“Theory of Lies” in “Money Power” magazine

There was an article in the Ukrainian magazine “Power of Money”, No. 6, 2010.

Blitz – interview with the expert-physiognomist Anisimova Alisa (the expert in the field of studying of personalities, creation and change of their physiognomic image, image, behavior correction).

Read the full article in the issue or on the magazine’s website.

Alisa Anisimova, a psychologist-personologist and expert-physiognomist, earns money from consulting for politicians. She notes that demand from them has been growing rapidly recently.

In your opinion, how have the images of Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko changed in recent years?

— Yanukovych has become softer and more friendly in public in recent years, while Tymoshenko, on the contrary, has become more assertive and tough. Both of these changed behaviors have their advantages. They have the ability to endear themselves to a wide range of people. For example, Yanukovych – by his benevolence and comfort in communication, Tymoshenko – by her decisiveness, which makes people who are eager for radical changes give their sympathy to her. And each of them has taken into account the pros and cons of each other’s past behaviors.

Is there a big team working on the politician’s outward image?

— A strategy can be developed by one person, but it is implemented by a team of specialists. These are personologists (psychologists who study personality), physiognomists (expert-level psychologists who analyze facial mimicry and micro-mimicry of a person’s face, its shape, features, and physique in general), psychocorrectors, image-makers, political designers, PR managers, and stylists. These professionals can, figuratively speaking, disassemble a person’s personality into details and, according to the previously developed strategy, throw out the unnecessary, add the missing, form and instill in the politician the image that would please the majority of voters and be close to the politician himself. After all, not everyone can be made Churchill, Putin or Margaret Thatcher. Some people do not fit such images by definition.

You mentioned famous world politicians. When developing strategies, do you take into account the experience of other successful people or is the recipe purely individual??

— Consider this. Somewhere there are or have been politicians who are or were similar to Tymoshenko and Yanukovych. We analyze the images of many successful politicians, including foreign ones.

Are you personally advising Tymoshenko or Yanukovych?

— I counsel a lot of people. I’m not going to name names.

Are they easy to work with?

— Easy enough. Despite the fact that these are people who are bossy, often harsh, used to command, they realize that they need it. So they listen and learn.

Demand in the market for image building services is growing?

— Absolutely. If we pay attention to public figures from the times of the USSR or even the beginning of independent Ukraine, they looked simpler and more natural. Back then, they had no need to put on masks and images. In modern Ukraine, people who have to make their choice are “spoiled” by a large number of different parties and a multitude of political leaders. They start to choose between them, their attention is scattered. Therefore, each leader strives to make himself as attractive as possible. The ideal for them is an image that would appeal to all ages and categories of the population: from a laborer to a doctor of science or a top manager.

How quickly the public image can be changed?

— If a person feels they need it, they can readjust relatively quickly as they get extra motivation. On average, it takes a little more than six months.