The Lectern Turn

Donald Trump doesn’t like to turn his head. Instead, he turns his entire upper body and shoulders, leaning his head forward like a pigeon eyeing stale bread crust. He obviously wants to stabilize himself at the lectern for fear of falling over, and his rigid upper body is like that of a litigious courtroom charlatan strapped in a neck brace checking to see if people believe him.

The Teleprompter Shrug

President Trump reads from a teleprompter in the cadence of a grandmother reading “Goodnight Moon.” He rarely seems familiar with the material. If he likes a line or idea in the speech, he’ll take a moment to repeat it and savor it — it’s as if he’s hearing it for the first time, because it’s the first time he’s reading it.

Hand Signals

Like Bugs Bunny conducting an orchestra, Mr. Trump conducts many of his statements too. The open palm is a plea to his audience to connect with his plight. The O.K. symbol is reserved for telling specific lies. The thumbs-up-moving-into-a-flat-palm is used to cover dead space — either during cheering or when he’s interrupted by protesters.

The Actual Speaking

Many liberal analysts have interpreted the president’s wandering speech patterns as a sign of dementia or stupidity, or even as some sort of folksy, working-class vernacular. But those views are mistaken. The president is simply speaking to himself. The audience is a bystander to this outward internal dialogue. When he discovers a particularly interesting phrase or concept, he will repeat it, building his idea in front of you. “Believe me” is part guarantee and part buttress to a falsehood.

While studying Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign, I realized that his greatest asset lay in his ability to make his story his followers’ story as well. He began nearly every rally reminding viewers that there were 17 Republican primary candidates, that he came in second in Iowa, first in New Hampshire and “beat them all.” He still repeats this from time to time.

Mr. Trump hides in plain sight, saying with his body exactly what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it. His movements are rooted in his physical insecurity. While he wears a “tough guy” mask, his movements have the quality of an old dowager who has taken the carriage into town to mix with the common people.

How can this help you when you listen to him? Just remember: Every day is opposite day with the president. When he says something isn’t true, it probably is. No matter what he’s saying, his body is telling the world, “I’m pretending, I’m scared and I’m totally unprepared.”