Defensive stance: Tony Hayward's body language in Congress

Body language expert Robert Phipps on Tony Hayward's appearance before the congressional committee: "Before he was called to his seat, he was standing around and chatting to people that he knew. "He had his arms folded, which was defensive, showing that he was cut off from people. He smiled quickly for the other person to show that he was half-listening to them. "Once he took his seat he was quite impassive, sitting with his head slightly lowered and twiddling his pen. "His blinking rate increased at certain points, so he was either trying to stop himself from nodding off because everyone was saying the same thing, or it was a sign of his stress at what was being said. "Twenty blinks per minute is the normal rate, but his hit 60 a minute at some points. "He was generally sitting with one hand on top of the other, which is a controlled posture. He only interlocked his fingers once – about an hour in – which is a way of blocking off the person in front or what is being said. It says: 'I've had enough'. "That was the only time he's done that so far and he seemed to realise that he shouldn't be doing it, and quickly went back to fiddling with his pen. "A slight smirk broke on to his lips when [the Alabama Republican Parker Griffith] said: 'You're never as good as they say you are or as bad as they say you are, so this hearing will go back and forth.' "But apart from that, there weren't many facial expressions. I think he knows what he's doing. It was a very controlled performance."