What the hands of Marco Borsato and Fred van Leer tell

These have been the weeks of interviews. First Meghan and Harry who were guests on Oprah, then a one-time interview of Marco Borsato with Linda de Mol, and then Fred van Leer who sat at the piano with Jeroen van de Boom. Enough has been said and written about all of them, but what does their body language tell us? Henry van den Bogert is an expert at the Body Language Academy and explains the gestures.

Marco who kept tapping the tips of his fingers against each other, what does it mean?

“A lot stands out with Marco. He holds his poses for a long time. You also hardly see any heightened emotion in his gestures, as his movements are quite small. It fits the intimate setting of the interview, his body language is adjusted to that. During the interview, he keeps his hands folded together and fidgets with his thumbs and pinkies. Rubbing indicates discomfort, you literally rub the discomfort away. This does not mean that what he is saying is not true, but that it is a tense and emotional subject. You can see that it affects him. This way you can ventilate tension. Furthermore, Marco's movements are authentic. The thumbs are associated with ego, the pinkies with insecurity. You see this especially when he talks about his divorce, what the children think of it, and during the bankruptcy of The Entertainment Group. The combination of his pinkies and thumbs makes it consistent with what he is saying, as it is about insecurity and ego. You don't see this movement much in people, but it fits the context.”

And then Fred van Leer at Hoge Bomen, where he seemed to be seeking support with his hands on the piano. What does that mean? 

“The advantage with Fred was also that he wasn't telling it to a full room. Because then people tend to act faster, which could also happen with Fred. His personality is very outspoken, you can see that reflected in his facial expressions and gestures. Rubbing his hands over the piano can be an expression of literally bracing himself. He was trying to find support because it is a heavy subject, and he literally showed that. You don't see any ego, his body shows that he had no grip on it. Fred makes himself small when he is sad. He folds his hands into a fist in front of his mouth, it's almost as if he is literally blocking the flow of words. Just like when he assumes this prayer position, you literally protect yourself by holding your arms in front of your belly and chest, and he even placed them higher than that. With Fred, you can also see it well when he is looking forward to something. He indicates that with a clap of his hands and then quickly rubbing them together. Essentially, he is saying: this is going to be fun.”

Finally, we naturally want to know: what did you think of Meghan Markle's body language? 

“Harry looks tense, even though you don't see that immediately with the naked eye. Meghan is especially very sincere in her body language.”

Want to learn more about reading body language? Take a look at the Body Language Academy.