For Americans as well as others worldwide, the most recent U.S. election has been an emotional rollercoaster.

The outcomes, as well as the debates and interviews the two contenders participated in before that, had everyone riveted to their television screens.

When Trump won the 2024 election, many people looked to Kamala Harris to see how she would handle the defeat.

Experts who were paying attention did not miss a beat, even though some people could have missed some body language clues.

To find out more about what Kamala Harris’ body language told seasoned experts, continue reading!

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, secured the victory after a protracted presidential contest that was full of unexpected turns.

Trump’s 295 electoral votes confirmed his return to the presidency as the 47th President of the United States.

The Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, took the stage at her alma mater, Howard University, to make her concession speech to the nation and all of her supporters after allegedly calling Trump to concede the victory.

In her speech, she said, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and for the dignity of all people.”

The audience roared and applauded when Harris entered the stage. Author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, body language specialist, and professional speaker According to Patti Wood, the vice president exuded “power and confidence” through her body language.

“Coming on stage, from backstage, to the podium by herself without even being introduced was a bold, brave move,” Wood said in an interview. “It gives a powerful first impression.”

“[Harris] smiles and waves high in the air several times and claps with her arms up and out towards the audience,” Wood went on to note. “A multitude of ‘up’ body language cues that indicate happiness and joy. That she still feels powerful and confident… It makes her look like the winner.”

Wood observes that Harris has a “large open smile,” “her cheeks lifted,” and “her hand resting on her chest” at the start of her speech.

These observations suggest that “the smile is not fake” and that she “feels the crowd’s love, which makes her truly happy.”

Wood notes that Harris’s body language changes as she continues her speech, saying that “we can see her bracing herself to speak” as she starts to take deep breaths and shifts her shoulders back.

“She gives a more prissy, forced, tight smile, and this slightly sour smile [is] letting you know the taste of what she is going to have to say is not sweet,” Wood went on to point out. “She says ‘the light of America’s promise will always burn bright’ but with some emotional vocal fry and slight squinting. It’s a great statement, but I would have liked it to be more confidently delivered,” Wood finished her thought.

“As she finishes, she looks down, brows down, and tight lipped, trembling chin, holding back tears,” Wood went on to say. “She does follow it up with…As long as we keep fighting’ with a slightly stronger delivery and gesturing with a pointed finger, but her voice breaks.”

Wood observes that Harris’s discussion of President-Elect Donald Trump is the “revealing tell.”

“There is a revealing ‘tell’ when she says, ‘Earlier today I talked to President-Elect Trump’ as she gestures with a downward push motion, symbolically pushing him down as she frowns,” Wood noted.

“The most potent illuminating moment occurs after she makes several strong statements,” she went on to illustrate. “[Harris] sounds strong, angry, and opens her mouth wide with power. Then her eyes flutter briefly showing that she may be hiding even more anger,” she says. She notes that these moments happened when she told her voters not to stop the fight.

“There is a moment where she begins a statement, ‘To the young people who are watching’… You see a mixture of happiness and sadness. She feels both simultaneously. She is saying some very motivational things and using the word fight many times. But as she continues to say it, she is no longer mad. Her voice is strong.”

When she ended her speech, she asked people to mobilize, organize, and stay perseverant even in difficult moments, adding in an old adage with, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

Wood also noted that Harris made her statement positive by adding the word ‘light’ and emphasizing that she “clearly believes people will need to fight, but her final message was about light.”