Background

Communication research tells us that as much as 93% of the meaning of a communication interaction—such as the televised Presidential debates—comes through nonverbal channels. Of that 93%, 55% comes through anything you can see about the other person—including his or her walk, hand gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, blinking patterns, smiles, frowns, eyebrow movement, posture, makeup, and professional dress. The face alone counts for a full 28% of the total impression. After the 55% from visual clues, the other 38% (often called paralanguage) comes through the features of the voice you can hear, such as vocal quality, pitch, inflection patterns, accentuation, pausing, rate, pace, and volume. Only 7% of the total impression, says the widely accepted and retested research, comes from the dictionary definition of the words that are spoken.

Presidential Debate #1—October 3, 2000

Gore showed much more emotional range in his facial expressions (which count for 28% of the total impact) than did Bush. One of the most powerful nonverbal gestures Gore exhibited was to gesture from his shoulders—putting his whole upper body and shoulders into even the smallest hand gesture—which is a sign of strength and conviction. In general, Gore moved his upper body more than did Bush, who seemed to exhibit the notion that politics should be a “talking head” from the neck up only. Both Bush and Gore were in identical “uniforms,” which made professional dress a moot point in their impression with the public. Both followed the research supporting the idea that the most executive look is a dark suit, white shirt, and red “power” tie. Bush, however, wore cuff links on French cuffs, while Gore had buttoned cuffs. The effect is to communicate the message that Bush represents those wealthy enough to afford French cuffs, while Gore is for the more everyday business person.

Ironically, the one candidate—Gore—who has historically battled the label of “stiff” was the less stiff. He laughed more fully, moved his upper body more easily, narrowed his eyes for intensity, pointed his hand gestures outward, and seemed far more animated. Bush, on the other hand, was stiff in his gesture patterns, barely moved his upper body or his mouth, rarely smiled, knitted his brows, pointed his hand gestures inward, and blinked more than Gore did. Excessive blinking can indicate discomfort and, possibly, conscious lying. Gore blinked 55-60 times per minute; Bush blinked 80 times per minute. The average American blinks about 40 times per minute. In the aftermath of the debate, these blinking patterns may be instructive: if Gore failed to speak the truth, he seemed to do it innocently, according to his blinking patterns. Ironically, Bush seemed less confident or comfortable in what he was saying, based on his blinking rate.

Studio make-up may have had a lot to do with the two candidates’ impressions. Gore’s complexion was more tanned, although his cheeks seemed almost Reagan-ruddy. Bush’s complexion was mottled, not nearly as smooth and tanned-looking as Gore’s, and this made him look less confident.

Although Bush did not score as many points in the body language division as did Gore, Bush did better in the 38% paralanguage category than his opponent. Bush spoke in shorter sentences, with good accentuation and pausing. Gore, on the other hand, spoke in long, convoluted sentences, in direct contrast to Bush’s more hard-hitting style. In fact, the two candidates seemed to be using opposite rhetorical strategies: Bush relied on the short quip or barb, while Gore depended on longer reasoned arguments. Generally speaking, Bush was more oral in his presentation, a very positive feature. On the issue of foreign policy, Bush became noticeably disfluent, in contrast to Gore’s confident fluency. At the end of the debate, both candidates’ wives and families flooded onto the stage to embrace their husbands and fathers. Bush barely returned his wife’s embrace, not quite getting his arm up to her waist, while Gore fully hugged his wife and daughters back.

BOTTOM LINE: Gore handily won the 55% of the nonverbal battle in terms of body language. Gore barely won the 38% of the nonverbal battle in terms of paralanguage. Gore won the overall debate nonverbally, hands-down.

What do both candidates need to do non-verbally? Bush needs to smile more, open his mouth wider in vocal production, use more shoulder gestures, and open his eye area more to the audience. Gore needs to lower his chin about 1/2" to 1". His chin is slightly elevated, which gives him the unfortunate appearance of arrogance or distance. Both candidates should lean slightly forward and gesture out toward the audience.

Vice-Presidential Debate—October 5, 2000

In the first and only face-off between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman, the contest was clearly decided nonverbally. Cheney has broader shoulders, a firmer chin, more vocal energy, excellent fluency, and a deeper, smoother voice, exhibiting extreme executive confidence. Lieberman, on the other hand, is a smaller man with narrower shoulders, a receding chin, and a somewhat trembling whiny voice. Although both men seemed to exhibit excellent values, their nonverbals separated them. Lieberman spoke much more slowly than did Cheney, a rate pattern that seems to suggest less confidence.

The greatest distinction between the two Vice Presidential candidates came in their blinking patterns: Cheney blinked 60 times per minute on average, while Lieberman blinked 110-130 times per minute, far exceeding the average American blinking rate of 40 times per minute. Excessive blinking can signal discomfort or even prevarication.

BOTTOM LINE: Cheney won nonverbally, without question. He took up more body space (a sign of executive power) and overall seemed more confident. When Lieberman was confronted with the snap polls that indicated he had decidedly lost the debate to Cheney, he seemed genuinely puzzled. Nonverbal communication, while extraordinarily powerful, is rarely consciously understood.

