Trump’s move
If you’ve ever seen a comedian imitate president Trump, you will have seen this gesture: elbows in his side, hands spread open with fingers flexed wide, moving as if he holds an invisible accordion. This is Trump’s signature move. And maybe you have wondered: why does he do it?
As the Pitchcoach, I’m 97,3% sure that it is because of Mark Bowden. He’s a leading body language expert and in his own words a “communication coach of leaders of the G7”. My bet is that he trained Mr. Trump and that only part of his training stuck with Trump.
Why do I think so? Well, in his book Winning Body Language Mark Bowden lays down the Gesture Plane System: 6 zones around your body where you can use your hands. And each zone has a different effect on your audience.
One of these zones is called the TruthPlane, the horizontal plane at navel height. Moving your hands in an open position here signals that you are (in his words): “genuine in intention and can be trusted”.
It is the opposite of what you naturally want to do when you feel vulnerable: protecting yourself. Everybody’s instinct is to do two thing:
- Clasp your hands together in front of your stomach, protecting that vulnerable area without a ribcage
- Protecting the veins in your arms and armpits by putting your elbows in your side.
However, open arms at navel height, in the TruthPlane signal: “I’m confident, there is nothing to worry about here. Look how safe I’m feeling: I’m showing you my belly and my veins. And as you can see: no weapons in my hands. So you can just relax!”.
When you start paying attention, you’ll will see that Trump uses the TruthPlane whenever he wants to appear truthful.
Be he is not using it in the right way. Yes, he opens up his hands at navel hight. But they are not relaxed and inviting, instead the fingers are stiff and unnaturally wide.
And instead of opening up the veins in his upper arms and armpits in a gesture of confidence, he closes them up by putting his elbows in his side. Signalling: “I’m protecting my vulnerable parts, as I’m not feeling secure”. Which is the opposite of what he wants to convey.
If what you say (your words) does not match what you do (your body language), it feels weird for your audience. After all, what should they believe?
Normally, the audience follows the clearest signal: body language. This is where that strange statistic comes from that you may have heard – that 93% of your message is conveyed through body language. However, this only applies when there is a discrepancy between words and body language.
In this case, the body language itself is also ambiguous: is he confident and trustworthy (open stomach and arms), or rather anxious and insecure (elbows tucked in, stiff fingers, visible veins in the arms, and armpits protected)?
So, even though Trump’s signature move is meant to convey truth and trustworthiness, it has the opposite effect, because he doesn’t use it correctly.
