A dominant Obama meets Putin at G20
Putin knows when he is in the presence of a real world leader.
President Barack Obama was intent on getting the upper hand as he greeted Russia's Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit on Thursday, according to body language experts who watched the frosty exchange.
From a jacket-buttoning pause to a hard-pumping handshake, Obama displayed tell-tale signs of dominance after he alit from a limo in front of St. Petersburg's Konstantin Palace, where Putin waited to meet him, communication experts said.
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Patti Wood, author of "Success Signals: Body Language in Business," made a similar analogy.
"It was very odd. Obama is treating him like he was greeting a doorman," she said.
She noted the significance Obama buttoning his suit jacket after exiting the limo.
"That’s another way men show power," she said. "It says, 'I know the attention is on me' and it’s a little bit rude to do that. It's grabbing the power for yourself."
Tonya Reiman, who has written three books on body language, said Obama extended his hand at least two seconds before Putin did.
"This is a show of power," she said. "In addition, he leans in toward Putin with his upper body, placing himself slightly into Putin's personal zone. Notice Putin pulls back ever so slightly, which indicates that Obama has the upper hand."
During the handshake, they pumped up and down 18 times, said Joseph Tecce, a psychology professor and body-language scholar at Boston College.
"The handshake is very tense. The 18 may have been an attempt for either one to show dominance, to say, 'Don't fuss with me," he said. "Or they are saying, 'Look, we are shaking hands, we're good — an attempt to establish what is not real."
Wood said Obama grasped Putin's hand from underneath so he could bring it up to him.
"That says, 'I’m in charge here. I’m going to run the show," she said.
"Putin is intimidated by Obama, Obama is not intimidated by Putin," Tecce said.
When the encounter was over, Putin remained standing outside the palace as Obama walked inside.
Reiman noticed that before Obama strode off, he raised up his arm, which she labeled a sign of dominance. "Putin looks down — another sign of submissive behavior," she said.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/05/20342654-the-big-chill-a-dominant-obama-meets-a-cool-putin-at-g20?lite
= new reply since forum marked as read
After all the criticism of RT, NBC comes up with this. Yikes.
That has nothing to do with his power, of course.
Just speaking as a "long" person, "short" persons do astounding things -- but not so much in basketball.
Breaking with diplomatic protocol, Israeli officials failed to include the customary Turkish flag on the table between them and the Turkish ambassador, whom they seated on a low couch. To rub it in, they instructed the press members in attendance to note that they were sitting in higher chairs and the usual diplomatic niceties were conspicuously absent.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0112/Why-Israel-humiliated-Turkey-in-response-to-a-TV-show
Interesting story about Amb. Wilson.
I believe Putin made Kerry wait some crazy amount of time at their last meeting.
I know that this woman got it completely ass-backwards.
When an individual has to 'try' to appear physically dominant - firming up the handshake, invading personal space, etc. - then they are not the dominant individual. They are insecure in their position and are using 'preening' personna displays to shore up their insecurity. This the double-message that Obama is projecting.
Putin appears much more at ease, confident, and secure in himself. It isn't really surprising given the circumstances. Putin is not dealing with a conflict within his own government and country over the Syrian excursion. Putin is a highly ranked Judo master who knows his own physical limitations & powers well.
With that said, this kind of article which passes for news here in the US is just sickening. As John Stewart said, what is this - fucking middle school?!
