A body language expert analyzed the Meghan Markle gestures which often come off as “inauthentic.” Meghan’s way of speaking and her mannerisms can rub people the wrong way, with one facial expression, in particular, being a key factor.
Meghan Markle said she was ‘excited’ her son Archie would have a big extended family
In one part of the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex spoke about how she wanted Archie to be close with her cousins but things fell apart with the royal family.
“When I look back at my own childhood, it was great. But I just remember feeling alone a lot,” she said. “I just wanted all these cousins and these people. I just wanted all of that. And I didn’t have that big family.”
Meghan continued, “So when I was pregnant with Archie, I was just so excited that we were going to be able to create for him that thing that I had always wanted.”
She added, “So I just did everything I could to make them proud. And to really be a part of the family…And the bubble burst.”
Meghan Markle’s body language includes 1 gesture that seems ‘inauthentic,’ expert says
In a video for The Behavioral Arts YouTube channel, body language expert Spidey discussed the way Meghan speaks and her mannerisms, pointing out “how it naturally just rubs certain people the wrong way.”
He said this clip “is another example of that.” While the expert said some people might view Meghan’s documentary moment as “just a mom talking about a lovely vision that she had for her children,” others might be “bothered or irritated” by the Duchess of Sussex.
He pointed to one gesture in particular that really gets under people’s skin. “Whenever she’s talking, almost about anything, there’s a smile. At almost all times,” Spidey explained. Even when she’s addressing something sad, “that smile is still there.”
He continued, “Naturally, we have an instinct to not trust people who always smile. Because in our head we connect it to that salesman or those dramatic actors. Or you see someone in an interview… and they’re always smiling, even when they’re talking about things that are sad, they always have this smile because it’s all about how they’re coming off.”
He added, “And it feels inauthentic to some people.”
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Spidey clarified that there’s nothing “inherently wrong with this — some people just speak this way.” He noted Meghan’s acting background may play a role, as well as the way her mother speaks in an “animated” manner as well.
Spidey pointed out that Meghan’s smile is one of her “really exaggerated facial expressions,” and she also displayed a “shift in cadence where she’s getting really excited about this thought” in the clip.
Meghan’s chuckle feels ‘inauthentic,’ according to expert
The body language expert also said the way Meghan paused and chuckled, which he called a “reminiscent chuckle,” was “unnatural.”
Spidey explained, “This, to me, always feels inauthentic. When I see someone with that chuckle before they say something, to me it feels very unnatural.”
Typically this kind of gesture syncs up with what a person is saying. “But to have it there — before we talk? To me, it just feels inauthentic,” he added.
Meghan also gave a shoulder shrug and her eyebrows went up. The expert explained, “She’s saying she did everything she could to be part of the family and I think this is her saying, ‘It wasn’t in my hands.’”
He found Meghan’s statement an “interesting word choice,” as she explained, “I just did everything I could to make them proud and to really be a part of the family.”
Spidey said that Meghan herself has indicated she didn’t do “everything” when it came to the royal family.
He explained, “This one, to me, isn’t a great look, not because of what I think, but because of things that she herself has said in the past. When she met the queen, she was unprepared. She was also a little awkward around Prince William and Princess Catherine when she first met them. This is her admission — she said these things.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
