The 63-year-old Shadow Home Secretary was slammed by critics for her Sky News interview at the beginning of June in the wake of the London Bridge attack.
She was accused of stumbling over her words and not being able to find the answer when quizzed about defences being out in place.
But today, Diana Abbot appeared on Sky News again after it was announced today politicians will use a major new study to develop a migration system for after the UK leaves the EU.
But what did her body language have to say this time?
Body language expert Robin Kermode decoded her interview:
In this video, we see she had permanently raised eyebrows and widened eyes, suggesting a rabbit-in-headlights reaction to standard fight or flight responses.
People do this when they feel under attack or when feeling light-headed and want to appear focused.
The slackness of her lower jaw muscles seems at odds with the rightness the upper eye area.
In terms of body language congruence, we would say there is a disconnect. This disconnect can come across as disinterest or passive aggressiveness.
This is also emphasised by the slowness of her speech, which sounds a little monotonous and over thought-through. As a result it sounds a touch condescending.
Her blink rate is unusually high. The average blink rate lies between 15 to 25 blinks per minute. In this video, Miss Abbott blinks 27 times in 30 seconds (equalling 54 blinks per minute).
Diabetes has been proved to affect blink rates, so this might be the cause.
The sudden disengaging of all facial muscles at the very end of the clip suggests that she has been, to some extent, ‘holding it together’ during the interview and is pleased it’s over.
She has been quoted as saying, “During the election campaign, everything went crazy – and the diabetes was out of control”.
Blood sugar levels are tough to deal with and can have a huge impact on our body language.
Robin also analysed Diane’s interview on Sky News when she was accused of stumbling over her words.
Robin Kermode is a popular keynote speaker and one of Europe’s leading communication coaches. He is the founder of Zone2, a professional training and coaching consultancy: www.zone2.co.uk. Robin is the author of Speak So Your Audience Will Listen – a practical guide for anyone who has to speak to another human being: http://amzn.to/IUv1RD
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