Non-Verbal Behavior and the American Voter

I was surprised to read that little research has been done in the study of the effect of non-verbal behavior on the American voter. Additionally, the most significant information or concept I garnered from the Kopacz (2006) article is the idea that studies lack current and factual information on these effects. In a time when lawyers hire consultants to learn how to be more persuasive to juries, I would expect any political candidate with an ounce of sense to be extremely aware of how his or her body language and non-verbal cues affect their appeal to voters. If Kopacz (2006) is correct, the communications field is almost two decades behind on studying this issue and has missed out on some major non-verbal behavior! (Including nearly 8 years of the Bush presidency!) However if researchers are now paying attention, the current presidential election cycle should provide enough material to make up for lost time.

I would define persuasion as using specific ideas or concepts to encourage someone to take a specific action. If information-integration is the persuasion theory political campaigns use, it is important to realize that the way people accumulate and organize information about their candidate can result in attitude change (Hamilton, 2008). Therefore, teaching candidates to use positive non-verbal communication helps in persuading voters to take an action of voting for a particular candidate. Non-verbal communication can be anything unspoken such as facial gestures, sounds, body motions, or even lack thereof.

Kopacz (2006) makes an incredibly insightful point in her article. She suggests that the personal character, appearance, and non-verbal behaviors of political candidates tend to be particularly persuasive factors among voters who are uninformed and unfamiliar with the issues, or the candidates’ stances on the issues. An embarrassing example of a non-verbal, persuasive behavior took place a few months ago when Senator Barack Obama received applause when he paused during a speech to blow his nose. Whether or not it was considered non-verbal behavior is subjective, but it shows how caught- up voters are in Obama's persona. His fans/groupies seem to be more concerned with Obama’s race, looks, and charm than his stance on issues; they seem less concerned about the type of job he will do than how he will look doing it.

I am a supporter of Obama and have been pursuaded by his message of change in our country. The manner in which he delivers his speeches, including non-verbal behavior, plays a large part in the development of my opinion. While it’s a concern to consider that our next president may be elected based on such shallow scrutiny by some, the deeper concern is that the scrutiny may not change anytime soon.

References

Hamilton, Cheryl (2008). Communicating for results: A guide for business and professions.
(8th). Belmont: CA: Wadsworth.

Kopacz, M. (2006). Nonverbal communication as a persuasion tool: Current status and future directions. Rocky Mountain Communication Review, 3(1),