Communicative Body free essay sample

The focal point of this past year, 2012, has been the presidential election. After twelve months of being bombarded with every and all types of political advertisements, debates, and analysis it brings to mind a single question: Just how do the presidential candidates use the power of communication, through its many forms, to connect and gain the votes of the constituents? It may seem as though there is a straight forward answer to this particular question, and to a point there is; however to take a closer look would unfold the true craft of a politician.To master the rebel and non-verbal forms of communicating to reach across the wide spectrum of the American public, to be able to create a new vision and future for our country. This is what we look for in our quest for a great leader, the ability to use the power of communication. We all have an inherent need to communicate with each other, in todays modern society we are able to communicate in a multitude of ways. Of all the forms of communication body language may be the most Important-most Insightful.While we are able to create whole Images and arguments of persuasion with our words, by joking at someones body language we can discover the subconscious or true feelings underlying what is said verbally. In 1971, Albert Meridian published a book Silent Messages, in which he discussed his research on non-verbal communication The prospects studied assigned 55 percent of their weight to the speakers body language and another 38 percent to the tone and music of their voice. They assigned only 7 percent of their credibility assessment to the salespersons actual words(http://bluntly. ACM. Org/ 56) Not all are adept at mastering body language that give way certain feelings which may contradict what we are trying to say; however politicians are artists within this skill set. Looking at past political speeches of importance we can see how the body language of the speaker itself foreshadows upcoming or describes current events.While at the height of the Nazi regime Hitler gave many Influential speeches; while he vocally communicated that he would help bring growth and peace to Germany, his body language of closed thrusting fists, stiff stance and pinched face said otherwise. Martin Luther King Jar. Spoke during times f civil unrest, his visionary and inspirational words were further compounded by body language. A grounded and solid stance projected confidence, raised open hand at times to give emphasis on his passionate words.Eye contact with his audience showed Intimacy and at this time of need, his solidarity. Watching this elections debate we can draw meaning from the candidates body language and how it interplay with the voting polls. The New York University Movement Labs Peggy Hackney(http://www. Anytime. Com/interactive/201 2/10/02/Us/ politics/what-Rooney-and-Obama-body-language-says-to-voters. HTML) has analyzed he body movement of the 2012 presidential candidates, her findings show that each uses key gestures and differing uniform styles. Barrack Obama waving ball is used when he is trying to pass along a belief to the voters, he actually chops the air with a closed hand when talking about taking Acton, or a his most common closed fist pointing gesture to emphasize any point, most commonly when counting his past achievements. Mitt Rooney also has a pointing gesture, with his own flair- an extended index finer with thumb overlapping the first knuckle when used with a swinging of the forearm emphasizes strength of conviction and is made when liking about his most passionate stances.Also one of Rooney most frequent gesture is one of embrace-open arms and fingers, outstretched towards the audience saying cannot you not see my logic? Peggy Hackney (http://www. Wired. Co. UK/news/ archive/2012-11 /06/Obama-Rooney-body-language) also discovered that the candidates use full body gesture movements when speaking about topic they felt most passionately about- their personal beliefs or achievements. The way that both moves their body, the gestures they take show the voter better whether they really stand behind the topics which are being discussed. This is directly linked to how we, the American voters, choose our candidates. As the polls show, the first one on one debate this year between Barrack Obama and Mitt Rooney, Obama lost. Watching a video clip of the debate right away we notice that Obama seems unenthusiastic, unimpassioned. When Rooney is speaking Obama does not maintain focus, but looks at his podium and when speaking himself he maintains limited eye contact and limp hand gestures. What was the result?American constitutes becoming unimpassioned with a lackadaisical speaker, and more impressed by Roomers power of speech. If body language is the underlying emotion behind the speech, what is the speech itself? How do the candidates and later the president connect verbally to the public? In the past and present there are key ways in which a politician and any great speaker connects to the audience. Once again we can look to the powerful speeches made by Martin Luther King Jar. And how he used basic elements of inspirational pubic speaking to give more weight to the speeches.MILK Jar. l Have a Dream has a rhythm and repetition that makes it linger in the mind. Whether it is letting freedom ring from all over the world or to go back places he has been and en the problems in which is he referring to, he is building the passion and instilling it within the listener. Obama uses the same method in may of his speeches, from the Yes we can of his acceptance speech in 2008, to the tweeter friendly Pass this Jobs Bill Act his words are catchy and stay with the public.Joseph Rooms article for TIME magazine Who is the Better Communicator (http://ideas. Time. Com/2012/08/14/who-is-a-better-communicator- Rooney-or-Obama/) outlines key aspects of both Rooney and Obama speeches that resonate with the public. Shorter words and repetition are two of the most important, hill metaphor seem to leave a lasting impression. A study conducted in 2005 asked student which parts of a speech they found most impressive, the resulting conclusion found that the metaphors used in a speech made them more memorable and inspiring.It is an art form to paint a picture for the listener when speaking, all candidates in the presidential election paint not only an image for the public, but a future. In the early 20th century linguistics Benjamin Whorl and Edward Sapid language not only communicates reality but also creates it. In 1929 Sapid writes: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expressio n for their society. (http://www. Baber. AC. UK/media/Documents/short/whorl. HTML) All past candidates have had a platform which they run their campaigns on- key a slogan or idea that they want the public to identify them with. Many times this platform is what they idealize America to be when they are elected into office. This repetitive imagery not only gives us, the voters, an insight to what each man stands for; but also creates a Seibel reality. During this election the high stakes vote to gain was that of the middle class, both Mitt Rooney and Barrack Obama wanted middle class to identify with their vision and therefore constantly used words for them to do so. Phrases such as tax cuts health reform and affordable healthcare boosts for our education system are all things that would benefit the middle class. When Obama ran for the presidency in 2008 he created a new idea for the country, an idea of change and he won by a landslide. Relating to the Sapid-Whorl hypothesis is the idea that each election the managing push hard to the American public to think of an imperative question which they will answer by voting for one of the running politicians. In the 2004 election George W.Bushs campaign took much effort trying to get the public to ask themselves who will keep me safe from terrorism? while John Kerry asked who will bring change? . By creating and focusing the majority of the campaigns effort on these questions they essentially create a reality that public puts their focus on as well whether or not there are other questions to be asking. By looking at the results f the election we can see that ultimately the voters thought Bushs question was most connected to current events at that time. In 2008 the questions were asked to answer almost the same, however the public was ready to accept the reality of change and voted for Obama, whose slogan read change we can believe in. (http:// www. Localitys. Com/strategy/question-of-election. HTML). Verbal (spoken language) and nonverbal (written or gestured) language help us describe reality. One of our most important human attributes is the ability to use language to share our experiences, feelings, and knowledge with others(textbook). It is the greatest power of all to be able to clearly connect with, visualize and communicate our thoughts, emotions and future actions. Presidents have unique gift to stand on the platform which is our country and use more methods than ever before to conduct this interplay of our abilities of communication which set us so far apart from all other species. The next election year we should all follow closely not only the words of message sent out by the new candidates but how they move with their words, how their message stays with us, and most importantly- the reality we want for our country.