Body Talk

Power

A sensible chicken doesn't mess with the pecking order; a chimpanzee knows his place in the grooming line; and an aristocrat would not presume to go into dinner before someone of greater rank.

Throughout the animal kingdom the recognition of status is commonplace. Who picks fleas off who, and who you eat your dinner with, are recognised outward signs of position in a power pyramid that is all about survival.

The more powerful you are, the more sex you get to have, the more you get to eat, and the less others are going to interfere with whatever you want to do.

Living in modern times

In our meritocratic society today, the hierarchies that were so carefully maintained by old rules of etiquette and the observation of class distinctions have largely disappeared. But our instinct for power play has not. In fact, now the rigid rules of rank have gone, we all have everything to play for.

Our body language reveals that the argy-bargy of the status game is very much a moment by moment preoccupation for us all, whether we are aware of it or not.

Does your boss command authority? Why is Tony Blair accused of being in George Bush's pocket? How do some people always manage to make you feel small?

The apportionment of power is something we claim for ourselves or cede to others through our physical behaviour. The physical indicators by which we do so are the tells of power.

The tells of power

Power tells are about affecting an easy assumption of superiority. You don't have to be genuinely superior, you just have to act it.

A boss who fails to command respect may have paper authority but submissive body language. In contrast, someone who commands respect will exercise control through the significant if unconscious use of 'power tells', demonstrating ease and security in the poll position.

Top Dog

The first step in power games is to get the top spot. In this respect it helps to be tall. Height is a sure indicator of success in our society.

If you can't be tall, stand up straight, hold your head high, and don't dip it or hold it to one side when you're with equals or inferiors. If possible stay standing while others sit, and always take position at the head of the table. This has been shown to confer instant authority on the most unassuming of people.

Relax

Once you're in the top spot, relax. It's important to appear to feel unthreatened. Look a little bored by your responsibilities and yawn occasionally. Yawning in this situation is thought to allow us to bare our teeth in veiled threat, rather like baboons.

Sit casually as if you do not anticipate attack. When you talk to a subordinate, don't bother to turn your whole body towards them. Allow them to see that you do not consider them a threat by permitting them full access to your vulnerable sides.

They should be giving you their full attention but you need only look at them occasionally while you listen.

Big It Up

Big houses, big cars and big paunches are all a sign of wealth and territory. In power games, appearing to be big is always a good thing.

Even if you're not big, walk like you are. George W Bush affects the walk of a body builder whose arms, by virtue of their great muscle, must hang with the palms of the hands to the rear. Exaggerate the swing of your arms too. It makes you look younger and fitter.

If swaggering is a step too far, put your hands on your hips, arms akimbo. This not only increases your width but draws attention to your weapon-like sharp elbows.

Talk the talk

John Wayne recommended men to 'talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much'. Low pitch and an unhurried style are the signs of testosterone and control, but the most dominant person present characteristically speaks most frequently and for longer.

Dominant speakers also have more eye contact with their listeners. They are not afraid to be judged while the opposite may be true of more submissive speakers.

The tells of politics

Politicians have a particular problem with body language. Not only are they closely watched but they must appear at ease with great power, while at the same time seeming likeable. Being likeable and powerful isn't easy and most politicians settle for power and appeasement instead. Their appeasing tells attempt to ward off aggressors.

The Crocodile Smile

By far the most useful political tell is the smile, but it is virtually impossible to fake a good one. Genuine smiles involve the mouth and the eyes but while the control of the smiling muscles around the mouth is voluntary, control of the smiling muscles around the eyes is not.

Ronald Reagan was good at producing genuine smiles. Bill Clinton specialises in the extra-genuine or drop-jaw smile, where the mouth is slightly open. This kind of smile is closer to laughter and therefore more effective than a smile with a closed mouth.

The Baby Shield

The psychologist Peter Collett observes that politicians who kiss babies actually use those babies like smiles, to disarm any aggression directed towards them. Babies are the ultimate tenderness-enhancing accessory.

Popularity Propaganda

Images of politicians being lovingly supported by their wives are similarly useful because they encourage viewers to see the politician as good, deserving and well-loved, whatever the latest polls say. Party conferences and other opportunities to be seen being applauded are valuable for the same reason.

Emotional Leakage

Because politicians are often in compromised situations where they are trying to project things other than the truth, they make excellent body language studies. Body language often leaks out emotions that you are trying to conceal, so politicians frequently give themselves away.

Despite Tony Blair claiming to stand shoulder to shoulder with George W Bush for example, we often see shots of him looking uncomfortable, being ushered into aeroplanes and doorways by the far more assertive President Bush. For all he says otherwise, he is clearly number two to the US rooster in this particular pecking order.

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