Smiles and Body Language

One of my mother’s favorite observations was, “They say it was a smile that put Roosevelt in the White House.” That may have been an exaggeration, but there’s some truth to it. Amy Klobuchar and some other presidential candidates have nice smiles. Candidates with forced smiles, tight-lipped smiles, reflex smiles, and flashing smiles aren’t to be trusted. 

Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks related an interesting anecdote the other day. Several people were asked to judge Michael Cohen’s latest statements after reading them. They all doubted his credibility. After watching a video of the same testimony, they all found him credible. Body language made the difference. There’s a good chance that it will make the difference in the candidates’s debates.