Body Language Expert Patti Wood Rates Tiger Woods's Moves During Press Conference For People Magazine

By Wendy Grossman
Monday April 05, 2010 04:55 PM EDT

Fear, stress, joy, confidence and, finally, exhaustion.

That's what Tiger Woods exhibited at his first press conference, says Atlanta-based body language expert Patti Wood, author of Success Signals: Understanding Body Language, based on these moves:

• Taking off his hat and wiping his head with his elbow as he entered the room:
"Any signal like that is to get rid of bad feelings, bad thoughts or bad emotions. It was also defensive toward the journalists. He was afraid of what was going to happen."

• Tone of voice when he first spoke:
"His voice went very high which showed his enormous stress. His eyes were very wide, too, which shows stress."

• Shoulders rising when asked if he did steroids:
"It looks and sounds believable. He's answering very calmly. And, as he's saying it, his voice doesn't go up. But his shoulders and head come up straight. That's what people do when they feel positive and confident. He feels positive and confident when he says, 'He did not give me HGH.' "

• Taking a drink when asked about media coverage:
"Instead of savoring that sweet drink, he sticks his tongue out. He wanted to stick his tongue out at them, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. Then after the drink, he coughed and put his hand over his mouth. Which says it didn't go down well and he wanted to cough up how horrible it was."

• Smiling while talking about golf:
"It's the first time I've seen a real, true sparkle in his eye. That's all honest. That's all true. This is what really makes him joyful."

• Walking out of the room at the end:
"He's not running and he's not slouching. His body language is not defeated as he walks out of the room. He was done. He wasn't mad. He was, more than anything, a little bit tired."