stance. If you stand with hands by your sides and legs together (neutral stance), step out even slightly, or move your arm/s away from your body, you’re in a more powerful pose. And when your body contracts, with shoulders rounding and legs and arms together or crossed, you’re in a less powerful stance—a low power pose. It’s important to visualise this concept with a neutral stance against a high or low power pose to know how to use it for your advantage. Think of being more or less expansive than a neutral pose. Arms stretched outwards and arms akimbo are quite aggressive positions, so I suggest steering clear of them while interacting with others.

Amy Cuddy popularised the term power pose in her 2012 TED Talk, Your Body Language may shape who you are, based on Cuddy's research in 2010 with Dana Carney and Andy Yap. They found a link between power posing, an increase in testosterone, a decrease in cortisol (stress hormone) and an increase in feeling powerful.

In her 2012 talk, Cuddy suggested that pre-power posing, in an expansive stance, for a couple of minutes before an important event can make you feel more powerful. Other research has backed this general idea with several studies finding a link between a more powerful stance/posture and feelings of power, positivity and better performance.

Botox Studies and the Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Smile: The surprising benefits of the facial expression of happiness

Furthermore, compelling evidence is drawn from neuroscience surrounding the body-brain feedback loop, especially when it comes to facial expression. Botox studies investigating what happens in the brain before and after injections have found that lack of movement in the face due to temporary paralysis from Botox injections affects the way we experience emotion. In other words, freeze the muscles around the crow’s feet, and you subdue the experience of happiness. On the other hand, freeze the muscles between the eyebrows, and you experience fewer negative emotions because movement in this area of the face is associated with sadness, fear and anger. Botox is sometimes used as a treatment for depression and in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, who experience high levels of disgust emotion.

Power Pose Controversy

There has always been some controversy surrounding the efficacy of the power pose, with criticism from armchair sceptics and researchers. In 2015, a replication study using a larger sample of subjects failed to find the same physiological changes (testosterone and cortisol); however, they did see an increase in the subject's perceived feelings of power.

A 2016 study then concluded Cuddy and colleagues reported selected findings, and when differences are considered, the effects of the power pose fail to exist. Several more studies added to the controversy with different results.

This scientific process of checking findings and replication studies is normal. That’s how we gain knowledge, build upon results, and prove or disprove hypotheses and theories. However, in this case, the criticism was aggressive and likened to bullying and a witch hunt. Researchers who supported the idea were afraid to speak out, fearing becoming a target. If Cuddy had been male and less popular, would the critics have been as harsh?

Many supporters of the power pose turned their backs, distancing from it, including Dana Carney, the lead author of the original research. Since the initial research, I have practised the pre-power pose and espoused its efficacy, teaching clients about the theory and the controversy and updating my teachings according to the changes in scientific findings. Many of my colleagues avoided the topic altogether, but why? It’s interesting, it might work, and updating scientific discoveries is normal—this is science. Let’s tell it as it is, keeping up with and sharing current research findings.

My Belief in the Power Pose

My personal belief in the power pose comes from a place of personal experience. I needed to feel more powerful because, in some respects, I lacked confidence. I did feel more powerful using a more expansive stance and trained myself to avoid low power poses. I also felt the need to compensate for being petite, especially when working in an organisation where I was the only female in the board room, surrounded by burly blokes. It’s easy to go unnoticed and feel unheard in those circumstances. The power pose and tweaks to my voice—what I call a vocal power pose, worked. So much so that I became more confident without the need to fake it. I accepted that the increase in powerful feelings could be a placebo effect and explained this to clients.

Current Science and Power Posing

Unfortunately, many don’t keep up with research findings. Because of the harsh criticism and its place in the media, since Amy Cuddy was semi-famous, many walked away with the idea that the power pose doesn’t work.

Behind the scenes, the scientific debate had continued with much discord. In 2017, the journal, Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology (CRSP) set out to end the discussion, scrutinising all the evidence. They found that while there were no behavioural and hormonal effects, there is a clear relationship between power posing and subjective feelings of power (‘felt power’).

At the same time, other researchers scrutinised the distribution of statistically significant data in power posing research. By 2018, conclusions found that although the evidence did not support behavioural and hormonal claims, power posing can facilitate significant benefits of felt power in individuals.

2019 Important Observation: The neutral pose

In 2019, Marcus Credé made an important observation—studies had failed to include a neutral pose. Instead of comparing a high or low power pose to a neutral condition, researchers compared high power poses to low power poses. Further research scrutiny brings us to the current stance (pun intended) surrounding the power pose.

Current Stance

Pooling all the evidence together, we know the power pose, now called ‘postural feedback’ does create inner feelings of power for the user, but not in the way we previously thought. It’s more straightforward and practical than we thought. We don’t need to make ourselves more expansive and pre-power pose before an event; all we need to do is avoid contractive posture (low power pose).

