CONTACT:
Janet Larsen Palmer, 909-599-6900
Joanna Brody, 310-582-0085

Janet Larsen Palmer, Ph.D., a specialist in nonverbal communication; Liesel Reinhart, a professional speech coach; and Lee Cerling, Ph.D., a professional speech writer, all with Communications Excellence Institute in the Los Angeles area, are available throughout the series of October debates to provide analysis and commentary on the candidates’ performance and how that will affect their chances of being elected president.

(October 3, 2000) -- Los Angeles, Calif. -- Americans may not know it, but the believability of the Presidential candidates during the upcoming series of debates will strongly be affected by Governor George W. Bush’s and Vice President Al Gore, Jr.’s non-verbal communication skills and voice quality, such as gestures, facial expression and even subtleties as minute as the number of eye blinks per minute, according to Janet Larsen Palmer, Ph.D., President of Communication Excellence Institute (CEI).

“Almost 40 percent of the impact of any conversation is determined by the para-linguistic features of the voice,” said Palmer. “These features include how fast the person talks, the pitch, and the quality of voice. Research also shows that non-verbal communication is 93 percent of the message. If the non-verbal cues do not match the verbal message, it creates subliminal dissonance in the audience and undercuts the believability of the message. Generally speaking, if non-verbal messages contradict the verbal messages, we believe the non-verbal.”

CEI is a research consulting and training firm specializing in speech coaching and presentation skills, with a particular emphasis on nonverbal communication, based in Los Angeles, CA. The CEI team analyzes things that may seem minute, such as the number of times per minute that each candidate blinks, but these are non-verbal cues that greatly impact the public perception of each candidate. (For example, the average person blinks about 40 times per minute. In one of the debates four years ago, Senator Bob Dole blinked an average of 132 times per minute and President Bill Clinton averaged 86 blinks per minute. Rapid eye blinking is usually considered to be a cue to deceit.)

Based on analysis of their acceptance speeches at their parties’ conventions, Palmer offers the following suggestions to the candidates: Bush should express more enthusiasm and joy. “The simple act of smiling will go a long way towards advancing his popularity.” Gore needs to master the fine art of pausing. “Pausing signals a key point and makes the message more inspirational and intense.”