Federal Election 2019: Scott Morrison, Bill Shorten’s body language shows they’re stressed and lack power

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten’s body language has revealed they both lack power and leadership — instead they showed signs of stress and trying to hold back aggression.

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten’s body language has revealed they both lack power and leadership — instead they showed signs of stress and trying to hold back aggression.

Body language expert Dr Louise Mahler told News Corp both leaders were “faking it to make it” as their first election speeches contained telling signs about their behaviours.

She said the Prime Minister’s election announcement showed insecurity and tension.

“The up-down up-down eye movement just as he announced the election date is a huge sign of a lack of leadership and insecurity,” she said.

His poor use of breath and intonation of words unveiled a “fumbling” of words, leading him into a “vocal fry” at the end of his sentences.

“It means the air flow is restricted, when you lower the air to 1/6 of what you need to make normal sound, you get malfunction of the vocal cords,” she said.

“The Kardashians do this all the time as do people in sales.”

When he spoke about the “future” he pronounced the word as “futcha”, showing he had a tight jaw and that his diaphragm was jammed.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, where he clenched his fist. Picture Kym Smith

“He’s tightening up, he hasn’t got enough freedom of airflow, he’s uncertain, he’s trying to get everything across as certainty but there are little physical giveaways,” she said.

“They are tiny little things but they show signs of stress.”

She said Mr Morrison’s clenched fists were related to his diaphragm being jammed.

“It looks strong and good but it’s something that says he has concerns behind it.”

Dr Mahler said the speed and volume of his speech were peripheral issues but his airflow was an issue.

“You never run out of air you only run into tension and he’s getting tension in his body,” she said.

Dr Mahler said Mr Shorten’s response to the election being called revealed a “nice Bill” and an “aggressive Bill”, who was trying to be caring but is “too used to being like a cage boxer”.

She said he tries to soften himself by tilting his head and raising his shoulders up to show power, but it backfires.

“That’s not power, it sends messages of ‘I’m not on your wavelength’,” she said.

“If you’re talking to someone and you’re very connected your head is upright. When it’s to one side you’re saying ‘You’ve got your point of view, well here’s mine.’ It’s sloppy and just too casual.”

Opposition leader Bill Shorten speaks to the media in Mitcham, Melbourne, with a head tilt. Picture: AAP

“It shows a discomfort in a position they put him into where they don’t want him to show his aggression.”

She added that he has no musicality in his body, and his speech delivery was like a “bland piece of contemporary music”.

She said that his mouth and upper lip is Mr Morrison’s best defence, and when Mr Shorten took questions from the media, he became “like a little raging cage boxer”.

“When it came to question time, we had the real Bill,” she said.

“We start seeing the upper lip going up and the snarling voice.

“He closes his mouth and his teeth barely separate.”

Dr Mahler added that Mr Shorten’s “change of state” is a problem for his body language.

When she saw his head and eyes move from side to side as he took questions, she said it was not an “engagement tactic”, it was more of a “bullying tactic”.