In this video, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry greets French President François Hollande in France. After leaving his car, John Kerry’s initial non-verbal displays show signs of slight anxiety, with a brief cufflink adjust and hand to face gesture possibly revealing a need to dissipate nervous energy, (unsurprising as his visit comes amid criticism of the Obama administrations failure to send a cabinet-level official to Paris for the unity march). Once Kerry and President Hollande greet, their non-verbal behaviour goes through a remarkable period of awkwardness. Kerry’s initial greeting display of the double hand hold is a good start, (showing a greater sincerity than a traditional singular handshake), as this action transmits a symbolic solidarity between the USA and France after the Paris attacks. However, that gesture then manifests into an unplanned hug, which President Hollande mistakenly believes is the beginning of the ‘double cheek kiss’ (note his pressing lips). After realising this isn’t the case, President Hollande steps back, but is firmly held at the wrists by Kerry, who continues the shake, (which is a sight not too dissimilar to a boxer being motivated by his in-ring coach.) As Hollande wishes to end the greeting display and return inside with Kerry, he is again prevented from doing so by Kerry’s tight grip, however on this occasion, the gripped hand is raise aloft in an attempt to show unity and solidarity, however if you look closely, only the thumb of Kerry’s hand is grasped, displaying a very uncomfortable looking gesture. Furthermore, Kerry’s brief raised fist display looks decidedly out of place, as his tight lipped expression at the point of his gestural delivery weakens that intended display of defiance towards terrorism. The inherent trouble with trying to make a good first impression is that you often try too hard to do so. When that happens, your non-verbal behaviour becomes tough to follow, often sending (as seen in this example) mixed messages to your greeter, messages such as ‘We’re handshaking, now we’re hugging, now we’re kissing, I want to greet for longer’ and as such, your greeter becomes confused about your intentions and consequently, their body language becomes awkward, resulting in a greeting display which is out of synchrony. Kerry’s attempt to rectify the political embarrassment couldn’t have got off to a worse start. Sometimes when it comes the non-verbal greeting display, less really is more. Kind regards, CJB all-about-body-language
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 08:56:44 +0000
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