Kennedy-Nixon Debate Analysis
Professor Fernando Ganivet
SPC 3540 – Persuasion
October 22, 2013
Kennedy-Nixon Debate Analysis
There may be more truth to the old saying, “it’s not what you say but how you say it.” On average, 93 percent of meaning found in communication comes from nonverbal messages (Mehrabian 1967). Nonverbal communication is the wordless transmission of information through body language, gestures, tone, space and appearance. The first televised presidential debate is a pivotal example of how pervasive nonverbal communication actually is to an audience, and how it affects the credibility of the speaker(s). The purpose of this analysis is to present both the categories and functions of nonverbal communication within the context of the 1960 debates between presidential candidates, Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice-president Richard M. Nixon. Before the first debate, Kennedy was generally thought of as the young inexperienced underdog taking on the two termed vice president but by the end of the night, he was the winner. During the first debate both candidates spoke on domestic issues but history has proved less concerned about the farmer subsidies discussed than with the speakers’ physical appearance. Kennedy was able to hold his own against Nixon’s rebuttals which launched him into an equal perception with viewers. However, what really propelled Kennedy as the winner was the way he presented himself as compared to how Nixon was presented. Perceptions of physical attractiveness initially have the greatest impact. We tend to want to interact with others we consider more attractive than not. That first debate was the clear turning point for Kennedy’s campaign and some would even argue it won him the presidency. “It’s one of those unusual points on the timeline of history where you can say things changed very dramtically.” (Schroeder 2000)
Apparently, while Nixon was campaigning earlier that summer, he injured his knee and it became infected, requiring surgery just
SPC 3540 – Persuasion
October 22, 2013
Kennedy-Nixon Debate Analysis
There may be more truth to the old saying, “it’s not what you say but how you say it.” On average, 93 percent of meaning found in communication comes from nonverbal messages (Mehrabian 1967). Nonverbal communication is the wordless transmission of information through body language, gestures, tone, space and appearance. The first televised presidential debate is a pivotal example of how pervasive nonverbal communication actually is to an audience, and how it affects the credibility of the speaker(s). The purpose of this analysis is to present both the categories and functions of nonverbal communication within the context of the 1960 debates between presidential candidates, Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice-president Richard M. Nixon. Before the first debate, Kennedy was generally thought of as the young inexperienced underdog taking on the two termed vice president but by the end of the night, he was the winner. During the first debate both candidates spoke on domestic issues but history has proved less concerned about the farmer subsidies discussed than with the speakers’ physical appearance. Kennedy was able to hold his own against Nixon’s rebuttals which launched him into an equal perception with viewers. However, what really propelled Kennedy as the winner was the way he presented himself as compared to how Nixon was presented. Perceptions of physical attractiveness initially have the greatest impact. We tend to want to interact with others we consider more attractive than not. That first debate was the clear turning point for Kennedy’s campaign and some would even argue it won him the presidency. “It’s one of those unusual points on the timeline of history where you can say things changed very dramtically.” (Schroeder 2000)
Apparently, while Nixon was campaigning earlier that summer, he injured his knee and it became infected, requiring surgery just
References: Dallek, R. (2003). An unfinished life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. Druckman, J. N. (2003) The Power of Television Images: The First Kennedy-Nixon Debate Revisited. Journal of Politics, 65, 559 Ketrow, S.M. (1999) Nonverbal aspects of Group Communication. The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research, 255. Mehrabian, A. (1967). Attitudes inferred from non-immediacy of verbal communications. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 6, 294-295. Mehrabian, A. (1967). Orientation behaviors and nonverbal attitude communication. Jounal of Communication, 17, 324-332. Nixon, R. M. (1962). Six Crises. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. Schroeder, A. (2000). Presidential debates: Forty years of high-risk TV. New York: Columbia University Press.