Pres Debate

The October 3rd Presidential Debate

President Obama was given the opportunity to give the first response in this debate, and immediately the practiced and purposeful use of techniques in his speech became clear. He looks directly at the camera, which is the same as looking directly into the audience's eyes, with an steady yet calm stare that displays confidence, poise, and intelligence. He speaks in an even tone yet varies his pitch enough to remain interesting, and keeps his posture straight, still, and steady. The words he uses also show practice; rather than actually answering the question, he first thanks everyone present and/or responsible for the debate, attempting to create a bond with the audience through this gesture of gratitude, and he references his anniversary to his wife in a manner that is both humanizing and humorous as a way to "break the ice" in this debate. He is similarly composed throughout most of the debate, delivering steady answers in a trained and practiced voice that bestows confidence and words that provide comfort and bonding but that do not really provide many concrete facts.

Governor Romney's public speaking style was somewhat less poised, but was again immediately observable in his first response. After also thanking everyone and even joking wth the President about his anniversary, he launched into a somewhat hesitant series of brief anecdotes about people wanting help. His posture shifted more frequently, his speech contained more hesitations and pauses, and his gaze wavered from the camera to the moderator to the audience present at the University of Denver, and his words were equally as evasive as the President's but without the confidence or comfort. Again, this appeared to continue throughout the debate, though Romeny did appear to gain some confidence as the debate wore on and his comfort in the setting grew.