Inbaal Honigman has poured over the footage of the contentious discussion between the world leaders on Friday (28 January), to weigh up what they were really saying through their mannerisms.
But most of us won’t have clocked on to what the 47-year-old leader was trying to convey through his gestures.
Which is where Honigman comes in, as she’s well versed in the language of the body.
Speaking to LADbible on behalf of Oddspedia, the body language boffin explained that she picked up on Zelenskyy making an interesting hand movement as tempers flared.
As he went up against both Trump and Vice President JD Vance – and struggled to get a word in edgeways – Honigman spotted him using a ‘finger purse’ gesture, among other noteworthy movements.
And according to the expert, Zelenskyy was really trying to remain tactful throughout the tense meeting.
Honigman reckons that the Ukrainian President was trying to communicate with his hand movements (The White House)
“He’s speaking sternly, but his body language is imploring,” Honigman said. “Zelenskyy’s right hand is formed into a ‘thumb fist’, which is a typical diplomatic leader hand gesture.
“Where a fist would be too militant, a fist with a thumb on top of it is viewed as a softer gesture, asking for help rather than telling the USA to help him.
“At the same time, his left hand goes across his body, in a protective gesture, so he’s not feeling very brave while he’s arguing.”
As Zelenskyy verbally sparred against Vance, Honigman said that he opted to use his hands to ‘punctuate his words with his palm turned upwards’, which she explained ‘indicates honesty and openness’.
She continued: “He forms his hand into a ‘finger purse’ which is a gesture of explaining. He wants to make himself understood.”
For those who aren’t aware, this is a hand gesture which involves bringing all your fingers together along with your thumb – or in layman’s terms, it looks like the ‘pinched fingers’ emoji.
The body language expert said that Trump and Vance took a much more ‘domineering’ approach than Zelenskyy (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Honigman pointed out that Vance took a much fiercer approach with his hand movements in comparison, as the Vice President, 40, ‘pointed directly at’ Zelenskyy.
“This is quite a domineering gesture, like a parent chastising an errant child,” the body language expert said. “World leaders rarely resort to such aggressive gestures, even in disagreements.
“Following that, Zelenskyy folds his arms and looks away. Both of these are blocking gestures – he is done.”
A scheduled news conference between the quarrelling leaders was cancelled in wake of the chaos which unfolded in the Oval Office.
Both Zelenskyy and Trump issued statements on the incident, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also broke his silence on the controversy earlier today (2 March).
