Analysis: First minister is brimful of confidence

THE independence referendum may still be almost three years away, but First Minister Alex Salmond was already looking confident yesterday.

Outstretched arms, hands clasping lapels and even a Churchillian “V for victory” sign were all on display as he held forth on his vision for the future of Scotland. Here, body language expert Robert Phipps gives his view on the what messages the First Minister was sending out.

“In the photo where Alex Salmond is standing with his arms stretching, it’s like he’s trying to appeal to his audience. The widening of the arms is a classic attempt to do that.

“But then when he changes his pose to that of bringing his hands together, that’s where he’s trying to bring in the audience. It’s like a shepherd trying to bring in a flock of sheep, which is obviously what he’s trying to do with people in politics at the moment.

“Then we have the classic Churchillian pose, with the ‘V for victory sign’. It’s something that shows he’s confident that what he’s saying at the moment will happen.

“When we look at what’s been happening this week, with Mr Salmond trying to get the better of David Cameron, it says a fair bit about his mindset.

“There’s also the hands on the jacket lapels stance, which he’s making in the final photo. That’s what we call the barrister’s pose – it’s a stance that’s associated with superiority and confidence. Here we see that Mr Salmond is very sure of himself and is standing in a very superior way.

“It’s almost like he’s quite smug. He has a natural smile that again shows his confidence that he’s going to win.”

• Robert Phipps is a leading expert on body language