The election was understandably an overwhelming and emotional experience for many people living
in the U.S., and that likely goes triple for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. While
you may have seen the short clip of her celebratory call with running mate Joe Biden, Harris remained
composed during her victory speech that evening. To gain more insight into Harris' mindset,
The List spoke with Joseph Hoelscher, body language expert and Managing Attorney at Hoelscher
Gebbia Cepeda PLLC.
Hoelscher agreed that overall Kamala Harris was incredibly composed, noting that he felt
Harris has "obviously got some formal training" when it comes to public speaking. Hoelscher
described the soon-to-be-VP's performance as "lawyerly" and stated:
"She was focused on her performance and delivery in a very deliberate way. Unlike Biden, she
is focused on delivering her words precisely, which is probably because of her courtroom
training."
"We. The people. Have. The power. To build. A better future."
While this deliberate and controlled speaking style seems to work for Harris in and outside
the courtroom, Hoelscher said that to experts, her hands betrayed her. He said:
"Lawyers often struggle behind a podium, and she didn't know how to use it. Her hands were
almost always close together, if not clasped ... her hands weren't moving organically,
which you can tell from her minimal number of different hand gestures and the specific
gestures."
Hoelscher explained that many of the gestures Harris used during the speech were the product
of, quote, "training, not nature."
While a pro like Hoelscher can pick out these learned habits from a mile away, us novices
are a little less able to spot them. He broke it down into simpler terms, saying:
"[Harris] was focused on a professional delivery to a fairly extreme degree for a polished
speaker. To me, it means that she is a highly focused, driven, and likely intelligent person.
It's hard to control that many aspects of your non-verbal communication at once while
delivering a message so precisely."
If you're a more astute judge of body language, you might have been a little put off by Harris'
performance. You're not alone. Hoelscher agreed that there were some things the politician
did during her victory speech that were slightly odd, stating,
"I thought she might be deceptive because she kept looking up and to the right when
talking about 'no matter if you voted for us.'"
Luckily for all U.S. citizens, Hoelscher said that the conclusion about this specific tic,
while widely circulated, has little scientific support. Not only that, but Hoelscher also
believes Harris' strange movement can actually be attributed to one thing totally out of
her control — the location of the teleprompter.
Upon reviewing the footage of Harris' speech, Hoelscher felt that she was probably just
checking the teleprompter to make sure she was hitting all her key points in what was
surely a high-pressure situation. He explained:
"I reviewed the video again because it was so clockwork, but I think they set the teleprompter
to Joe's height, which forced the movement. She was getting close to the end of the speech
and probably wanted the teleprompter more to make sure she was right on script for a
key message."
As Harris is clearly an accomplished public speaker and politician, even Hoelscher had
a little bit of trouble reading her body language. We're not sure if that is a good or bad thing
for the American public. It's probably a great skill when negotiating with other countries,
but gives us less insight into her inner workings. Hoelscher said:
"I can't evaluate her feelings about her message because she's so controlled, but that says
something about her as a person. I can say she is genuinely happy about winning but still
focused on her job."
While there is nothing wrong with being in control of your emotions, we hope Harris is
taking the time to congratulate herself on winning such a tight race and celebrating
with friends and family. As to that, Hoelscher isn't so sure.
"Maybe she'll relax enough to enjoy the moment, but it won't be for long."
We've all seen her sweet dance moves on multiple occasions so we know the VP-to-be is not afraid
to let her hair down from time to time. Here's hoping she carries that joy with her to the
White House.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more List videos about the election
are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.