Were Sarah, John, Barack and Joe stressed in their debate?
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by: DrJeffBailey
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If they fail to perform well during the debate, they could lose the support of voters. When in the public eye, particularly during a debate, there is an ever present fear that you will make a ridiculous mistake. To be a successful debater one must be able to handle content and presentation.
The styles of the four contenders, John, Barack, Sarah and Joe are all different. The strain of having to change one's style to meet the expectations of the public speaking tutors must be intense. Campaign stress is sufficient tension without having to develop a credible debating style. How does one respond to these changes?
Barack Obama has a sophisticated but slightly professorial style. Because he is intelligent and well read, he tend to come across as somewhat remote and theoretical. The pressure for him is to appear as warm, committed, and in touch with the people and their dreams. His key appeal is the concept of change.
John McCain has the pressure of being seen to be too old and unwell. He has his long-term experience as a senator but he has to find a theme that will connect with people and earn their support. His reliance on his war record is useful but the tension for him is to capture the imagination of those less interested in war so his call to the masses is patriotism.
Joe Biden has the constant tension of having a huge amount of experience and has the pressure of trying to present this accurately and in a digestible way. Some pundits suggest that Joe is too arrogant. Voters like to think that their politicians are like themselves and this is Joe's pressure.
Sarah Palin is middle America's down-to-earth hockey mom but she has to convince everyone that she can handle the national and international scene. It's cute to hear Sarah say words like 'doggone' and 'aint' but these do not portray an image for national leadership. Sarah's tension was to be well-informed to overcome some of the major gaffes she made in television interviews.
The ever present stress during the debates for the four nominees was to limit any presumed weaknesses and present an attractive persona. Both personal weaknesses and information deficiencies were the areas that caused the strain for the four on these important tickets. America's voters watching the debates are the best ones to know how well they handled the debating stress and presented effectively in terms of information and style.
About the Author
Dr Jeff, a psychologist, is a stress consultant. The televised debates of Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barak Obama and Joe Biden gave an opportunity to consider how much stress each nominee experienced. Did they manage stress effectively? Check out Dr Jeff's free stress book.
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