October 15, 2012

U.S. News & World Report - Body Language Experts Disagree On Biden's Aggressive Debate Performance, Say Ryan Was Nervous

Nonverbal communication experts almost uniformly agreed that President Barack Obama’s passive performance in the first presidential debate could serve a case study in what a candidate shouldn’t do. But Biden’s range of expressions during the VP debate last night—from smirking to teeth-baring to grins—is getting mixed reviews.

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“While displaying anger/threat in his responses, the vice president nonetheless mitigated some of this aggression through verbal politeness, several times referring to Ryan as a ‘friend,’” says Erik Bucy, a professor at Texas Tech University’s college of media and communication, calling Biden’s complex responses a form of “aggressive-belittlement.”