Melania Trump copies Queen's 'monotone' for coronavirus speeches, refuses to 'act emotion out to create empathy'
Although Melania Trump has met Queen Elizabeth II only twice during her stint as the first lady of the United States, a body language expert revealed that the British monarch plays a vital role in inspiring her demeanor and behavior.
"Donald Trump has always spoken openly about his admiration for our Queen. He and Melania experienced the traditions of royal body language up-close on their visits to the UK. It would be easy to imagine that Melania might have used her as a role model in terms of successful, high-status leadership, as she performed her own versions of ‘The Queen’s Speech’," Judy James told Express.
As a result, she was seen differing from her predecessors when it comes to reacting during a crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic, using a monotone delivery technique when making speeches. "While other First Ladies like Michelle Obama have used very active and expressive body language signals, tending to notch back on the more formal styling, Melania is now, with a pandemic crisis and an election looming, drawing heavily on a more regal vibe to get her messages across," she said.
As such there was seen a stark similarity in how the queen and the mother-of-one approached the delivery of speeches during the health crisis, choosing to be reassuring without getting emotional or too dynamic. Back in April, the queen said in a speech addressing her nation, “While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us,” telling her subjects to take comfort in the fact that “We will meet again.”
According to James, Melania too, has learned to relay the message of positivity without being overly dramatic. "Both women use the rather old-fashioned technique of delivering their verbal messages straight and in a near monotone rather than going down the current route of acting every emotion out to create empathy," she said. "This monotone delivery is very powerful though. When the Queen said ‘we will meet again’ there was only the faintest of tonal emphasis on the word ‘will’ but the understated style brought tears to many eyes. Melania has developed a similar technique of using a kind, maternal tone but without using much variation."
The goal is to deliver straight-forward messages so that powerful speeches are not undermined by emotions. And their gestures play an important role in getting their points across. "The most recent address to the nation from the Queen showed her sitting bolt upright with her hands on her lap, using no gesticulation as she spoke," James said. "Melania’s appearance here involves a very similar stillness. She also sits bolt upright and the only use of her hands is to pick up the book. Her messages come from a state of non-verbal stillness like the Queen’s and the aims of stiff-upper-lip continuity might be similar."
