Link to Debate: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6335464873112
One of the most important things while giving public speeches to a large audience is your body language, facial expressions, and voice modulation. A great example of these different speaking techniques being put to use is in the 2023 Republican primary debate, where 8 different Republican candidates running for president faced off to answer different questions with the goal of gaining more votes. As presidential candidates, all of them did a great job of speaking clearly and enunciating all of their words to clearly send their message to the audience. Instead, let’s break down some of the candidate’s body language and speaking tone.
Ron DeSantis:
DeSantis looked and sounded angry throughout the entire debate, often furrowing his brows and smiling only once at the end of the event. His tone was also very forced and his hand gestures were stiff and minimal. This has led to Destantis being criticized by many, including his former supporters and people from his own party. The reason is simple: nothing about his body language and speaking tone that night was very charismatic, which is something important to have when trying to gain new supporters. However, what his serious body language did communicate to the crowd was how important he treated every single political topic discussed that night.
Vivek Ramaswamy:
Ramaswamy had the exact opposite body language and tone when compared to DeSantis. He was smiling almost the entire time and seemed to have fun on the stage, making extremely broad gestures while keeping a cheerful yet authoritative facial expression. His speed while speaking also varied, slowing down to emphasize important information and speeding up when making bold claims to get the audience excited. Ramaswamy also acts extremely confidently and was first to raise his hand (which he did boldly and highly) when all the candidates were asked if they would support Donald Trump even if he was convicted. His ease on stage and confident attitude helped garnish lots of attention from the audience as he gained a lot of supporters that night.
Mike Pence:
Pence started off with a soft voice and had minimal hand gestures. As the debate continued, he gradually became more assertive as his hand gestures became larger and more vigorous. This change in pace helped him climb from a not-threatening opponent on stage to someone all the candidates had to worry about. His sudden change of attitude helped him stand out compared to all the other candidates. Whether this was a good or a bad thing is up for debate. He also interacted with other candidates one-on-one by calling them out and engaging with them on specific questions. During these interactions, Pence often tightens his lips and raises his eyebrows, giving the impression that whoever he was debating was wrong while he alone was correct.
Nikki Haley:
Amongst all the candidates, Haley used the most hand gestures and had the most voice fluctuation. Her hand gestures were big, her jaw was stiff while debating the other candidates to assert dominance, and her voice varied to convey different emotions. Her facial expression was also assertive (widening her eyes and stiffening her jaw), showing her opponents and the audience that she isn’t someone to be messed with.
Doug Burgum:
Burgum came across as friendly and genuine. Throughout the debate, he maintained a relaxed face, an easy-going smile, and a calm voice. As such he wasn’t considered to have dominated any aspects of the debate, but his friendly attitude helped gain him some attention compared to all the other candidate’s assertive attitudes.
Chris Christie:
Christie had calm gestures and his voice intensity fluctuated depending on the situation. His posture was calm and he spoke with a commanding yet well-mannered voice. The most important thing to note about Christie’s body language was the way he used his eyes. Throughout the entire debate, Christie used his eyes to stare at his opponents to establish his dominance, narrowed them to emphasize his message, and raised them when questioning his opponents.