Presidential Debate #2—October 11, 2000

While the earlier debate had both candidates dressed in identical “uniforms,” tonight there was a clear difference: Bush was in the “power tie” uniform of white shirt, red tie, and dark suit. Gore, on the other hand, chose a gray suit with a white shirt and sky blue tie. As boring as it may seem, the “power tie” uniform that Bush wore served him better. All in all, that combination looks far more Presidential. Had Gore chosen a blue tie that carried the tone of blue in the American flag, his choice would have worked better for him. Both men had had their make-up adjusted: Bush’s complexion looked smoother and Gore’s less ruddy.

The single greatest nonverbal distinction between the two debaters was their very different look of confidence and comfort. Gore seemed genuinely nervous, holding himself in, and tentative in his communication (revealing his worry that he might appear too aggressive). Bush, perhaps buoyed up by the “bump” in the polls from Cheney’s positive showing in the Vice Presidential debates, appeared confident, comfortable, and collected. Bush smiled more than he has in any of his nationally publicized presentations (his Acceptance speech and the two debates). Bush’s eyes sparkled, unhampered by the knitted brows of his past performances. Governor Bush was much more fluent than he has been in the past, and he showed considerably more emotional range in his facial expressions and upper body animation. In contrast, nearly everything about Vice President Gore seemed muted. His face showed discomfort, his smiles were rare, and he was not nearly as animated or energetic as he has been in the past. Although Gore leaned in toward the audience more than did Bush, and even gestured more openly to the audience than did Bush, Gore’s joyless reserve had a powerful negative effect on his impact.

Both candidates blinked far less often than they had in the past, indicating their relative comfort with the debate format. Bush averaged a very low 24 blinks per minute, compared to Gore’s 48 blinks per minute (which is still commensurate with the American average of 40 blinks per minute). When Bush was under some stress, such as when he was challenged on his Texas record by Gore, Bush blinked 36 times per minute—still fewer times than the average American blinks.

The single greatest nonverbal distinction between the two candidates was their comparative enjoyment of the process. Bush smiled more than he ever has. Gore had lowered his chin, which contributed to a less arrogant impression, but he did not look happy. Most Americans trust people who like their jobs, who exhibit happiness in their roles. This is a major part of Clinton’s appeal. Bush clearly captured this advantage over Gore during the second Presidential debate. Gore, in fact, seemed so uncomfortable in the second Presidential debate that he was turning his shoulders as if to get out of his chair even before Jim Lehrer, the moderator, declared the debate over.

BOTTOM LINE: Bush won nonverbally, mostly because he smiled much more than did Gore, thereby seeming more confident and comfortable. Bush was much easier to like than was Gore.

Presidential Debate #3—October 17, 2000

Debate #3 was all about the nonverbal image of power, credibility, and leadership. Gore, without question, won this debate in terms of nonverbal communication. He came off as more powerful than Bush, who seemed genuinely tired. Bush’s exhaustion appeared to sap his vocal and body strength; Bush took up less body space than did Gore, and exhibited generally poor posture. Gone was the confident smiling demeanor of Bush’s performance in the second debate. Bush often gestured in the “fig leaf” pattern, holding both hands in front of himself, diminishing his presence.

Gore, on the other hand, gestured openly and expansively, walked more closely to each questioner, smiled more, had better posture, made more eye contact and verbal connection with each questioner, and spoke much more specifically to each question. Gore’s facial expressions, which count for a full 28% of his impact, showed conviction and determination, although his chin was held still about 1/2" too high, giving an impression of arrogance. Bush’s facial expressions, on the other hand, seemed tentative, marked by frequent lip-biting, brow-knitting, lower energy, and a non-smiling demeanor. His sparkling eyes, so evident in the second debate, did not sparkle tonight.

Gore was more specific in his answers than was Bush, who seemed to rely on philosophical statements rather than clear responses. Yet Bush still showed his mastery of the short quip, the well-honed memorable sentence, such as “If this were a spending contest, I’d come in second.” Gore was better in his timing and used shorter sentences than he ever has, but still, in terms of verbal impact, Gore has never been a match for Bush.

One nonverbal move Gore may come to regret occurred when Gore seemed to invade Bush’s personal space, as Bush was winding up an answer. Sensing that Gore was coming up behind him, Bush turned, gave his opponent a double-take and a sharp head nod, and kept talking. Gore retreated to his area of the stage. Many Americans may feel that Gore was being too aggressive at that moment. To his credit, Bush kept his poise throughout the incident, which will undoubtedly enhance Bush’s image.

A defining nonverbal moment was the difference in the two candidates’ closing statements. Bush gave his final statement sitting down, with his hands clasped humbly in front of him. Gore, in contrast, gave his final statement standing, in a strong speaker’s stance, with his palms-up gestures reaching out to the audience, and carving out a large “bubble” of body space. According to nonverbal research, Gore came off clearly as the stronger of the two, exhibiting more leadership credibility. The question is: Will the average American see Gore’s strength as positive or as negatively aggressive? The election outcome could hinge on that question.

BOTTOM LINE: Gore was stronger nonverbally than Bush, showing more confidence and leadership characteristics in his body language than did his opponent. Bush took up less body space than did Gore, giving Bush a diminished presence and an appearance of humility.

Overview

Likeability, historically the single most important factor for predicting Presidential elections in the United States, comes mostly through nonverbal channels. What is likeability? In our view, likeability means that voters like the candidate as a President, which includes the genuine personableness and warmth everyone associates with likeability, as well as the strength most people expect of the leader of the free world. Bush is more personable and warm, but exhibits less strength. Gore shows plenty of strength, but his aggressiveness does not endear him to many Americans. Which candidate will win? Even nonverbally, this election is close.