In a very smart move psychologically, Boris Johnson managed to sidestep the body language of gloating, smugness and even victory with what was generally a subdued-looking performance after his party’s election victory.
Any gloating would have been a turn-off for the people that voted for him, especially the ones who only did so to get Brexit through.
There was one brief silverback alpha pose to the press and public as he flung his arms in the air.
But he kept his head down at the same time to resonate with the theme of empathy and ‘humility’ that he used during his first speech.
Even the arm-splay that he used on his return inside Number 10 looked tempered by a reasonably modest-looking grin.
Boris’s arrival at the palace showed a man wearing a friendly and slightly relieved-looking smile and his rather hunched shoulders and stiffly held arms hinted at a touch of surprise at his own thumping success.
During his speech his gestures became a watered-down version of the ones he used to fight the election, with the ‘clunking fist’ lacking its punchiness, although his chopping hand gesture did appear when he spoke about ‘never taking your support for granted'.
And he did perform at least 10 loud finger-stabs on the lectern to suggest resolve when he spoke about the NHS.
His authentic signal of delight and confidence emerged just after he had been talking about the UK being ‘Corbyn neutral’ by Christmas.
His two cocked, erect thumbs appeared over the top of the lectern, suggesting some real delight to have beaten the labour leader.
