Debating stress for Sarah, John, Barack and Joe
Having watched the presidential and vice presidential debates, and having an interest in stress, I started to wonder about the effects of this debate on the four people on the two tickets. Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden are the four contenders experiencing the stress. But what about the stress during the televised debates?
The first major stressor during debates is the ultimate victory or loss. At the back of their mind must be the constant fear that they might make an incredible blunder. With the dual pressure of handling content intelligently and presenting oneself as a credible and attractive person comes great strain.
The four people on the two tickets all have different personal styles. You can be sure that in the background there were many public speaking experts coaching our four contenders. The requirement to adapt and become an adept speaker in a short timeframe must be a burden. How must each person change?
Barack Obama has a sophisticated but slightly professorial style. Because he is intelligent and well read, he tend to come across as somewhat remote and theoretical. The pressure for him is to appear as warm, committed, and in touch with the people and their dreams. His key appeal is the concept of change.
John McCain has the pressure of being seen to be too old and unwell. He has his long-term experience as a senator but he has to find a theme that will connect with people and earn their support. His reliance on his war record is useful but the tension for him is to capture the imagination of those less interested in war so his call to the masses is patriotism.
Joe Biden has 35 years as a senator so he has a huge amount of knowledge but perhaps too much to convey in a short time. As well, it is easy for people to see him as arrogant. Joe has to present himself as commonplace and one of the people.
Sarah Palin has to choose between being folksy and from a small community and being credible on the national and international scene. What makes her appealing is her cute mannerisms, her winking, her ‘doggones’ and ‘aints’ but these are also limitations. Her additional stress was to appear informed after some of her disastrous earlier interviews.
The debating stress for these four contenders came from trying to cover up their weaknesses and shine with strength. They had to overcome their personality and content differences to be successful. The real issue is whether they handled the debating stress sufficiently well to attract a popular vote.
Warm regards
Dr Jeff
For the team at
mightydigitaldownloads.com
Dr Jeff Bailey, a psychologist, writes about stress. The TV debates of Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barak Obama and Joe Biden provided an opportunity to consider how much stress each nominee experienced. Did they manage stress well? Check out Dr Jeff’s free stress book.
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