A few days ago, I found myself being called into a prime-time ITV documentary as a psychologist and body language expert.
The programme was Beckham v Beckham: The Price of Fame? Part of ITV’s primetime Tonight strand. On the surface, it was about a very public family saga. Beneath that, it was about something much more familiar to me.
Pressure. Power. Identity. And what happens when communication breaks down in full view of the world.
Over the years, I have been called in many times to unpack what is really going on beneath the surface of political moments. I am frequently asked to analyse power struggles between global leaders. I have been on air breaking down the non-verbal dynamics of a mixed bag of characters such as Trump, Starmer, Macron, Putin, Kim Jong-un, and the artist formerly known as Prince Andrew.
I was also live on camera during the deeply unsettling scenes in the Oval Office between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, analysing in real time what the body language revealed about dominance, resistance and misalignment.
That kind of work is clearly seen as “serious”. It involves geopolitics, war, diplomacy and power.
The Beckhams, on the other hand, might look like something else entirely.
Let’s be honest. A family rift involving David and Victoria Beckham comes with an unavoidable tabloid sheen. This is a family that has been a global brand for decades. When cracks appear, people watch. Partly out of curiosity. Partly because it makes us feel marginally better about our own family WhatsApp groups.
And yet.
What struck me, and what the programme handled with real care, is that once you strip away the fame, you are left with something very ordinary and very human. A young man trying to work out who he is. Parents trying to protect a legacy. Public statements standing in for private conversations that didn’t quite land.
From a communication psychology perspective, the dynamics are instantly recognisable.
Who is being listened to.
Who feels seen.
Who is speaking for themselves and who is performing for an audience.
This is where the overlap with my work in business becomes obvious.
Organisations tend to call me in when something important is at stake. A leadership team preparing for a pivotal moment. A board wrestling with alignment. A business sensing that clarity, confidence or cohesion has slipped under pressure. Sometimes it is about a pitch. Sometimes succession. Sometimes it is simply about helping people articulate what they already know but haven’t yet named.
The same skill set applies.
Whether it is boardroom brinkmanship or Beckham branding bust-ups, the underlying issue is always communication. How meaning is conveyed. How power is expressed. How pressure shows up in behaviour long before it appears in words.
On television, I am asked to decode power, pressure and performance in public figures. In business, I am asked to do the same thing quietly, constructively and with commercial outcomes in mind.
In both cases, it is about understanding what is being communicated beneath the surface.
This is not guesswork or parlour trickery. Scholarly research archived by the National Library of Medicine shows that “nonverbal signals colour the meanings of interpersonal relationships” with humans relying on facial expression, posture and vocal cues to communicate dominance, composure and intent in ways that words alone simply cannot.
Body language does not tell us what people are thinking. But it does tell us what they are managing. What they are containing. Where the tension lives. And tension, left unexamined, tends to surface eventually.
That is one of the uncomfortable truths in the Beckham story. Not because it is unique, but because it is familiar. When communication becomes performative rather than relational, misunderstandings harden. Positions entrench. Identity becomes something to defend rather than explore.
Whether you are a global celebrity family, a head of state, or a leadership team preparing for a critical commercial moment, the principles do not change.
People want to be heard.
They want coherence between what is said and what is felt.
And they want enough psychological safety to speak honestly before things go public.
So yes, the Beckham documentary may look like lighter fare compared to analysing world leaders in the middle of geopolitical crises. But the psychology is the same. And in some ways, it is even more revealing.
Because if communication can unravel under the glare of fame, it can certainly unravel under the quieter pressures of business.
Which is why I enjoy doing both.
It keeps the senses sharp. It reinforces the same truth again and again. That understanding human behaviour is not a side skill. It is the core of leadership, influence and performance.
And once you understand it, you can change the outcome.
See you next Tuesday.
Warmest,
Paul x
