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Mike Pence and Putin eye contact
I saw a video of a meeting of world leaders recently and what stood out the most in the video was how Mike Pence was staring at Putin.
On first look Mike Pence eye contact gives the impression that he is ready to attack Putin. Putin however seems to not care much and is warmly greeting everyone else around him.
My opinion is that Mike Pence looks like a fake tough guy in this situation whereas Putin looks more like a leader.
What are your thoughts on this exchange?
Totally agree... Mike Pence knows the cameras are on him and he must look tough when he greets Putin... Putin knows that everyone else in the room knows he's been running rings around the US State Department for years - don't get me wrong - I hate Putin and what he's done to Russia.. but he is pure confidence and ice cold power...
Quote from Growfast on January 26, 2022, 8:34 pmI saw a video of a meeting of world leaders recently and what stood out the most in the video was how Mike Pence was staring at Putin.
On first look Mike Pence eye contact gives the impression that he is ready to attack Putin. Putin however seems to not care much and is warmly greeting everyone else around him.
My opinion is that Mike Pence looks like a fake tough guy in this situation whereas Putin looks more like a leader.
What are your thoughts on this exchange?
I'm probably not very good at reading body language, but to me Putin seemed a bit nervous and akward in this video compared to how he is usually (very confident and dominant).
He was smiling a lot whereas Pence was not, which can be seen as submissive, and even touched his face towards the end of the video for a long time which is often interpreted as a sign of nervousness.
He also bowed his head when he started shaking hands (and did it again afterwards) while Pence did not.
He also tends to look a bit down while Pence's posture is perpendicular and he is taller, which makes him look submissive.
I agree that Pence looked a bit fake in this video, and overall too aggressive, but in a way it can be seen as if Putin was slightly submissive with high warmth and low dominance and trying to get approval while Pence was more dominant with low warmth.
Yes, he overdid it.
Over-aggression is a form of over-compensation and it displays the opposite.
To be sure, it's generally still better than submissiveness.
And when you're not sure who you're dealing with, an aggressive or defensive stance might be better suited protect yourself against other aggressive players or against tough / win-lose negotiators.
But outside of those circumstances, you can't beat high-power/high-warmth.
Pence is Cut Out - And Ignored-
Pence ended up losing exactly where he wanted to win -in power-.
And he also looked awkward, outplayed, and like an asshole (towards the third guy to whom he's giving his back).
Putin opens up another guy and cuts Pence out (done on purpose? It might be).
In an effort to avoid following, Pence remains stuck in a really awkward spot for the almost whole duration.
He focuses on Putin and disregards the third guy while Putin is NOT focusing on Pence and instead talks to the third guy.
Now we're having a conversation with 2 people, with Pence cut out of it.
You can hardly be high power and cut out (ignored): it's a contradiction of terms.
That's the low power spot to be in.
No biggies if it's a moment and if he moves. But he stays there -that's what also makes him socially awkward, and why we say here that social skills are the foundations of power, seduction, and any advanced socialization-.
Plus, now Pence is over-invested in Putin.
Even if in an aggressive stance, it's still over-investment and he's still reacting to Putin, who is -and looks- like the real power player.
The feeling is that Pence is angry and aggressive because... Why?
People are angry when they are outplayed, or when they've been wronged.
And that's the low-power, loser position to be in.
Put these two at a party, and you'd think that Putin is stealing Pence's girl.
Put these two in a company party, and you'd think that Putin is winning the political race to the top.
And to boot it's Putin who ends the conversation and Pence goes back to the desk right after Putin says "alright, that's it".
Alex is right: Putin looks down and technically speaking he's being lower-dominance than Pence.
But that's only because Pence is over-doing it.
Putin is not submissive and mostly seems to ignore Pence's game. It's not affecting him.
And since Pence over-invests and reacts to Putin, ultimately it's Putin who has the upper hand.
Gravitational Pull of Power
And also interesting to see the "gravitational pull of power".
I hope this translator finds a new job or he'll develop a hunchback by age 30:
Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on January 27, 2022, 6:38 amYes, he overdid it.
Over-aggression is a form of over-compensation and it displays the opposite.
To be sure, it's generally still better than submissiveness.
And when you're not sure who you're dealing with, an aggressive or defensive stance might be better suited protect yourself against other aggressive players or against tough / win-lose negotiators.But outside of those circumstances, you can't beat high-power/high-warmth.
Pence is Cut Out - And Ignored-
Pence ended up losing exactly where he wanted to win -in power-.
And he also looked awkward, outplayed, and like an asshole (towards the third guy to whom he's giving his back).
Putin opens up another guy and cuts Pence out (done on purpose? It might be).
In an effort to avoid following, Pence remains stuck in a really awkward spot for the almost whole duration.
He focuses on Putin and disregards the third guy while Putin is NOT focusing on Pence and instead talks to the third guy.
Now we're having a conversation with 2 people, with Pence cut out of it.
You can hardly be high power and cut out (ignored): it's a contradiction of terms.
That's the low power spot to be in.
No biggies if it's a moment and if he moves. But he stays there -that's what also makes him socially awkward, and why we say here that social skills are the foundations of power, seduction, and any advanced socialization-.Plus, now Pence is over-invested in Putin.
Even if in an aggressive stance, it's still over-investment and he's still reacting to Putin, who is -and looks- like the real power player.The feeling is that Pence is angry and aggressive because... Why?
People are angry when they are outplayed, or when they've been wronged.
And that's the low-power, loser position to be in.Put these two at a party, and you'd think that Putin is stealing Pence's girl.
Put these two in a company party, and you'd think that Putin is winning the political race to the top.
And to boot it's Putin who ends the conversation and Pence goes back to the desk right after Putin says "alright, that's it".
Alex is right: Putin looks down and technically speaking he's being lower-dominance than Pence.
But that's only because Pence is over-doing it.
Putin is not submissive and mostly seems to ignore Pence's game. It's not affecting him.
And since Pence over-invests and reacts to Putin, ultimately it's Putin who has the upper hand.Gravitational Pull of Power
And also interesting to see the "gravitational pull of power".
I hope this translator finds a new job or he'll develop a hunchback by age 30:
That's very interesting, I'm not at the level of awareness yet where I'm able to understand these subtleties by myself, but after realizing all of this it's obvious I really underestimated Putin, and I'm probably not the only one.
I remember reading a news article few years ago about Putin saying that he is an autist or socially aloof, whereas the guy is a very smart and power-aware leader.
Thanks for the eye-opener Lucio!
Cheers Alex, and just to be sure, you were spot on about the "power signals" you mention.
It's just that they must be put into the context.
It's similar to "indicators of interest for dating".
Are they important?
Hell yes.
Do they always tell you the whole story?
Well, no, not always, also those must be put in context.
