Live From Miami, a Style Showdown (non-verbal may win debate)

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/fashion/26DEBA.html


September 26, 2004
Live From Miami, a Style Showdown
By ALEX WILLIAMS

IN boxing terms, you could say a matchup between John Kerry and George W. Bush is a classic case of a dancer vs. a puncher: Mr. Kerry flicks around the periphery of issues; Mr. Bush pounds right through them. <snip>

The subtle style cues of gesture, posture, syntax and tone of voice account for as much as 75 percent of a viewer's judgment about the electability of a candidate, said Bill Carrick, a political consultant who ran Richard A. Gephardt's presidential campaign this year. In a word, he said, the mano a mano is about style — those nonverbal messages that speak to hearts, not heads. <snip>

Mr. Kerry's face, she said, is the greater study in contrasts. His anvil-like chin conveys power, but his droopy brows and hooded eyes send an unwelcome signal of age and lethargy. To counteract this, Professor Keating says, he must show more animation and smile more, as he has been doing lately. "Smiling brings people in close," she said.

Luckily, she said, he has a buoyantly vertical hairstyle. "He has exciting hair, which is actually quite useful," she said. "This wild, untamed hair is something we associate with youthfulness." (Republicans don't necessarily agree; they mock the Capitol Hill blow-dry look as vain.)

Professor Keating said that with Mr. Bush, conversely, the roundness of his face — accentuated by close-cropped hair — signals warmth and approachability but also, at times, an unfortunate boyishness.<snip>

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. Kerry has "exciting hair"

Oh boy. The election's over!

[roseBudd]

3. What about height

"some people" used to say the tallest candidate always wins. I haven't heard that in awhile

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Tallest candidate and best hair

this has been true for the past 80 years.
Ford lost to Carter on the hair factor. (A close election by any measure)

[ItsMyParty]

2. Man, even Jesus Christ wouldn't have a chance with the shallowness

of the TV brained electorate. Maybe next time we should get somebody fresh out of casting to play the 'part' (you now, like Ronnie). We are going to flush democracy for good at this rate. Why doesn't he also mention that whinney, lady voice of Bush's compared with the manly voice of Kerry. OR, even better why don't we actually chose between "dumb as shit" and someone who can actually "think".

[RichardRay]

5. High percentage non-verbal

is true in everyday communication, not just in political debates. Just about everybody who specializes in this stuff puts it above 50% of the content of a 'communication' is not the meaning of the words, but the tonality and the body language. I would _assume_ (and certainly HOPE) that Kerry's coaches for the debates are working on all the modalities, not just his words.

Look at all the trouble people get into on this board where nothing is available except the actual words! I suspect the people who are successful are somehow professionaly involved in written communications. Very few (if any) people can 'say what they mean', nearly everybody requires the information (dare I call it nuance?) provided by the other modalities.

Richard Ray - Jackson Hole, WY