Psychology professor Carrie Keating studies charisma, physical leadership qualities, and the facial features that suggest power as well as compassion. Last night, she watched the first of four presidential campaign debates for clues to how the candidates are being perceived by voters in the home stretch.
鈥淢y premise is that there is no substance without style,鈥 Keating said, 鈥渟o whether you watched the debate with the sound on or muted, there was little doubt that the most powerful man on the stage was Governor Romney.
鈥淗e gestured confidently and energetically, he smiled a lot and appeared eager to address questions, and he seemed not at all intimidated to share the stage with the U.S. President.鈥
Keating said, too, that Romney鈥檚 paralanguage 鈥 everything about his language but the words themselves 鈥 also conveyed strength. 鈥淗e spoke loud and fast, a style that has the effect of not only making the speaker seem enthusiastic about his ideas but also highly knowledgeable about them.鈥
As she predicted, his practice during the primary season was no doubt very helpful.
In contrast, she said, although President Obama鈥檚 body language typically projects dominance, and was a likely factor in his 2008 win, his performance last night fell flat.
鈥淔ew peaks or valleys of emotion marked his demeanor. He seldom smiled and maintained a slightly negative expression on his face. His nonverbal gestures seemed habitual rather than felt,鈥 Keating said.
鈥淥ne of the camera angles frequently captured the President nodding as his opponent spoke, making it almost look like he was agreeing with Romney鈥檚 criticisms. And twice he apologized to the moderator for overrunning his response time limits, making him seem perhaps too accommodating.鈥
With three debates remaining, Keating will stay tuned to see how the performances evolve.
鈥淲e ask superhuman things from these all-too-human leaders, of course. We ask them to be inspiring visionaries, talented managers, and, whether we know it or not, great actors.鈥