Body language revisited: tell-tale signs from royal weddings

Having been greatly frustrated in recent weeks by the fact that it's no longer possible to embed video from the Sky News website, I was pleased to find that they'd posted one of the clips I'd been looking for on YouTube (above).

Regular readers will know that something else that also frustrates me is the way in which so many body language 'experts' overstate their claims and/or make authoritative-sounding assertions on the basis of little or no empirical evidence.

There's more on the subject in my book Lend Me Your Ears (Chapter 11) as well as in the posts listed below. And, if you haven't already seen the Busting the Mehrabian Myth video from Creativity Works, it's well worth watching, especially if you're one of those who still believe that 93% of communication is non-verbal (below).

Tell-tale signs of true feelings?

Whether or not Dr Peter Collett believes this, I do not know. But I do know that he was on a BBC television programme in 1987 claiming that the launch of the Tory general election that year resembled a troop of chimpanzees led by alpha-female Margaret Thatcher.

I also know that he appears on Sky TV body language programmes quite frequently - which is presumably why Sky News roped him in for this four minute slot just before the royal wedding, in which he explains that the best way to answer 'age-old questions' about couples who are about to marry is to watch out for 'tell-tale signs in their body language'.

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about the validity of his observations, and will be interested to hear any comments or reactions you might have.

And, if you've another few minutes to spare, I'd recommend you to have a look at this too:

Other posts on body language & non-verbal communication:

• Body language on BBC Radio 4's 'Word of Mouth'
• Fact & fiction about body language 1: Folded arms, defensiveness and the Mehrabian myth
• Fact & fiction about body language 2: Does it matter what you wear or where you stand?
• Fact & fiction about body language 3: Do movement & gestures distract?
• Another example where 100% 0f the communication is 'non-verbal'
• How to use video to study body language, verbal & non-verbal communication
• Body language and non-verbal behaviour
• Presidential heights
• Body language, non-verbal communication and the myth about folded arms and defensiveness
• Another body language & non-verbal communication cartoon
• Margaret Thatcher, body language and non-verbal comunication
• Non-verbal communication and height
• Non-verbal communication
• More on body language and non-verbal behavior
• Impersonators as masterful analysts of non-verbal communication
• Mehrabian's moans about the myth
• Linguistic difference and non-verbal behavior: the mysterious case of gestures
• Eye contact, public speaking and the case of President Zuma's dark glasses