Posture does matter and can influence how we feel. Being more expansive than being in a contractive stance is not as significant in yielding positive effects as being in a neutral stance and avoiding a contractive posture. So the absence of a low power pose is essential in creating these inner feelings of power.

If we turn this around and look at it from another perspective—how people perceive us—there are more benefits to avoiding contractive posture. Low power poses signal a lack of confidence and defeat. When you communicate with others while in a contractive stance, it appears that you’re not confident in your message. So why then should they have confidence in what you say?

Nonverbal Communication and Influence: Six tips to make a great impression

So from a personal perspective and to increase positive perceptions towards you from others, condition yourself to avoid contractive posture by being aware of your body language and making minor postural adjustments until an upright open posture becomes your norm.

If you’d like help in improving your nonverbal behaviour or are interested in professional development training for your organisation, please get in touch.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy…

What your posture says about your personality?

[sophie-zadeh]

Enclothed Cognition: What you wear influences you and others, six tips for dressing for success

I’ve been working on a project with Anushka Singh recently, and our conversations about perceptions and disability led us to chat about the importance of making a good impression and why what you wear and how you present yourself is essential. I’ve written about the topic before in First Impressions: Your split second opportunity for success, which explains why first impressions are important.

Anushka advocates for people with a visual impairment and is a Blind Sports Ambassador; she has a vision impairment herself and some interesting stories about assumptions, perceptions and prejudice surrounding this. We’ll share some of those in another article, but today, let’s focus on how what you wear influences the way you feel about yourself and the perceptions of others, then we’ll share six tips on dressing for success.

What You Wear Influences You

Anushka is a firm believer in prioritising appearance and how she dresses, not just according to the context of what she's doing, but feeling the positive benefits herself. 

"Dressing well is a topic close to my heart. I strive to dress well every day because of how it makes me feel and its benefits in life. It's part of who I am, jump-starting my day by uplifting my confidence and representing my personality. Some people might view it as materialistic, but I grew up seeing my grandparents and parents dressing well as a priority. It reflects pride and respect in yourself; that's why I put in the extra effort. It gives me confidence and sets my tone to represent myself."  -- Anushka

Many people know that how you feel can influence what you wear, but Anushka is right; our clothes influence not only those with whom we interact but also our psychological processes. This concept is called enclothed cognition, a term coined by Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky in their 2012 study.

What is Enclothed Cognition?

Enclothed cognition relates to the effect of clothing on how people think, feel and their mental processes, for example, abstract thinking, feeling confident and attention levels. Adam and Galinski researched the effects of wearing a lab coat on attention, finding it boosted attention.

Other studies show how what we wear can: 

affect political points of view (luxury brands)

facilitate healthier choices (activewear)

increase agreeableness (casual clothes)

improve abstract thinking and negotiation ability (formal clothing)

improve confidence and self-image (underwear and socks)

Furthermore, the colours we wear can affect mood, with bright colours associated with a positive mood and dull colours associated with a more mellow mood. Civile and Obhi (2017) found that students wearing police uniforms exhibit biased attention toward individuals wearing hoodies. And Ellis and Jenkins (2015) found a correlation between wearing a watch and conscientiousness relating to punctuality.

Another study found that when participants read a persuasive message containing strong or weak arguments, the quality of the argument had a stronger effect on participants wearing nonprescription glasses than those wearing a baseball cap sideways (Brinol et al. 2017).

What is Embodied Cognition?

Enclothed Cognition forms part of a wider area of research, embodied cognition. Embodied cognition differs from traditional cognitive science, rejecting—or reformulating—the idea that the mind is wedded to the processes of the brain. Instead, embodied cognition emphasises the significance of the body and its interactions in the environment in contributing to cognition or cognitive ability (Shapiro et al. 2021). In other words, the brain is part of a broader system that includes physical experience and sensorimotor systems—a feedback loop.

If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll know that one of the areas I cover is what I refer to as self-empowerment; how to use your body and voice to create positive feelings and effects. This is embodied cognition, with the concept that expressions, posture, voice, movement—and clothing shape psychological processes. 

Some of the most robust evidence in this area comes from neuroscience and Botox studies. Botox (Botulinum toxin) is widely used as a facial treatment to 'remove' wrinkles by paralysing facial muscles. Research has found that by suppressing facial expression, Botox also suppresses the processing of emotion, the ability to feel associated emotions and, therefore, empathy. So if you're considering having a Botox treatment, be aware that it can affect positive or negative emotions depending on where you have it. 

To learn more about Botox, check out this article Sophie Zadeh’s TED-Ed Lesson: Are there universal expressions of emotion? Or listen to the podcast in this article, Candour Communication Podcast: Nonverbal communication, detecting lies and why Botox makes you unhappy

What You Wear Influences Others

What you wear also matters as it influences the perceptions of others. Imagine if you were to meet me and I was sporting pyjamas and messy hair, a just got out of bed look. What would you think? That I was lazy, not interested in making an effort or even mad? I know it’s an extreme example, but hopefully, it’s one that helped instil the concept in your memory.

