Week 11: The End?

For the final stretch, my advisor and I completed the analysis of the remaining debate snippets. Although we had reasoned that McCain’s constant blinking was sufficient last week, after meeting again, we decided to settle with the lack of a handshake instead as it was more indicative and specific to the town hall format. The handshake is a powerful moment for politicians and often is demonstrative of a mutual respect, so when there is none, the candidates seem petty and juvenile. In regards to the 2016 debate, my advisor and I concluded that Trump’s shadowing of Hillary and his awkward chair-grabbing were to be the focus as these moments call into question, “What should candidates do with their body language when their opponent is speaking?”

In addition, we finally solved the problem of the daunting 1996 body language headline. Because the 1996 debate was so anticlimactic and lacked conflict, there was no major flaw in relation to body language. In fact, Bill Clinton was so swift and natural in connecting with the voters, that we reasoned that the headline for 1996 was that there was no headline at all. Although this may seem perplexing, it is important to remember that sometimes no headline is the best headline as it really allows the post debate discussion to be centered around the context of the candidates’ responses, the issues, and the policies rather than a mistake a candidate made.

So, with the formulation of a guide for the 1996 debate, I was left with only the conclusion to really tie the project together. After analyzing seven town hall presidential debates in depth, I can conclude that body language is indeed impactful. Often times, however, a candidate’s body language can dominate the post debate narrative if he/she is not careful (and this has usually been for the worse). Going into debates, presidential candidates must be mindful of the space the town hall provides for them and utilize it effectively, they must avoid distractions as these can really be disadvantageous and weaken a candidate's image, and they must mirror Bill Clinton in 1992 and really enact respect for the voters. Ultimately, the town hall debates are significant as they are strong indicators of which candidate will win the popular vote, and this makes sense as candidates who are unable to navigate the town hall debates and connect with the voters may seem unfit for the presidency.

Reflecting on these past couple months, I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to work in depth in a field I was passionate about, but had no prior experience in. My senior project experience has been rewarding, fulfilling, and satisfying. I have developed a new perspective on town hall debates and have become more aware of the impact of our body language in relation to perception. It has been a fascinating and eye-opening couple of months, and I am lucky to have had the honor to work with an extremely qualified and passionate advisor, Mr. Hansen. I want to thank him for setting aside his own time to watch and analyze debates with me. I also want to thank Ms. Belcher for keeping us on track, and anybody else who has guided me along the way. The road was a bumpy, yet incredible one. Thank you :)