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A body language expert analyzed a clip of an awkward Meghan Markle moment that resurfaced recently. Meghan was a speaker during a 2016 blogger conference and, when the room opened up for questions, no one in the audience participated at first.
Meghan Markle was caught in an awkward moment at a blogger conference
In 2016, Meghan was a guest speaker at the Create & Cultivate blogger conference in Atlanta, where she discussed her experiences writing for The Tig website.
At one point (seen in a YouTube video), the audience was asked if they had questions for the Q&A segment and no one stepped up to talk.
Meghan said, “They have no questions. They just want their cocktails.” The host added, “I think you dropped all the knowledge.”
Meghan continued, “I’m a chatty gal, I know.”
The host asked again, “No questions? Guys?”
Meghan interjected, “Not even a question about Mike Ross, that surprises me. I got to tell you, there’s nowhere I can go without people going…” then she pointed to someone in the audience and joked, “Please tell me it’s not a Mike Ross question.”
As someone stepped up, the host and Meghan had a little banter about champagne and wine. Then the audience member asked a question about balancing being a feminist and being feminine.
Expert analyzes Meghan Markle’s body language
Body language expert Judi James provided her analysis of the clip, telling Express that Meghan “manages the moment” but displays signs of anxiety.
“This is an awkward moment, with Meghan showing some of the more dominant, leadership skills to take over when the session risks giving the impression of falling flat when there are no questions at the end,” James said.
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“This kind of tumbleweed moment is annoying because the longer the pause the more it makes it look as though your talk was so dull nobody can think of anything to ask,” the body language expert noted.
She continued, “Good conference hosts should get some of their team ready with questions to avoid moments like this and they also need to be ready with the mics to pick up the questions that do usually come once the ice has been broken.”
According to James, Meghan’s instinct to drum up some conversation is a good approach. “Meghan is right to talk through this then as sitting in silence would create a low point for what has probably been an interesting talk,” she said.
James continued, “Her tone does suggest some impatience and maybe even irritation though as she holds her own leg and talks about the audience to her host rather than communicating directly with them as she tends to these days.”
The expert also noted a tactic Meghan used to appear “approachable.” James explained, “She throws in the phrase ‘I’m a chatty girl’ with the use of ‘girl’ breaking feminist ‘rules’ but maybe being used rather than ‘woman’ to make herself sound more approachable.”
She continued, “The phrase ‘There’s nowhere I can go without people going…’ smartly suggests she is used to being mobbed with questions, making the silence in the room sound like a rarity.”
Meghan displayed some ‘anxiety’ in the moment, expert says
The now Duchess of Sussex handled the situation fairly well but did display some body language gestures that indicated “anxiety or tension,” according to James.
“Although she takes over and manages the moment, there are several gestures of anxiety or tension from her here though, like stuffing her hand into the hole in her ripped jeans; hiding her face with her hand; a nervous laugh and a scratching of her nose,” James explained.
She continued, “Her status re-boot seems to continue when she finally gets to answer a question. Meghan very deftly re-builds her brand via some name and event-dropping that puts her squarely back in A-list status again after the no-questions wobble.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
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