When the debate between Kennedy-Nixon took place, John F. Kennedy was an unknown to many people. He was a young Catholic senator from Massachusetts running against an incumbent Vice-president. After the end of the debate, everyone knew Kennedy; he was a star. The discussion led him to become the next president of the US. Non-verbal communication deals with gestures, tone of voice, eye contact, body language, posture, and expressions that people use to communicate with one another without having to use language. Nonverbal communications make up a huge part of the communication process. Communication is a two-way channel that consists of inflow of information and outflow of response on the other side. Nonverbal persuasion played a huge role in winning over the Americans for Kennedy during the 1960 presidential debate between him and Richard M. Nixon.
Nonverbal persuasion
Nonverbal persuasion helps in altering the decision making the process of people. Before the debate between the two presidential hopefuls, most people thought that Nixon would win the debate and eventually the election. However, during the debate, those who saw the debate on TV were won over by Kennedy mainly through nonverbal communication. Nixon had been sick previously where he lost weight and looked pale. He further refused to wear makeup, so he was sweaty and sickly. As he addressed the studio audience, Nixon made important points with good references. Those who listened thought he would win; however, those who watched him got a different opinion. As he talked, he seemed weak and had a blank expression on his face. He was still sick, and the people got a negative perception of him.
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Kennedy, on the other hand, an inexperienced Massachusetts senator. He, however, had a calm look of assurance during the evening with perfect makeup and was dressed to impress. Kennedy was the ideal image of good health. Not only had he gotten a skin tan which was glowing but also looked calm and healthy. He seemed poised had a confident smile that made the audience feel comfortable and relate with him. He used aspects of tonal variation to stress on the main points. He also looked at the camera while talking, thus in a way making eye contact with everyone who could not make it to the studio audience.
Kennedy used elements of nonverbal persuasion in his speech. He used gestures when answering questions while looking at his audience and not the journalists who asked questions. He employed psychological patterns of nonverbal communication. Nixon, on the other hand, only looked at the journalists when answering questions. He was also constantly wiping the sweat off his. Kennedy portrayed the look of an energetic presidential hopeful that would guide the nation to where it was supposed to reach while Nixon seemed tired and pallid like he could not take the country to where it was to reach. Nixon’s verbal power was strong but was eventually overwhelmed by Kennedy’s nonverbal characteristics. Nixon might have been sick, but he could still employee some aspects of nonverbal communication to persuade the audience, but he ignored them.
Conclusion
It is clear that nonverbal persuasion played a huge role in winning over the Americans for Kennedy during the 1960 presidential debate between him and Richard M. Nixon. The nonverbal communication mechanism that Kennedy used made him overpower the frail-looking Nixon. He was able to portray an energetic person who would become the next president as opposed to the sickly looking Nixon who might have had a good grasp on the verbal power but could not persuade those who were seeing him.
