2012 POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS: ROUND 1

  • October 4, 2012
  • Posted by: EMS Communications
  • Category: Communication
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EMS coaching clients and workshop attendees always begin their time with us by creating their Ideal Personal Style. How would this sound to you?

Feisty, articulate, high-scoring, energized, smooth, strong offense, comfortable, relaxed, concise, funny, knowledgeable, commanding, at-ease, animated. That’s just a quick list of adjectives, pulled from various media outlets on both sides of the aisle, used to describe Gov. Romney’s performance in Wednesday evening’s first presidential debate.

We wholeheartedly agree, and would add the word CONFIDENT to the list. Those familiar with our Fundamentals would likely give him high marks on all eight. If you take a cue from our workshops and turn down the volume to focus only on body language, there was a stark difference between the two candidates.

Viewers saw it the same way. A post-debate CNN poll asking “Who won?” gave Gov. Romney 67% to Obama’s 25%. Though some may question the numbers, the message is clear—Mitt was victorious in Round 1.

Of course we’re focusing on style here, and we’ll leave the analysis of substance to the political junkies and fact checkers.

To prepare for the next debate, this would be our advice to President Obama

  • Make better eye contact with your opponent and with the camera. You spent too much time looking down and speaking directly to Jim Lehrer. (So either David Axelrod didn’t deliver the message, or Obama chose not to hear it. Or maybe he was trying, but it’s really tough to break old habits. It can be done Mr. President, and we’d be happy to show you how!)
  • Work on eliminating non-words. Maintaining eye contact helps since we rarely say “uhhh” to someone’s face. Pause to choose your words carefully instead of filling the silence with noise. (Someone tweeted “The Prez spoke for 4 more minutes according to CNN, but it was even if you take out the “umms” and “uhs”.)
  • Smile more! Your whole demeanor changes when you do.

Next up: Biden vs. Ryan. Purchase your pay-per-view today and get ready for a brawl! And then don’t be surprised when Obama comes back for Round 2 with high energy and a swagger. He took a solid punch this week…but this fight is just getting started.

More to come!