Her Majesty The Queen delivered a video speech for the COP26 Evening Reception.
And you might think that most of her message was verbal, when in fact there are 7 hidden
symbols that helped her communicate without words.
Watch this clip and try to spot at least three of them:
- In the coming days, the world has the chance to join in the shared objective of creating
a safer, stabler future for our people and for the planet on which we depend.
No matter if you could spot them or not, in this video I'm going to dissect all of them
so you learn to apply them for your own videos and presentations.
Welcome back, my body language buddies! my name is Jesús Enrique Rosas, I'm the Body
Language Guy, and it would be great if you join us by just liking this video, subscribing
and hitting that bell! let's get down to it!
Well, the most obvious symbol at first sight is the Queen's green dress.
Green is closely related with nature and if we're talking about climate change then is
the most appropriate color to convey that message.
It's possible that some photographers will tell you that sometimes it's a bad idea to
wear green, but there is one good reason for that.
And it's that if you're going to be at a garden reception, or a setting with a lot of grass
and trees, then your green dress is not going to have enough contrast with the background.
But wearing green in almost every occasion is totally fine.
By all means, the Queen's video PAlette was thought carefully so her green dress stands
out but at the same time COMplements the other elements in the picture.
The second symbol is the Butterfly brooch, that was a wedding present all the way back
to 1947.
Now, the most common symbolism of butterflies is rebirth, since a butterfly comes from a
caterpillar, that turns into a chrysalis.
That's why you see in so many movies the butterflies are used to signal that someone has transformed
into a better version of themselves.
It's similar to the meaning of cherry blosoms and the phoenix.
But Buckingham palace clarified to People magazine that this rebirth didn't have anything
to do on a personal note, wether it was a reference to Prince Philip or to the Queen
herself.
Instead, it's an interesting nod to this second chance we have to fix the way we treat our
planet.
And by the way, in eastern cultures the butterflies also are symbol of a happy marriage.
Of course, you noticed that on her desk there's a 1988 photo of Prince Philip surrounded by
monarch butterflies in Mexico during a trip to support a conservation group in his role
as President of World Wildlife Fund.
Again, we see the same motif of butterflies, that symbol of constant rebirth in nature
but this time there's Prince Philip sharing the image with them.
And this has two interesting details: first, the composition gives much more importance
to the butterflies themselves, since Philip was pictured rather small and almost off camera.
And the other detail is the angle of his gaze and his facial expression.
That angle is up and to the right.
If we use an arrow to mark that direction, you'll notice that it's an upward arrow that's
usually related with progress.
Also, his expression of being amused looking at all the butterflies combined with that
angle, gives a message of hope.
Like we still have hope if we do what we must do to fix things.
Also, the Queen addressed the work of Prince Charles and Prince William as an ongoing effort.
And she said that this was a source of great pride, and it's interesting to notice about
this being more than just plain effort towards service, but there's also involved an emotional
factor.
That's something that anyone who needs to give any kind of speech, there is always the
need to show your emotional connection with the circumstances, with the people involved.
In this case, the Queen does it in a very intelligent manner, because she talks about
how proud she is, I mean, she's talking about something that SHE feels, but that's connected
to the effort of her son and grandson.
So it's praise for them at the same time.
And of course, this also serves as a subtle nod as how the Royal Family is closing ranks.
And that's why we've seen more coverage of Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge working together.
Speaking of teamwork, it's interesting to notice that most of the time, when the Queen
is going to give a message she is a bit to the right of the camera.
She's almost never up front and center.
This allows for a more dynamic composition, and in this case it's Prince Philip's photo
which is in the center of the frame.
But this position, she being to the RIGHT of the frame, is a position of power.
Because we read from left to right, usually what is on the right side of the format is
more important, has more visual weight.
If the Queen appears on the right of the frame, it's because she wants us to end our 'room
reading' in her.
To better understand this phenomenon, I'm going to experiment and flip the frame so
she stays on the left side.
Now she loses much of that visual power, because our eyes naturally start reading the frame
from left to right and stay on the right side of the screen.
That's another tip that you can use for your own videos.
And by the way, you can polish your observation skills, with my 100 body language tips that
you can download right in the description of this video.
The sixth symbol is white flowers.
White flowers are usually a symbol of transition of our loved ones to the spiritual realm.
That's one of the reasons why the Queen offered white flowers on Prince Philip's funeral.
And thanks to my great Twitter followers that have very sharp eyes and identified the flowers,
the ones at the back are Geraniums and Cyclamen on the front.
Geraniums are a symbol of love and friendship, and I think that's a much needed message on
how urgent we have to tackle these global issues together.
Cyclamen, on the other hand, are the flowers of devotion.
That's why it's commonly planted beside MOnasteries.
In Japan, it's the holy flower of love.
There's one last symbol that I want to mention, and it was not a visual one, but one in the
Queen's words.
"Of course, the benefits of such actions will not be there to enjoy for all of us here today.
None of us will live forever".
None of us will live forever.
You could understand this as a pessimistic take on life, even if we have to be conscious
about death being inevitable.
But again, that's part of the message that she gives with the butterflies, with Prince
Philip's photograph, with the white flowers and mentioning Prince Charles and William.
Yes, not every one of us will be able to enjoy the fruits of what we are planting today.
But at the same time, everyone of us is enjoying the fruits of thousands, if not millions of
men and women that pushed humanity forward, generation after generation.
Grandparents, parents, and sons.
Even if we will die some day, we are all part of the same legacy.
So that's why it's so important to realize that the same way that we benefit from the
hard work of humans from the past, we can pay it forward for humans in the future.
That's how death becomes a rebirth, and that's how our legacy can live beyond that barrier.
I've always been fascinated by the way you can use colors, symbols, images, flowers...
to convey a message without words.
And you must be aware that this happens even if you don't intend to.
Even if you try to give a speech or record a video, or even have Zoom meeting and think
that you don't have to worry about your background, you have to think again.
Because your background, the way you're dressed, your gestures and anything around you, is
part of your message.
You can imagine how much experience Her Majesty The Queen has in this kind of affairs, even
if she must have top notch advisors.
But you don't need top notch advisors to do the same.
You just need to raise your awareness and understand how can you use these symbols to
your advantage.
I will keep doing these kind of analysis, but I strongly suggest that you pay attention
beyond words and body language.
I'm sure you'll be surprised of how much is there hidden in plain sight.
If you want to support my channel and help me make more videos, all you have to do is
like, subscribe and hit that bell so you don't miss any of my body language analysis and
tips.
My name is Jesús Enrique Rosas and I'll see you soon, my body language buddies!