A historical perspective on nonverbal communication in debates: Implications for elections and leadership

Abstract

Nonverbal communication has been a focus in both the realms of politics and leadership. Since 1960 commentaries about political debates have led to the conclusion that inept nonverbal communication may have been a telling sign as to who lost the eventual election. This article will give a brief recount of the nonverbal ineptitude associated with several televised debates throughout history, a short research note about how nonverbal communication in a debate may predict the loser of an election, and a set of recommendations that may help leaders. In essence, as nonverbal communication may not necessarily help candidates in a debate and subsequent election, but rather hurt them, the same can be said for leaders in general: nonverbal communication may not necessarily help leaders become their very best, but it can definitely hurt them and their effectiveness as leaders.

Polls and Elections: Do the Presidential Primary Debates Matter? Measuring Candidate Speaking Time and Audience Response during the 2012 Primaries

“…As a result, self-presentation and connection with the audience, both live at the debate venue and watching via mass media (Peifer and Holbert 2013), is important for conveying personality and character-of which nonverbal behavior plays an important role. Competing candidates walk a fine line between assertiveness and politeness toward their opponents (Bull and Wells 2002;Dailey, Hinck, and Hinck 2005;Pfau and Rang 1991;Seiter and Weger 2005;Seiter et al 2010) in which mastery of their facial displays (Newton et al 1987;Patterson et al 1992;Stewart 2012;Stewart and Ford Dowe 2013;Stewart, Salter, and Mehu 2009;Sullivan and Masters 1988), body language (Dumitrescu, Gidengil, and Stolle 2015;Gentry and Duke 2009;Koppensteiner and Grammer 2010;Koppensteiner, Stephan, and J€ aschke 2015;Kramer, Arend, and Ward 2010), and vocal behavior (Gentry and Duke 2009;Kalkhoff and Gregory 2008) plays a key role in viewer assessment.…”

Canada's 2021 Federal Election: A Study on Voting Intentions Throughout the Election

“…Many researchers have conducted numerous experiments, observations and studies looking at shifts in voter intentions caused by societal and campaign factors (Ben-Ur & Newman, 2002;Landriault, 2016;Roberts et al, 2019;Schofield & Reeves, 2015). Other researchers have also looked to determine how candidates can increase voter favourability through their public appearances (Gentry & Duke, 2009;Kiousis et al, 2016;Nagel et al, 2012). However, not many researchers have tried to determine how both types of theories can work together in the same election so this paper looks to achieve this.…”

“…During these debates, the media and candidates are able to work together to generate a positive image of themselves through non-verbal communication. Some researchers have studied the influence of non-verbal communication and have determined that behaviour considered "positive," in other words, socially accepted, influences the public's perception of an individual (Gentry & Duke, 2009;Fairclough, 2015;Nagel et al, 2012). During a debate, a live audience is able to process non-verbal communication faster than verbal, allowing body language to play a significant role in public perception (Gentry & Duke, 2009).…”

“…Some researchers have studied the influence of non-verbal communication and have determined that behaviour considered "positive," in other words, socially accepted, influences the public's perception of an individual (Gentry & Duke, 2009;Fairclough, 2015;Nagel et al, 2012). During a debate, a live audience is able to process non-verbal communication faster than verbal, allowing body language to play a significant role in public perception (Gentry & Duke, 2009). Non-verbal communication however, is only effective if audiences can observe small details in hand movements and facial expressions and rely on the news outlets to provide the public with camera angles that highlight these movements (Nagel et al, 2012).…”