Today I was invited to take part in a very interesting exercise: commenting Melania Trump’s body language when she appears with her husband Donald Trump on Election Day. It is amazing to see how much body language is revelling and how loud the nonverbal communication is. If you watch the video that inspired my insights, you will only see Melania for less than 5 seconds, still, she is sharing a lot of communication cues. You can watch the short video on news.com.au.
When asked by Sarah Carty from Yahoo Lifestyle to comment on this video, I immediately jump on the occasion to reinforce a key message around body language: we can not link a specific gesture to a meaning.
You can find my shared insights along with other experts opinion on Sarah’s article.
My complete analysis is presented below:
Election Day - Melanie Trump and Jill Biden, Body Language Analysis
Decoding body language is a tricky exercise that needs to be approached with caution.
Before trying to read body language, it is essential to remember that like any other language, nonverbal communication consists of words, sentences and punctuation. Each gesture is like a single word and a word may have several different meanings. It is only when you put the word into a sentence with other words that you can fully understand its meaning.
By observing Melania Trump on Election Day on the 4th November 2020, there is a lot that we can notice. The one thing we can not do is linking those body language elements to any intention or internal mindset with certainty.
Melissa Trump - Election day 2020
What do we know about Melania Trump nonverbal communication?
Her personal presentation is very different from the last election. Then, she made a statement, she dared an unconventional outfit for a first lady and wore it with confidence and grace.
Today’s outfit is more traditional, making Melania Trump almost unnoticeable. Her body language is reinforcing the outfit’s effect as Melania appears ‘shy’ and ‘reserved’, almost ‘weak’. She does not reflect a position of power as she did in 2016. Then, she was visible, present, her energy was glowing and her smile was sincere. Today it seems like she does not want to get any attention. Her apparition is very short, she is staying far behind her husband and does not offer much energy.
She gives the audience a highly fake and brief smile that stays stuck on her face for a few seconds. The way she walks is again very different from 2016 when she was walking with confidence.
The direction of her look is surprising and makes her appear lost, preoccupied or confused, she does not try to make eye contact with the audience.
Election Day 2016 - Melania Trump Authentic Smile
What we don’t know about Melania Trump body language on Election Day:
Her feelings, mood, emotions, intentions and thoughts. We can not assume that she disagrees, or stops supporting her husband Donald Trump. She might feel unwell, be preoccupied… we will not know unless she tells us.
Melanie Trump Vs. Jill Biden at Election Day
Now, if we compare with Jill Biden’s outfit and attitude, we do not see the same level of energy. Jill Biden’s outfit is less traditional and more visible. The choice of a pastel pink coat is making Joe Biden's wife appear as approachable, warm, kind and dedicated to others. She is making it easy to identify. Her body language and energy are making her look more engage and confident in the results. In that sense, she is acting more like Melania in 2016.
Like Sarah Carty from Yahoo Lifestyle, feel free to contact us to get some insight on any particular communication and body language aspect.
If you are curious to understand what people see about you, contact us for a body language analysis. It will help you assess your nonverbal communication to develop more advanced skills.