Body language and speech experts reveal Sunak and Starmer’s giveaways

Published

4 months ago

June 5, 2024

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“Neither of them are blessed with natural charisma.”

This rather damning assessment of both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer – the UK’s choice of future prime minister – focuses on their speech and body language, not how they might lead the country.

The leaders of the two main parties face weeks of interviews, speeches, and walkabouts as part of their general election campaigns.

Ahead of their first live TV debate, Sky News spoke to Paul Boross, a business psychologist and body language expert who has coached several politicians and celebrities, and Elizabeth McClelland, forensic voice, speech, and language analyst, about the gestures and verbal characterisics that offer an insight into who the two frontrunners really are.

‘They’re no Obama – or Clinton’

First, we return to the accusation that neither the Conservative nor Labour leader are “blessed with natural charisma”.

According to Mr Boross, neither Rishi Sunak nor Sir Keir Starmer “have that compelling, preacher-like rhythm to their voices”, as former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton do.

“In this general election we’re not blessed with politicians who have that natural charisma – of an Obama or a Clinton,” he tells Sky News. “They both struggle to build an authentic bond with the public.”

By contrast, he credits both American leaders with using few filler words and being “very clear”.

“If you watch them, they enjoy pausing and bringing people into the conversation. That’s an art,” he says.

Ms McClelland, who has decades of experience analysing speech for legal cases, says politicians’ media training often makes it “difficult” to get an authentic idea of them.

But Mr Boross adds: “Although they’ll be working very hard to reduce those weaknesses – their body language and speech patterns often reveal them.”

Sunak: So fluent he barely blinks – speeding up under pressure

Having analysed Mr Sunak – both when making speeches and in interviews – Ms McClelland notes that he rarely pauses or uses filler words.

“He’s a remarkably fluent speaker,” she says. “He uses very few what we call pause phenomenon; he very seldom ‘uhms’ or ‘uhs’.”

This can be helpful, she adds, as it gives interviewers less opportunity to interrupt with a question.

She also draws on his former jobs in finance – and says: “He has a tendency to sound as though he’s selling you a high-end financial product.”

In terms of the sound of his voice, she describes it as “pure Westminster School, Oxbridge ‘posh’ with a contemporary twist” and “absolutely no reflection of his North Yorkshire constituency”.

This is highlighted in his pronunciation of the vowels I and O, she says.

Commenting on his body language, she adds that he “seldom blinks” and has “learned to smile a lot and speak completely to the camera or person he’s talking to.”

Although his delivery is fluent, Mr Boross notes various characteristics that reveal Mr Sunak’s nervousness or discomfort.

Giving the example of being asked if he “caught pneumonia” after delivering his Downing Street election announcement in the rain, Mr Boross says Mr Sunak often responds with “nervous laughter”.

“It’s a very Rishi Sunak thing that when he feels confronted, he automatically bursts into nervous laughter,” he says.

He warns that while it may appear friendly, the tendency to “over laugh” at things can come across as “awkward” or “inauthentic”.

The prime minister also speeds up when under pressure, he adds. “When he’s flustered his speaking pace increases.”

With regards to body language, Mr Boross claims his facial muscles tighten and hands clench when he feels uncomfortable.

Although he uses few filler words, the ones he does opt for are “right and “look”, which Mr Boross warns are too “short and sharp”.

“He uses shorter, sharper ones to try and get on the front foot in interviews, but it comes across a little too tetchy”.

“It makes him seem like psychologically he’s already in opposition,” he adds.

“He practically interrupts people when he says ‘right’, which can allow a slight air of superiority to manifest”.

Starmer: ‘Lawyer-ly’ over-caution with too many ‘uhms’

Sir Keir Starmer’s previous job as a barrister still dictates the way he speaks, according to the experts.

While Ms McClelland describes him as “serious”, Mr Boross says he is “over-cautious” with “controlled gestures”.

