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

(October 18, 2000) -- Los Angeles, Calif. -- If the third presidential debate decides the winner of the election, with the first two debates a draw, then Gore will be our next President, says a team of speech analysts at Communication Excellence Institute (CEI) in Los Angeles, Calif.

Gore exhibited more leadership credibility than Bush in the third and decisive debate, said Janet Larsen Palmer, Ph.D., President of CEI. In contrast, Bush lost the confident, smiling demeanor he exhibited in the second debate.

“Debate results are largely determined by the candidates’ nonverbal communication,” said Palmer. “Likeability, historically the single most important factor for predicting U.S. Presidential elections, comes mostly through nonverbal channels.”

Communication research finds that as much as 93 percent of the meaning of a communication interaction comes from nonverbal cues, added Palmer. According to widely accepted and retested research, only seven percent of the total impression comes from the dictionary definition of the spoken words.

“Bush seemed genuinely tired in the last debate,” said Palmer. “Gore, without question, won this debate nonverbally. He gestured openly and expansively, approached each questioner more closely, smiled more, had better posture, made more eye contact, and spoke much more specifically to each question.”

The CEI team felt that Gore clearly won the first debate nonverbally. A turning point in the series was the Vice Presidential candidate debate on October 5. “Cheney won nonverbally, hands down,” said Palmer. “This seemed to give Bush confidence in the next debate. He rebounded from a lackluster first debate, and appeared confident, comfortable, and collected in his second debate.

“However, this did not transfer to the third debate. Bush’s facial expressions seemed tentative, marked by frequent lip-biting, brow-knitting, lower energy, and a non-smiling demeanor.”

Lee Cerling, Ph.D., a CEI speechwriter, said Gore was more specific in his answers than 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. In terms of verbal impact, Gore has never been a match for Bush.”

A defining moment was the final closing statements, when Bush stayed seated with his hands clasped in front of him, while Gore stood in a strong speaker’s stance and gestured out to the audience.

Palmer added, “The question is, will the average American see Gore’s nonverbal strength as positive or as negatively aggressive? The election outcome could hinge on that question.”