TL;DR:
- Kate Middleton talked with British radio presenter Roman Kemp in a Feb. 3 video for her Shaping Us campaign.
- According to a body language expert, Kate Middleton demonstrated a “formidable but subtle level of talent” while being the interviewer/interviewee.
- The expert called Kate Middleton’s transition from interviewee to interviewer “seamless.”
It seems Kate Middleton can add interviews to her list of skills alongside photography, cooking, and rugby. A Feb. 2023 video for her Shaping Us campaign featuring a chat about childhood has a body language expert highlighting the Princess of Wales’ “talent” for making “filmed conversation” appear “natural.”
Kate Middleton made a Shaping Us video with radio host Roman Kemp look ‘friendly,’ expert says
After announcing her Shaping Us public awareness campaign and launching a new Instagram, Kate appeared in a video alongside a U.K. radio host discussing “early years.”
Titled, “#Shaping Us – The Princess of Wales in conversation with Roman Kemp,” the Feb. 3 video debuted on Kate and Prince William’s YouTube channel. Kate and the U.K. radio host walked as they took turns asking each other about formative years and raising children.
Body language expert Judi James examined the nearly seven-minute video, noticing Kate’s “talent” for making the “choreographed” look “natural.”
“We often see Kate chatting to people she meets on royal visits using this style of body language, with the cupped hands or circling hand gestures and active listening skills,” James said (via Express).”But here we get to hear her words as well, and she shows a formidable but subtle level of talent.”
Kate, she observed, “manages to pull off the trick of making an unnatural, choreographed and filmed conversation look natural, friendly and even intimate,” toward the end of the video.
Expert says Kate Middleton’s ‘choreography’ in the video only looked ‘effortless’
The Princess of Wales made interviewing look easy when she took the “lead” and asked Kemp questions, James said.
“Kate’s choreography might look effortless, but she is leading the camera angles here and using active questioning and listening skills, paying careful attention to Roman’s reactions, as she walks along,” the expert explained.
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James continued, calling it a “rare sight” among British royals. “A royal conducting an interview rather than being interviewed is a rare sight,” she said. “But Kate manages to suppress the kind of status and ego signals we have seen during recent royal interviews in the U.S. and to work to draw recollections and experiences from Roman rather than the other way round.”
Kate Middleton exuded a ‘relaxed and confident’ air with ‘presentation skills’ that didn’t appear ‘slick,’ expert says
Overall, James praised Kate’s ability to make the video feel like a chat sans any “lecturing.”
“When they swap roles at half time, with Roman interviewing Kate, the change is seamless because Kate still retains signals of empathy and modesty, presenting herself as someone keen to learn and quietly passionate about her cause, rather than lecturing or trying to sound like a guru,” James explained.
By the end of the video, when Kate and Kemp exchanged some final words, the 41-year-old appeared “relaxed and confident, responding in a natural and very warm way to Roman’s points.”
“The pair seem able to display some signals of genuine rapport despite their very different careers and lifestyles,” James said before additional analysis of Kate’s “presentation skills.”
James described them as a combination of “professional” and authentic. “Kate’s body language and her presentation skills here look smart and professional but without becoming slick or overly performed,” the expert said. “She manages to promote her cause without promoting herself or over-shadowing her message or Roman.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
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