1/ THREAD: Body Language Analysis No. 4443: Mike Pence, fear of stairs, Donald Trump, and the need for Alpha-upregulation.
#BodyLanguageExpert #BodyLanguage #EmotionalIntelligence
#BodyLanguageExpert #BodyLanguage #EmotionalIntelligence
2/ Earlier today, Mike Pence fell while running up the steps to Air Force Two.
3/ We normally wouldn't necessarily think of this as relevant body language, however, Mike Pence is absolutely trying to draw a stark contrast between his ability to navigate stairs vs. that of Trump's fear of stairs and ramps. 
4/ When he's two or three steps from the top, Pence falls (if you look carefully, this occurs when he shifts his eyes from the steps to the plane entrance).
Pence breaks his fall first with his left hand, then with his right.
Pence breaks his fall first with his left hand, then with his right.
5/ He immediately stands up, spins counter-clockwise as he orients with his back away from the plane (and facing toward a presumed audience/cameras), and then straightens his suit jacket with both hands.
6/ If you showed him this video and asked Pence (or anyone) why they straightened their jacket, they would probably say something like, "Well, I wanted to be sure it was adjusted correctly as the fall may have misaligned it".
7/ However, the real, primary underlying reason that we all would exhibit this behavior would be to up-regulate our alpha emotional tone.
8/ When we fall/get knocked down (In this example, literally, but much more often via a combo of other peoples' both verbal and nonverbal behaviors)...
9/ ...this nonverbal recovery dynamic (false jacket adjustment) serves as an attempt to shift us from our temporary beta-vulnerable-embarrassed emotional tone to one which is more alpha.
This false jacket adjustment is one of many nonverbal alpha-upregulators.
This false jacket adjustment is one of many nonverbal alpha-upregulators.
10/ He then begins to turn to enter the plane as he waves to the crowd. This is also an up-regulating behavior. And even when there is no/little audience, there are *always* cameras.
11/ Next he gives the 'Thumbs up' nonverbal sign. This is again, a further attempt at upregulating his emotional status after his fall/ego-blow.
12/ If we could see a high-resolution image of Pence's face at this moment, it probably would be projecting an amalgam of embarrassment, bitterness, disgust, and anger.
13/ SUMMARY: Pence is trying to draw a dramatic contrast between his ability to navigate stairs vs. that of Trump's fear of stairs and ramps. For a person so very sycophantic to Trump, this screams. What does Pence know that we don't?
continued...
continued...
14/ Alpha upregulatory body language behaviors are commonly seen when we experience a temporary hit to our ego. Pence displays several of these after his fall.
END
END
