Abstract
Political speeches or debates give individuals a unique chance to reach success for many reasons. Viewership numbers give candidates a worthwhile opportunity to reach many audiences of potential voters. Studies show that many politicians are aware of this when they engage in debate and tend to change non-verbal behavior to suit the circumstance. On the contrary, the reward chance comes with setbacks of scrutiny of communication approach or acts and hence the risk of failure. One example is the effect of a visual cue in the Kennedy-Nixon debate. Based on how candidates react when addressing the audience, people rate the debate either positive or negative, and this is according to whether speakers met expectations. Evaluation of non-verbal cues in most cases is defined by socially acceptable norms like avoidance of erratic movements, emotional control, spatial distance, and many more. The paper outlines the observable non-verbal behaviors in Kennedy-Nixon debate and discuss the role played.
Non-verbal communication is passing a message that can be regarded as non-linguistic, like displaying gestures, body movements, or facial expressions. Usually, this transmission of massage is done consciously or unconsciously. According to kinds of literature, non-verbal cues play an essential role within as well as outside politics, and for that, they merit paying attention. In the political context, studies show that individuals evaluate politicians well based on their non-verbal acts ranging from appearances, a portrayal of patriotism, and facial expression. Theoretically, voters tend to relate well with politicians whose facial expressions compare with theirs. Research also shows that physical appearances increase the candidate’s chances of succeeding in elections, and these attributes take much advantage to female candidates. Most importantly, voters need to see the faces of politicians for non-verbal communication to play a crucial sense in decisions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how non-verbal communication precisely the non-verbal persuasion played a pivotal role in the debate of Kennedy and Nixon.
Kennedy-Nixon Speech
John Kennedy and Richard Nixon sat down for the first round of debate that was held in 1960, during a presidential campaign. Kennedy was a relatively unknown person at that time, but Nixon was a seasoned campaigner with the advantage of being vice president for two terms. By comparison, it can be said Kennedy was inexperienced as a senator from Massachusetts. Expectations for Nixon to win the debate that was aired on television and radios were high.
Arriving for the debate, Nixon appeared shallow and underweight due to his hospitalization period that he encountered before that event. Nixon received treatment for an infection that had occurred on his knee after slamming a car door on it. Compared to a pale, sickly, or weak look that Nixon had, Kennedy, on the other hand, a picture of calm and assurance. Kennedy’s bronze tan skin appeared to glow in comparison to Nixon’s sweaty face from the fact that Nixon did not wear makeup before the interview. When Nixon stood to address the audience, he made excellent points, net worth in front of people, and those who listened on the radio were confident that Nixon would win. However, people in the studio could notice that Nixon constantly wiped his forehead and revealed blank, weak expression. From that, it was transparent operation hurt still.
As compared to Nixon, Kennedy showed an assured look throughout. Kennedy had perfect makeup, and also, he was impeccably dressed. During the speech, Kennedy smiled confidently and beautifully modulated his voice. Not only did Kennedy accurately explained things, but he also spoke directly into the camera as if talking to viewers watching the debate. When it came to the audience watching on TV, they got a clear picture that Kennedy was a winner. As compared to listeners, Viewers on TV were large in number, and in that way, the words spread faster about Kennedy’s implied win. The image of Kennedy’s confidence supposedly showed the unpreparedness of Nixon at that time. As such, it ultimately resulted in Nixon losing elections to Kennedy due to the impression made to the public.
Body Language
Most people think that body language applies in business, but that is not true. Understanding individuals are the first to improve relationships. The study of body language gives insight into the response, feelings, or thoughts of someone that is listening to a conversation. Body language involves various approaches like crossing hands, shoulder shrugs, eye contact, and change of tone. Often many people are caught lying when words do not match body language.
Non-verbal communication is not about body language since facial and vocal delivery is relevant and played a crucial part in the 1960 debate. Typically, tone pattern dictates the quality of voice from the sender and the actions that happen during the delivery back up the message. Studies show that there are several sub-patterns in tonal variation, that forms non-verbal communication. For example, slow speech, low pitch indicates depression, high voice or emphatic tone tell enthusiasm, an ascending voice informs astonishment while abrupt statement appears defensive. In a physiological pattern, there is body posture and gestures of a face as a sub-pattern as well. Body posture involves the positioning of the head, breath pattern, movements of fingers. Facial expression ranges from blink rate, smiling frowning, and swelling of the lower lip.
Facial expression and voice delivery were critical in the Kennedy-Nixon debate. Vocal delivery communicated a lot more than words, and this included inflection, pitch, and volume. Nixon appeared better on the radio with a slow speech that was more controlled and authoritative. Kennedy, on the other hand, appeared better on television and his expression, body language left many to desire more from Nixon. When watching Kennedy-Nixon debate, one only needs to wait a few seconds before to observe the non-verbal cues that let Nixon down form the scratch. For example, the first impression of Nixon failed. First impressions, in most cases, make or break the moment of opportunity to succeed in an ongoing relationship.
The first two critical non-verbal cues notable quickly in the debate are feet direction and eye direction. In the feet direction, Nixon’s feet can be seen positioned in the stance of a runner where one foot is placed in Infront of the other as someone ready to flee. Such an impression is something that people want to see in any leader. Nixon looked to the direction of Kennedy for a prolonged period. Typically, people look towards their superiors, and in the context of a presidential debate, Nixon can be perceived as a subordinate to Kennedy. People do not want to lead by a subordinate.
The ability to persuade is paramount, especially in the context of political affairs. According to theories of persuasion, it can take place through the central or peripheral route. The central route is high cognition or processing of arguments, and this happens where the desire for beneficial outcomes is present. A peripheral route, on the other hand, is a lower cognition that does not require a persuasive argument. Since the appearance of candidates can influence people, this explains why they rush to make judgments candidate appearance link to this theory of persuasion because there is significant reliance on the heuristic of candidates for people with less political knowledge. As such, the failure of Nixon to appeal on looking gave the benefit to his opponent.
In conclusion, it appears that a person’s image, expression, or non-verbal communication is vital as it determines the references made about appearance. For any person wishing to run for the presidency, he or she should not make mistakes as those made by Nixon. When it comes to non-verbal cues, many things matter, including attractiveness, posture, clothing, hairstyle, height, facial expression, age, skin color, and hand gesture. Most important of all, non-verbal signals aim to project authority and warmth.
What is nonverbal communication
- A message transmitted and decoded in a non-linguistic approach
- Non-verbal cues include the use of the facial expression, body movements, gestures and so on
- Non-verbal communication plays a vital role in politics
- People evaluate leaders based on appearances and how they communicate
Kennedy-Nixon Debate
- John Kennedy and Richard Nixon debate for a presidential candidate was held in 1960
- Nixon was much known as vice president for two terms while Kennedy was less influential as a senator
- On arrival to the debate, Nixon appeared shallow and underweight due to his hospitalization
- Kennedy looked attractive and calm
Non-verbal cues in speech
- Kennedy maintained eye contact as f talking directly to the audience or viewers while Nixon eye direction was poor
- Nixon’s body positioning was impressive as a leader, but he appeared sweaty and un-calmed
- Kennedy’s voice projection was accompanied by a persistent look into the camera and this convinced viewers
- Nixon’s speech seemed to be influential on the radio, but poor on television because of appearance
Role of Non-verbal communication
- Effective non-verbal cues have a great ability to persuade
- People rush to make judgments based-on candidate appearance
- Facial expression and voice delivery were critical in the Kennedy-Nixon debate