“His lawyer-ly tone can be a bit over-cautious, and while precise, it can seem overly formal and lacking in spontaneity and emotional engagement,” Mr Boross says.

This also comes through in his body language, he adds, via a furrowed brow and “frequently looking worried or stressed”.

Both experts note he says ‘uhm’ and ‘uh’ far more often than his rival.

While in a legal context, McClelland claims this can be an indicator someone is lying, she says it can be a “purely innocent” feature of processing.

“Being a lawyer, he likes to think before he speaks, therefore I think he wants to be sure he’s expressing himself lucidly and sincerely,” she says.

Mr Boross argues it makes him sound less confident, however.

“When I’ve worked with politicians, it’s one of the first things I eradicate from their speech, because it kills the message and makes them sound unsure.”

He adds that Sir Keir’s use of other fillers such as “right?” and “you know?” have the same effect, and suggest he needs reassurance around what he is saying.

While Mr Sunak appears to be making a concerted effort to sound more southern with his accent, Ms McClelland claims his Labour rival is doing the opposite.

“One thing I note with great interest is Starmer’s efforts to emphasise his northern credentials,” she says.

Drawing a comparison with former Labour prime minister Harold Wilson, she claims Sir Keir’s pronunciation of his L and A sounds are not in line with his Surrey upbringing, Oxford education, and north London parliamentary seat.

While Mr Sunak appears “more relaxed” in front of a camera, Ms McClelland sees more sincerity in Sir Keir’s style.

“I think you get more of a sense of the man behind the media image than you do with Sunak,” she says.

Mr Boross adds, that although still less fluent, Sir Keir is “loosening up” and has demonstrated a “better and faster” arc of improvement than his rival.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed ‘carried Viagra’ and ‘cherry picked’ women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

Published

7 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed 'carried Viagra' and 'cherry picked' women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

A former member of the Harrods management team has told how Mohamed al Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor.

Speaking to Sky News anonymously, the woman described the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, as “demonic” and said he “controlled everything with fear”.

Lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Fayed branded him a “monster” who was “enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” at a news conference on Friday.

The former employee of the luxury department store, which the Egyptian businessman took control of in 1985, worked at Harrods at the height of his power.

“We were all told Harrods is the greatest place on Earth – but he controlled everything with fear,” she said.

“The power dynamic was so strong, in the blink of an eye you would lose your career and they would try and destroy you. It was this dark psychological trap and everybody was caught.”

She said she heard stories Fayed, known to staff as “the chairman”, would grope people although she was never a victim herself.

“The chairman would walk around the store and he would cherry pick people from the shop floor, if you had blond hair and brown eyes you were favoured,” she said.

“He used to say, ‘I want that one up in my office now’. He used to carry Viagra around in his pocket, and people were so scared of his ‘floor walks’ – if you weren’t smiling enough you were in the shit, if you smiled too much you were also in the shit.”

The ex-employee, who worked at Harrods in her first job after leaving university, said when women were called to Fayed’s office they “couldn’t say no”.

“I would sit her down and I would say I need to let you know what you are walking into,” she said.

“It’s suddenly a pay rise, and you’ll be invited to expensive events and lavished with expensive gifts but really you need to be aware of something.

“I said you will get invited to Park Lane, and parties where there will be lots of rich men, and you would be invited to sleep with people.”

She said she was once asked to see Fayed in his lounge-like office where he was wearing his slippers and said: “When are you going to come up and work for me here?”

The woman said she told him she did not want to work there and went back to her normal job.

“Afterwards he would smile at me and was courteous but then I started getting extra money in my pay packet. I went to the pay office and they said it’s a bonus for what you are doing. It didn’t last long but it happened just after he’d asked to meet him.”

The woman said she now feels “really conflicted” as she was “vulnerable too”.

“It was my first job leaving university. It leaves me feeling angry that we put up with things in that generation, that was our norm,” she added.

