Voters watching tonight’s hotly anticipated debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump should watch for signs of emotional mishmash on both of their faces, one leading expert in the science of microexpressions tells the Daily Beast.
Microexpressions are “the universal facial expressions of our species,” explained expert Annie Särnblad, which means they are universal for humans, despite cultural and region differences. This is also what makes them difficult to hide, she said, adding that “they precede the thought process.”
“They are involuntary, and they last only a fraction of a second.”
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Särnblad, who previously analyzed Harris’ CNN interview, has a master’s degree in cultural anthropology and is also certified in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). Tonight, Särnblad will exclusively analyze what microexpressions she sees on the candidates’ faces for the Daily Beast.
A televised debate is a “really high-stakes situation,” said Särnblad. “So we are going to be looking for if the facial expressions match the words because the microexpressions precede the thought process.”
“Remember, [microexpressions] tell you what they are feeling. Not what they are thinking,” said Särnblad. “For example if I say, ‘I hate broccoli,’ and I am showing the microexpression of disgust, that makes sense because I am talking about something really negative.”
However there can often be a noticeable disconnect when someone attempts to hide what they are feeling by using positive words but showing negative microexpressions.
She added, “When I myself have worked with my clients to prepare them for public debates or a high-stakes negotiations, I try to get them to focus on answering the questions that they are given. We all know that trick of diverting and answering the question that you wish you had gotten rather than responding honestly. But I think the public is smart enough to see through that.”
Särnblad said she will also be watching to see what the candidates do to self-sooth themselves under pressure.
“One of the universal things about body language is that we humans touch our skin when we get nervous,” said Särnblad. “One of the really interesting things about politicians is they will use the self-soothing technique of doing the steeple, which is actually a way to calm yourself down by touching your skin.”
She added, “It looks like a powerful position but it is really used to calm your nervous system.”
Leading up to the debate, the Harris camp reportedly requested that mics be left on while the opposing candidate answers a question.
In turn, 6-foot-3 Trump has requested that no boxes or lifts be allowed during the event, which could lead to him towering over Harris (reportedly 5-foot-2) if they are allowed to roam around the stage, like Trump famously did during his debate against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Annie Särnblad is the author of three books: “Diary of a Human Lie Detector: Facial Expressions in Love, Lust, and Lies”; “The Facial Expressions Glossary: Business Version”; and the recently released “Annie and the Secret Language of Faces”.
The above videos were produced by Emma Särnblad.
