A body language expert analyzes retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s unusual entrance during the Republican debate in unique HampshireAt the level of US presidential politics,a single gesture can be worth a thousand words. George HW Bush’s impatient downward glance at his wristwatch in the 1992 presidential debate, and Dan Quayle’s Adam’s apple jump in the 1988 vice-presidential debate – as Lloyd Bentsen said You’re no Jack Kennedy” – approach to mind. At final night’s debate at Saint Anselm College in unique Hampshire, and another type of behavior stood out as a potent nonverbal signal. The specific sign was immobility.
The debate began as one by one the seven candidates were called to the podium. The first one called,unique Jersey governor Chris Christie, bullishly strode past the curtain with no hesitation at all. The second to be called, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson,not only hesitated, but became starkly motionless indeed catatonic – and waited in the curtained wings offstage. After viewing the video several times, or my analysis of Carson’s odd behavior – conjectural and based on body language alone points in two directions: either severe stage fright or momentary confusion,possibly brought on by sedation.
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Source: theguardian.com