Harrods has said in a statement it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.

The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.

UK

Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

Published

7 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary.

Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare.

But after “extensive searches”, the force said a body had been found in the Jesmond Dene area of the city. Although formal identification has yet to take place, “it is believed to be Katherine”, they added.

“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specially-trained officers,” it said.

“This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time. We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.”

Also known as Reverend Captain Katie Watson, she joined the army in her late teens, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and as part of the Royal Military Police.

“Once you have seen genocide first-hand on the streets of a European country, there is nothing left in the world that can faze you after that,” she told the Church Times in 2022, as the Geordie Hospital documentary was first aired on Channel 4.

“I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”

Ms Watson worked at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for more than 16 years and was made head of chaplaincy in 2020.

Channel 4’s documentary Geordie Hospital was a six-part series that filmed hospital staff through a shift, featuring a cast including porters, surgeons, dental nurses and chaplains.

Speaking about her role in the show, Ms Watson said: “We only have two things to offer, the gifts of time and presence, but we give them whole-heartedly.”

There was an outpouring of support online for Ms Watson following the news she was missing.

“She baptised our baby boy when he passed away at birth and presided over his funeral,” one person wrote on X. “She’s such a wonderful person who gave us unwavering support through our darkest hours.”

Another said: “The compassion and care you gave me and my family when our mum passed last year was a tremendous blessing and support.”

UK

Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Published

9 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, Sky News understands.

Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also announced they would take the same approach moving forward.

The decision by the prime minister, chancellor and deputy prime minister follows scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer and his wife for accepting donations.

The prime minister has accepted work clothing donations worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses, to the value of £2,485.

According to the MP register of interests, Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations too, to the value of £2,230.

Sky News understands that in June, the deputy prime minister also received a donation by Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, of £3,550.

The donation was registered but its nature, now understood to be work clothing, was not published.

Sky News understands that since the backlash over the freebies, the registrar was contacted to ensure the donation was published with all the necessary details.

The chancellor has not accepted any such donations, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

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It’s a strategic move from the newbie government

The amount of political chatter over freebies and hospitality for the Prime Minister was starting to look both indulgent and frivolous and it appears as if Number 10 have finally had enough.

I was told Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, and neither will Rachel Reeves or Angela Rayner in an apparent attempt to stop this story spiraling through this week and into the Labour conference this weekend.

It’s a strategic move from the newbie government, who had let the story run on perhaps longer than even colleagues in their own party had wanted.

Baroness Harriet Harman spoke out about number 10 trying to justify these free gifts, stating it was just making things worse.

Ministers had also been defending the Prime Minister’s decision to accept donations for days – the latest was Jess Philips, saying accepting Arsenal season tickets was ‘not important.’

Seven hours later though, it appears they’ve decided some of it is important – and have declared a commitment to not accept any more clothing in the future.

Questions still remain over the other hospitality gifts and it’s not entirely clear yet whether this will stem the bleed of bad news before conference weekend, or whether this tacit admittance of a misstep opens another can of worms.

Sky News revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP as his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.

This had all been declared as per the rules but backbench MPs had been expressing concern that the government’s rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy jars with the image of a prime minister accepting freebies.

The row started over the weekend with controversy over Sir Keir’s wife’s clothes.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said earlier today she is “satisfied” with the prime minister’s explanation of why he has taken the freebies.

She said if he “wasn’t doing a good job in our country” then she “would be more concerned”.

Ms Phillips went on to say it’s not that she doesn’t think it’s important, but added: “I haven’t had a single email about it.

“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list.”

Challenged on the fact that it looks bad having just taken away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Ms Phillips said these are “completely separate things”.

“And had he never been to watch the Arsenal, there would still be a £22bn black hole that had to be paid for,” she added.

She said: “All I can say is I’m absolutely knackered trying to make things better.”

What has the PM said in response to criticism?

Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.

“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.”

On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”