We all remember that time when the "Fab Four" shared a moment together at an event of the
Royal Foundation.
There are enough body language signals here for more than one video, so let's see what
can we catch at first sight.
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The first impression that I got when I saw all four of them sitting on the scenario was
the special treatment they gave Meghan in this occassion.
It's important to remember that this is the first, and maybe the only time they were sharing
the main space at an event.
But I want to stress the fact that this was Meghan's first time as prospective member
of the Royal Foundation.
And I think many people were really excited about the fact that you had, in one place,
the ambassadors of the Royal Family for the future.
The fresh faces, the next generation of royals, especially with this new member.
I don't know how much did they suspect about Meghan by this point, I guess they had already
noticed some frictions between her and the staff back home, but at this moment both Catherine
and William wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And I say that she was given a very special treatment, because visually, if you take into
account the interviewer, Meghan was sitting in the literal center of the group.
I don't know what do you think about this, but for me, it's a very humble gesture from
William and Catherine of giving her this spot.
It would have been easier for William to sit in the middle, or Catherine sit in the middle...
again, visualizing the group including the interviewer to one side, since William and
Kate are the two main 'senior' members of the foundation, if you want to put it in some
way.
But instead, they gave Meghan that 'most important seat' as a welcoming gesture to these initiatives.
What's more, her seat's color is green, which also projects that idea of renewal, of a fresh
face.
Now, let's take a look at the general posture of each one, starting with Harry.
This is almost a staple now, a general body language attitude that is sitting with a heavy
lean to one side.
And maybe I can understand that Harry is rather tall, so he could have some trouble reaching
the armrest so that's why his body assumes that position.
I'm going to mention William's posture in a minute, by the way.
But Harry has this low energy posture, he's usually looking down, which obviously doesn't
help much to easen up that attitude, and he's fiddling with his fingers.
He was absolutely not engaged with the activity.
And we are talking about William and Kate welcoming Meghan to work all together with
their initiatives.
Don't you think that Harry would be excited of that perspective?
of that future work? and instead, we see this kind of defeating posture.
It makes you think that most probably the Sussexes were already thinking of jumping
ship sooner or later, so he didn't think that it was worth his time or energy being there.
What's more, he's got his legs crossed at the ankles, which is a posture of resistance,
of not wanting to be there, of not accepting people's arguments.
That's a common clue in negotiations; if someone has their legs crossed at the ankles, they
are not convinced yet.
The only problem is if you're negotiating over a table, it makes a bit difficult to
spot this clue.
But I mentioned William's posture, and it was a little different.
He's got his legs crossed, in what is called an European leg cross, with one knee over
the other, as opposed to an American leg cross, where one ankle rests over the opposite knee.
In fact, the european leg cross is part of royal protocol, and the way men should sit,
with the sole of the foot pointing to the floor.
It depends, of course, of your constitution.
I don't think Mike Tindall can sit with his legs like this, so he usually prefers to sit
with both feet planted on the ground.
William's back is also just a bit hunched.
I think he wanted, in some way, to close the circle and get closer to everybody, since
he was sitting on the far end of the group.
In fact, you can see that when it's his turn to talk, he leans in and rests his elbows
on his legs.
I don't recommend this posture, because it projects lack of energy.
He makes up for it with his hand gestures, that have enough amplitude and good rhythm
to emphasize his words.
And the fact that he was sitting on the red chair, that is a symbol of power.
Very appropriate for the second in line to the British Throne.
There's enough contrast with Catherine's gestures, which are all at solar plexus level.
And this is important to mention, that not because you're gesturing at that level, it
meanst that your hands are too low.
In fact, that's a good level that helps emphasize and project your ideas to an audience, and
at the same time keep a calm and collected attitude.
It all depends of your personality.
If you feel like it, you can gesture a bit higher, to neck level, but if you don't know
where your hands should go, just keep them moving at midsection level.
In fact, when Meghan is speaking, her gestures are more at neck level, almost at face level,
which conveys a lot of energy.
You just have to make sure to not use this kind of high energy gestures, ALL the time,
because they lose that power.
You can also be seen like you want to attract people's attention to yourself, or you want
everyone's attention.
Maybe this was Meghan's intention but it shouldn't be like this.
Your gestures are a tool to emphasize your words, and your words are the channel for
your ideas.
Your ideas should be the most impactful message that you give.
Your gestures just emphasize them.
By all means, you can see the contrast between Meghan and Catherine, in their gestures.
As I mentioned, there are a lot of details that we can observe and compare in both of
them.
If you want me to keep going deeper analyzing this event, just let me know in the comments.
When I mention body language details, I mean like Meghan's hands, that are really tense
and stiff.
You can see that in her gestures, her fingers are straight most of the time.
That's not a natural state for our hands.
Our fingers are usually slightly curved, so this is part of projecting a strong emotion
with her gestures.
Again, it's not that it's wrong to tense your hands from time to time, but it's not a good
idea to have them like this ALL the time, because they lose their emphasis.
If you need to give a speech, or need to practice your public speaking in some way, the best
exercise I can suggest is to record yourself and then take a good look at your own video,
taking notes.
What did you like, and what would you like to change.
You are your best judge.
Guaranteed.
I want to point out something about Harry's gestures.
He's got very good hand gestures, good frequency, good amplitude... but I get really distracted
with the way he is constantly rocking his chair back and forth.
I mean, everyone is sitting in the same kind of chair.
And Harry is the only one that is constantly moving, even when he's not talking.
You don't have to be a body language expert to realize this only projects being nervous,
or restless, or unfocused, and no matter how interesting your idea could be, people will
be distracted by any kind of movement that doesn't support your speech, which is what
happens with his chair moving over and over again.
I understand the people that claim that they cannot stay calm for extended periods of time,
but it's even more important to consider that, if you want people to listen to you, pay attention
to your message and you have a good opportunity to share it, make sure everyone's attention
is in your delivery, and not in other distractions.
Again, so much left out this time about this event, but I'll keep reviewing this video
to give you more details next time.
If you want to refine your observation skills, all you have to do is download my 100+ body
language tips, right in the description of this video.
My name is Jesús Enrique Rosas and it will always be a pleasure, my body language buddies!
Much Love, and Bliss.