Alberta leaders’ debate analyzed by body language expert
Posted May 19, 2023 7:41 pm.
Alberta UCP leader Danielle Smith and NDP leader Rachel Notley had plenty to say during their debate Thursday, but did they impress?
Body language expert Robyn Braley joined CityNews on election night, and he says both candidates had their misses, highlighting fatigue as potentially the reason.
“Both candidates were not as confident as I expected them to be,” he said.
“When you have a conversation with four leaders, then you got time to think and respond, but now it’s just two people.”
He looked at three important indicators: eye contact, image, and hand movement.
“I didn’t get the impression from either one that they would work towards consensus, so that is one aspect,” he explained.
“So when neither one of them looks directly at the other person, that means they are ignoring them.”
Watch: Alberta election campaign full of distorted facts and misinformation
Braley says some gestures he observed didn’t transmit what the candidates were saying.
“I think that both leaders had moments when their body language was really distracting from what they were saying, so they were just using kind of frantic, frenetic gestures out of habit and not out of good communication practice.”
Meanwhile, Braley believes their image and attire fit that of a leader, and was appropriate for the occasion.
“I thought that both women had strong, powerful suits and looked very professional and leader-like,” he said.
Read More: Alberta leadership debate sees Smith and Notley go toe-to-toe on trust and ethics
However, he says the debate was more of a confrontation, and it missed the mark on communicating their objectives.
“Both candidates machine-gunned a lot, so what that is is that they spewed information,” he said.
“From a communications perspective, you’re much better to leave out some [information], speak slower, and really underline and emphasize the main points. That’s what people will remember.”
Albertans head to the polls on May 29.
