TikTok has been in the eye of the storm for its
shady use of private data and its connections to the CCP.
But the body language of one of its senior managers might be all you need
to know about the real risks of using this app.
- But if the CCP or someone from the CCP or the Chinese government or
National Intelligence asked for that data... we wouldn’t know about it.
- If they asked for that data, we wouldn't give it to them. We wouldn't give it to them.
In this video, you will learn...
- Something that people do with their heads that tell you they did not like a question,
- The precise area of the face you need to look at to spot lies or deceiving, and
- How to lead the questions during a conversation so you can get to the truth.
These tips are 100% practical, so by the end of this video you will
be able not only to spot them, but also apply them in your daily life.
Welcome back, my body language buddies! my name is Jesús Enrique Rosas, I'm the Body Language Guy,
And this is Lee Hunter, the general manager and operations of TikTok for
Australia and he was interviewed by Amelia Adams for 60 minutes.
And it's not that common that we get to have clips
with so many body language clues, especially this one:
- Well, there is evidence that data can be accessed by the Chinese mainland,
and there's certainly evidence that Bytedance has links to the CCP.
- Look, I think there's a lot of misinformation out there. So
we're not headquartered in Beijing. Tik Tok is not a Chinese company.
I'm sure your intuition already drew a red flag noticing that he became
nervous with the suggestion that there is solid proof of TikTok's ties with China.
And the first two are very easy to spot. The wetting of the lips with
blinking at the same time, and scratching his ear.
The ear scratching is a pacifying gesture, something that we do when we are a bit
nervous. In itself, it's just another signal, but it's worth keeping it in mind.
By the way, the wetting of the lips can be another
signal that the person is nervous. It doesn't DIRECTLY have that meaning,
but it is a clue, nonetheless. I also found it interesting that he blinked simultaneously.
That's not something that happens very often. Could be a coincidence, but again,
body language analysis is about stacking signals one over another to reach a solid conclusion.
And it's funny that his reaction to the repeated mention of the word 'evidence',
is fixing his posture, or the way he's sitting.
That makes it a bit hard to spot that when he leans forward,
he tenses his neck. I really can't be sure if he was swallowing at that moment,
but either way that would count as two more tiny signals of nervousness.
Adjusting himself on his seat and swallowing, or just tension on his neck.
Then, what is his argument?
- Look, I think there's a lot of misinformation out there.
But what his face does saying those words cannot be unseen.
He starts his answer, that there is a lot of misinformation about TikTok,
in a quite assertive way, nodding, but still with a lot of tension on his neck.
But what happens right next is that he moves his head way back as he speaks,
as a defensive gesture.
And you might have spotted it also in the clip at the start of this video,
and we will go back to it in a minute.
But here you can also spot that he presses his lips, which could be a
signal for frustration, or an emotional reaction.
And we are still processing that, trying to make sense of it,
and he keeps his head back while he turns his eyes to HIS right side. Remember that
eyes to the left is more for memory, and eyes to the right is more for creativity.
It's not that eyes to the right automatically means that you're lying,
but could be that you're looking for the best words to express your thoughts.
But now that I mention it... this becomes a problem.
And the problem is what he is about to say:
- So we're not headquartered in Beijing. Tik Tok is not a Chinese company.
Alright. So he turned his eyes to his right,
maybe he wanted to choose the best words for what he was about to say,
but the two sentences that come out of his mouth: "We are not headquartered in Beijing,
TikTok is not a Chinese company", don't seem like they require that much creativity to convey.
Those are direct statements. So that's why turning his eyes to the right before saying
what should be straight facts, is, well... another signal to subtract from the veracity of his words.
Right after that, he goes on the offensive again, pushing his head forward and towards
Amelia. And I could spot just a tad, just a bit of contempt on his mouth.
Contempt is usually related to asymmetrical smiles,
and it's only his left lip corner that rises a little.
And the fact that it's the left, or more emotional side of his face,
means that this signal is more connected with his internal emotions.
Now, let's rewatch the question we saw at the start of this video,
so you have another chance to spot his reaction:
- But if the CCP or someone from the CCP or the Chinese government or
National Intelligence asked for that data... we wouldn’t know about it.
- If they asked for that data, we wouldn't give it to them. We wouldn't give it to them.
As many other body language analyses that we have done on this channel, we can see that
this is a reaction to a question. And that's a tip when reading people's nonverbal expression.
Those moments right after something happens, which could be a question, or a loud noise,
or someone arriving, is the ideal instant to have all your senses focused on the person.
And in this case, we have words,
voice tone and that thing he is doing with his mouth right at the end of his answer.
Let's review all those signals one by one, starting with his general body language.
The first clue is that upon answering the question,
he raises his chin. And this happens right after the question has been said,
so we can assume that this nonverbal display is part of his reaction.
Note that when I say 'reaction' I mean an EMOTIONAL reaction. And since we
are talking about emotions, these kind of displays cannot be faked,
because they are triggered by what's happening around us.
When someone fakes a reaction, it's because they have already gone through the emotion,
they have rationalized it, and then fake their body language. It's quite a
complicated process and not something you can do on the fly convincingly.
But that first display of arrogance is being a bit aggressive with his body language. As in,
he didn't like the question and he's trying to defend himself. Sometimes people could hunch a
bit and become defensive, by protecting their neck, but this is the opposite.
A 'natural' answer to any question usually doesn't require that you raise or lower your chin,
because if there is no underlying emotion, there will be no body language signal.
Now, this is pure body language gold. Because he displays not only a reaction with his mouth,
which is not part of his body language baseline, but also his jaw is tense.
Jaw tension can be difficult to spot for many reasons,
especially by our angle in respect to the person. But Here is the perfect angle,
lighting and contrast to spot that pressure on his cheek while he's looking at Amelia.
Definitely, nothing that we have seen so far makes us trust TikTok with our data. Although, to be
fair, almost every social media app is harvesting your data, so make sure you act accordingly.
These are the signals that help you lead the questions of a conversation
so you can delve deeper in those topics that trigger an emotional reaction in the person.
This is very helpful for interviews, interrogations and even general conversations,
so here's my promise: If this video gets to 10.000 likes, I will make a dedicated video
about how to structure your questions on the fly when you realize people are not being sincere.
So let's recap today's tips:
- Don't get so lost in people's facial expressions
that you fail to notice their head movement. Tilts, turns,
every head movement can be a reaction to what you're saying or questions you're asking.
- I cannot repeat this enough. One single body language signal is never enough,
but if you happen to see them so close to each other, and at least 8 out of
10 with the same approximate meaning, you're onto something. Just make sure
you resort to every behavior tactic in your toolbox, just to be sure.
- And something that I did not mention was Amelia's voice tone. It didn't change. She
was calm and collected, and that is the best approach under any circumstance,
no matter how direct your questions.
My Body Language Buddies! if you found this video useful, make sure you don't
miss my upcoming analyses by subscribing and hitting that bell. And don't forget
to download my 100+ body language tips, right in the description of this video.
Much Love and Bliss.