Whether it’s a nervous hair twirl, a quavering voice, or a sweating public speaker, we know that body language affects our perception of the people around us. What we may not know is how much.
“The best predictor is blink rate — which has been good for 8 out of 9 elections.”
With the 2016 presidential election in full swing, we can look to the nominees to see what their body language may be saying about the success of their campaigns, and about their potential ability to win the election. Yes — a few gestures can be a clue to the path to the Oval Office.
Janine Driver, president of the Body Language Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, points to Hillary Clinton’s tendency to shrug her shoulders. “A shoulder shrug indicates uncertainty,” Driver recently told NBC. Although the shrug is not a perfect predictor, Driver admits, it is not helping with Hillary’s message.
On the other hand, Donald Trump, who exhibits exuberant hand motions, is a creative thinker, Driver said. (No, the size of his hands isn’t a factor.)
Of course, body language is not an infallible way to ascertain a speaker’s motives or reasons for showing certain feelings — but it is a good indicator of how a person feels about themselves or their message.
This week we were graced with the hilarity of one of the funniest eighth-grade graduation speeches of all time that mocked all of the presidential candidates. Part of the humor was of course the imitation of the candidates’ very distinct body language. From Bernie Sanders’ distinct finger-pointing to Trump’s pursed lips, they are all conveying a message through their bodies.
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Joseph Tecce, an associate psychology professor at Boston College, is something of an expert in the field, having studied many past elections.
“The best predictor is blink rate — which has been good for eight out of nine elections,” he told LifeZette.
Donald Trump has a blink rate of 64 blinks per minute, whereas Hillary has shown an average of 40 blinks per minute. The acceptable range for blinking on television is 30 to 50 blinks per minute, Tecce said.
Although we can tentatively control our blinking rate when we are coached on it, he says, it is largely subconscious.
In his research, Tecce devoted hours and hours to analyzing 12,000 blinks for each candidate in eight of the nine presidential elections since 1960. For instance, in the 2004 election of John Kerry vs. George Bush, Kerry exhibited a faster blink rate and lost the election. This trend holds true for all elections from 1960 to the present — with the exception of the 2000 Bush-Gore race. In this case, Bush was the faster blinker and did lose the popular vote, although he won the electoral vote to win the election.
Which brings us back to Hillary and Trump.
“My prediction as a body language scientist [is] Trump will lose the election,” he said.
All blinking aside, Trump has gained popularity in the polls because of his rebellious attitude, according to Tecce. “Yet, it is precisely his cloak of a rebel and his thumbing a nose at the Establishment that appeal to many voters.”
A perfect presidential candidate would portray a moderate blink rate and appear to be very human, Tecce said. An unblinking reptilian stare or a robotic smile does not portray a relatable message, he adds.
Despite Hillary’s absurd email scandal, her questionable role in Benghazi, and the slew of scandals plaguing her presidential campaign, she may still pull through, according to Tecce — and blinking may in fact trump all.
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