Body language expert explains Kamala Harris’ ‘revealing tell’

The recent election in the United States has been a rollercoaster ride not just for Americans but also for people all over the world. People were glued to their television screens for the results and, prior to that, for the debates and interviews the two candidates appeared in.

After Trump’s win in the 2024 election, a lot of people turned their attention to Kamala Harris to see how she would take the loss. While some may have missed certain body language cues, there were experts tuned in who did not miss a beat.

Keep reading to learn more about what Kamala Harris’ body language revealed to seasoned experts!

After a months-long presidential race with a lot of twist and turns, the Republican nominee Donald Trump cinched the win. Trump won 295 electoral votes which confirmed his return to the Presidency as the 47th President of the United States.

After she had reportedly called Trump to concede the victory, the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, took the stage at her alma mater, Howard University, to give her concession speech to the country and all her supporters.

In her speech, she said, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people.”

As Harris walked on stage, the crowd erupted in roars and applause. Body language expert, professional speaker, and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma Patti Wood said the vice president’s body language showed her as ‘powerful and confident.’

“Coming on stage, from backstage, to the podium by herself without even being introduced was a bold, brave move,” Wood said in an interview. “It gives a powerful first impression.”

“[Harris] smiles and waves high in the air several times, and claps with her arms up and out towards the audience,” Wood went on to note. “A multitude of ‘up’ body language cues that indicate happiness and joy. That she still feels powerful and confident…It makes her look like the winner.”

When Harris begins her speech, Wood notes that she has a ‘large open smile,’ ‘her cheeks lifted,’ and ‘her hand resting on her chest,’ which says indicate that ‘the smile is not fake’ and that she ‘feels the crowd’s love which makes her truly happy.’

As Harris continued on with her speech, Wood mentions her body language shifts, noting that ‘we can see her bracing herself to speak’ as she begins to take deep breaths and moves her shoulders back.

“She gives a more prissy, forced, tight smile, and this slightly sour smile [is] letting you know the taste of what she is going to have to say is not sweet,” Wood went on to point out. “She says ‘the light of America’s promise will always burn bright’ but with some emotional vocal fry and slight squinting. It’s a great statement, but I would have liked it to be more confidently delivered,” Wood finished her thought.

“As she finishes, she looks down, brows down, and tight lipped, trembling chin, holding back tears,” Wood went on to say. “She does follow it up with…’As long as we keep fighting’ with a slightly stronger delivery and gesturing with a pointed finger, but her voice breaks.”

The ‘revealing tell’ Wood notes comes when Harris begins to talk about President-Elect Donald Trump.

“There is a revealing ‘tell’ when she says, ‘Earlier today I talked to President-Elect Trump’ as she gestures with a downward push motion, symbolically pushing him down as she frowns,” Wood noted.

“The most potent illuminating moment occurs after she makes several strong statements,” she went on to illutstrate. “[Harris] sounds strong, angry, and opens her mouth wide with power. Then her eyes flutter briefly showing that she may be hiding even more anger,” she says. She notes that these moments happened when she told her voters not to stop the fight.

“There is a moment where she begins a statement, ‘To the young people who are watching’… You see a mixture of happiness and sadness. She feels both simultaneously. She is saying some very motivational things and using the word fight many times. But as she continues to say it, she is no longer mad. Her voice is strong.”

When she ended her speech she asked people to mobilize, organize, and stay perseverant even in difficult moments, adding in an old adage with, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

Wood also noted that Harris made her statement positive by adding the word ‘light’ and emphasizing that she “clearly believes people will need to fight, but her final message was about light.

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