"I believe most of the goals I've achieved in my personal and professional life are because of how I've presented myself; it's my key to success. For example, while I was trying to purchase a property, I had a lot of challenges interacting with agents over the phone; it was difficult convincing them I was looking to purchase. They were hesitant that a young woman could buy a property all by herself. What changed was when I met them in person. By dressing and presenting well, I non-verbally communicated that I was serious and credible and showed respect for them.  Our first impression is the first point of reference, so if we have an interview and don't dress appropriately, how do we expect people to hire us, count on our words or take us seriously?"  -- Anushka

Again, Anushka is right. There's plenty of evidence that how we present ourselves influences perceptions, including many studies surrounding job interviews. And while perceptions aren't always accurate, what is consistent is that it takes just seconds to form an impression, and that impression typically lasts. 

It's all down to 'thin slice assessments', judgements based on how we perceive people through our senses. People claim not to judge, but we all judge; it's a survival mechanism—I'm sure you have crossed the road or diverted your direction to avoid an iffy looking character. Let's look at this from another perspective. What are your first thoughts when you see this image?

Usually, when I ask this question, people say the pigeon looks scruffy, sick, dishevelled and dirty. Well, what about if we put it next to his nicely groomed friend—can you see the difference? When animals and people are sick or when the burdens of life become too heavy, they put less effort into grooming. It's no longer a priority because they have more significant issues to tackle.

In response, our primitive subconscious recognises a threat; we could potentially catch a disease from this sick, dishevelled creature. The limbic system is still working in the way it's worked for thousands of years, keeping us safe, despite living in modern times and being less likely to die of infections disease, with developments in medicine.

Let's look at this from a human perspective in the images below.

I'm not saying that either of these is dressed right or wrong, and in some contexts, they might both be wrong. But there's a scale from not so groomed to highly groomed. Each of us is somewhere along that scale at different times in life. At some point, we might have put a lot of effort into personal grooming, but other times might have had too much going on to prioritise it. Sometimes, we just look battered no matter how hard we try because we've exhausted.

We're always moving along the scale, with the only constant being continual change. It changes throughout the day too. For example, Boris Johnson aside, most people look very different when they leave the house looking nicely groomed and ready for work, compared to the dishevelled, just got up look.

I know this matters to you because you're reading this. You likely make some effort already, and therefore, you're already aware of this concept—even if you haven't consciously considered it. So you’re already heading in the right direction. 

To help get you there, I asked Anushka to share her top three presentation tips on dressing well. And I've added mine too. Feel free to ask questions in the comments at the bottom of the page or get in touch here.

Dressing for Success, Six Presentation Tips

Anushka’s Tips

1. Presentation is a way to say who you are Without Having to Speak

Presentation is the first point of reference, a way to say who you are without speaking. Let your clothes reflect your personality through style and colour, but be careful when mixing colours as some don’t look good together no matter which brands you’re wearing.

2. Don’t Follow, set your own Trends

Know what suits you—when you’re happy with what you’re wearing, you feel more confident. While it can be good to follow fashion trends, place importance on selecting clothes that complement your skin tone and body shape, and reflect your personality. For example, at a recent networking event with VIP’s and potential opportunities, I needed to boost my confidence to fulfil the role of introducing myself, making a good impression and representing my organisation as their Ambassador. I dressed well to boost my confidence and look presentable.

3. Pay Attention to Details

Pay attention to details, especially for important events like an interview, networking event or a date. For example, make sure your clothes are clean and not creased and be mindful that you’re dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Sophie's Tips

1. One Step Up

In a professional setting dressing one level up from those you're interacting with (for example, a client) can be a good rule of thumb. This shows respect—they are worth dressing up for. It also shows you're on their level—not dissimilar to them. Dressing too many steps above may result in losing connection, and connection is an important part of influence. 

2. Ask for Help

If you're struggling with how to dress, ask for help. The key here is to ask someone you trust who understands your thoughts and personality. Don't ask someone who's a world apart in style and personality. If you can't think of anybody, see a stylist. You can often book a free appointment with a stylist in department stores. A good stylist will work with you to find context-appropriate clothing that suits your body shape and reflects your style and personality.

3. Adapt to Circumstance

Some people wear the same clothes for every situation, but every context is different. Certain clothes may feel like a good representation of your preferences and personality, but that doesn't always translate well in all areas of life. For example, many of my clothes reflect my creative side but can be a little way out in some contexts. Sometimes, I'll tone it down and dress more professionally, let's say, when I'm training a corporate team. But if I'm running an art class, which I often do, my casual or creative style clothing gets an airing. The key is to adapt to the context but to like/love the clothes you choose to wear and how they look. If you're struggling with this one, see tip number two—ask for help. 

For more tips on first impressions and personal presentation, check out Nonverbal Communication and Influence: Six tips to make a great impression.