It's been a while since I made my first video about Prince Andrew's BBC interview, and BOY,
it has aged well!
But I took a second look and noticed so many details that I missed the first time, that
YOU can use to read people's body language.
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!
What is so interesting about how much body language content is in this interview, is
that the following details, all of them happen in the very first 5 minutes of the interview.
And precisely, the first question sparked an interesting reaction in the Duke of York:
- Why you decided to talk now?
- ...uhm until now, actually it's a very good opportunity, and I'm delighted to be able
to see you today.
From that first moment that we see Andrew on screen, we can feel his aprehension about
being there.
He's got his head back, which is a signal of resistance.
He is not looking straight at the interviewer, but his head is rather turned to one side,
and his lips are pressed, which is always related to being uncomfortable.
It's always important, when you're starting a conversation with someone, measure how willing
are they to talk to you, to open up.
That way you can decide if you want to keep the topics light until they become more comfortable.
Another signal of Andrew being nervous is the rapid blinking that he shows throughout
all the interview, and that doesn't happen in other, less pressing interviews that he's
given.
I also recommend to spot those moments in which he lowers his gaze.
That's also a signal that someone feels uncomfortable or even threatened.
But I think the greatest 'threat' started with the following question:
- All of this goes back to your friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
How did you first become friends, how did you meet?
Notice that the sound that he does with his mouth is not yes or no, not even hm-hmm, but
more like a Hmm!
Maybe in itself it doesn't have any meaning besides not being clear accepting the statement
he just heard, but his body language gives him away.
There is rapid blinking and he pulls his head back again, and he wets his lips, something
that we do when we are nervous, especially if we do it, when we are not speaking.
If you are having a conversation with someone and they give answers like this, it's because
they are still too tense.
What you can do is to break eye contact more often, so they don't feel threatened by your
eyes, or turn your body a little to one side so the axis of your chest is not pointing
right at them.
I know those are basic rules of showing attention to the other person, but in some cases people
can feel uncomfortable, so it's worth giving them a try.
But body language is not the only signal you can get from people.
Most of the time they can reveal a lot with their words.
Such as Andrew's next answer:
- And it would be, to some extent a stretch to say that we were close friends, or we were
friends, because of other people.
- Uhm... but it would be, it would be... (stutters) a considerable stretch that he was a very,
very close friend.
In the same answer, he tries to make it extremely clear that he was not a close friend of Epstein.
And he does it twice, going as far as mentioning 'other people', in the sense that he did not
meet Epstein directly, or that his connection with him was not direct.
But of course you noticed the heavy stuttering, the indecision, the long pauses... all signals
of a person that is really nervous.
Now, people can be telling the truth AND become nervous at the same time because they want
to be believed.
But a person that is telling the truth is not going to conceal or disguise information.
They are going to be as explicit as possible.
And regarding that, take a look at the next clip because it's really important to understand
this point:
- But he had the most extraordinary ability to bring...
uhm... extraordinary people together.
You would meet academics, politicians, people from the united nations, I mean, it was a
cosmopolitan group...
Wait a minute...
people from the United Nations...
Oh, Meghan used to work with the United Nations.
What a coincidence!
It's creepy enough that he just mentioned "academics, politicians, people from the united
nations", referring to Epstein being able to put them all together in the same place.
But what's important for us, is that when he said those words he was more fluent than
he has been so far.
This is important because it's easy to get lost in the nervousness, or frustration, or
covert anger signals, but it's also important to pinpoint the moments when people are fluent
and convinced of what they are saying, which is exactly what happens here.
Well, we already have proof that Epstein was able to organize meetings with... personalities.
And these personalities just kept coming back.
For some reason.
Maybe the canapés were really good.
Who knows?
And Prince Andrew was one of those who kept coming back.
But again, what was the appeal of all those...
meetings?
- Was that his appeal, then?
- Yeah.
- Was that... because you...
- Was that his appeal, then?
- Yeah.
- Was that... because you...
Now, this is interesting.
I've mentioned you before to be very careful when you see someone denying with their head.
Because shaking the head from side to side, in some cultures, for example, in America,
it can be used to emphasize a statement.
For example, if you say "that's delicious", and shake your head, it's implied that you're
giving emphasis to your answer.
Also, if you say 'no' and you shake your head, obviously that's a reinforcement of the negative
that you are saying.
Or, maybe you're singing "A Thousand Miles", and want to shake your head to the rhythm.
But it's something totally different when you say, effectively, YES, and shake your
head at the same time.
As usual, I encourage you to play the three instances.
Say "delicious" or "spectacular" or "amazing", and shake your head, then say "no", and shake
your head...
And finally, say "yes" and shake your head.
Most probably you'll have trouble saying "yes" and shaking or denying with your head, because
that produces such a strong contradiction in behavior, that goes against what is natural
in us.
That's the difference between many instances where Andrew was slightly shaking his head
and THIS moment.
Because here, he said, explicitly, YES.
He made a real contradiction saying NO with his head, so that's a clue to confirm that
no, the meetings with the 'personalities' were NOT Epstein's only appeal.
Again, maybe the canapés were... delicious.
As usual, every analysis is always a mix between body language, voice, words and other signals.
Such as the Duke's next answer:
- Did you trust him?
- Yeah, I think I probably did, but... again...
I don't go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing, if you know what I mean
Well, you got many body language clues that we have already seen in this video, such as
wetting his lips, shaking his head when he's affirming something, pushing his head back
and even doing a single shoulder shrug, that usually means that people are not confident
about what they are saying.
But the biggest tell in this case is that he says that he just trusted Epstein, because,
in his own words, "I don't go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing".
And that makes sense in some way.
Sometimes you can get hurt by people, but it's always a much better bet not to assume
that there is a dark side to everyone because you would be paranoid.
But in the Duke of York's case is different.
Because he's a very public figure, and part of the British Monarchy.
You can imagine that any member of the royal family has to be extremely careful with who
do they make 'business' with.
Or who do they get photographed with, or who do they get married with.
Because there are grifters everywhere.
So their reality, as royals, is absolutely different to commoners.
So the statement "I don't go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing" is outrageously
naive, like everyone is that stupid to believe words like those.
As I said, all this happened in just the first five minutes of the interview.
If you want me to keep digging in the rest, just let me know in the comments.
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.