Tonight’s Presidential debate is sure to offer many insights — including how to control your messages and connect with your audience. Most people have decided which candidate they support (and you may have, as well). Still, I suggest watching how both candidates perform for the lessons they can teach about communications, especially when you are in the spotlight, as both candidates will be tonight. Consider the impressions you’d like to make in the future and learn from what they do well — and what they do poorly.

Here’s what I’ll be watching for during the debate:

What are their messages? That may sound simple and obvious, but both candidates have reputations for delivering long answers that can at times confuse. Clear messages are essential, and the listener needs broad takeaways supported by some specific facts. Can you distill from what you heard from each candidate how they will approach their role and what concrete steps they will take? Or did they ramble? If you had to summarize what they communicated to someone who hadn’t seen the debate, could you do it?

Do you feel a sense of connection and relatability? Trust is essential in building support and a key ingredient is feeling you share important values. Are they conveying their values authentically? And are they doing it in a way that connects with you?

Effective spokespeople try to communicate in ways that make them real and relatable to their audiences. When speaking to consumers concerned about food safety for their families, they want to communicate as a concerned family member. When speaking to a scientific group, they want to convey respect for the scientific process and share a meaningful, impactful, and relevant scientific experience. Do you feel you could sit down and have a meaningful conversation with either or both candidates about issues that matter to you? Do you think they’d listen?

Are they cool under pressure? Like meat industry leaders facing high profile moments or crises, Presidential candidates need to convey a balanced sense of calm, confidence, and urgency. There’s no doubt it’s an art. Watch closely, see what you learn from their demeanor and think about how you can strike that balance the next time you are facing controversy or otherwise in the spotlight with your team, your customers, or the public.

What does their verbal AND body language convey? Are they respectful towards the other candidate and the moderators or are they rolling their eyes, throwing their hands up or otherwise giving into the pressure of the situation? Watch them closely and consider what your body language might convey on camera, which is always on whether you are speaking or not.

Are they staying on their message or are they ‘taking the bait’ and wasting time on trivia? During the June debate between Former President Trump and President Biden, Trump baited Biden about his golf handicap, a subject that should be beneath a Presidential debate. Biden became defensive about his handicap when he should save saved valuable debate time for issues that matter to the American people. Think about how you might rise above “the bait” and use time wisely in a similar situation.

Did they deliver memorable quotes? Great leaders inspire with actions and words, and great quotes shape how leaders are perceived and remembered. In the first televised Presidential debate in 1960, John Kennedy told Americans, “We can no longer afford to be second best. I want people all over the world to look to the United States again, to feel that we're on the move, to feel that our high noon is in the future.” Great leaders must be great communicators, and they must plan for and practice great soundbites, inserting them into the debate at an appropriate time. What can you quote after the debate? How might you use planned, memorable quotes in the future?

Be sure to comment tomorrow and tell me what you thought about their performances and any lessons you learned for your own communications. It’s sure to be fascinating TV!

Tonight’s Presidential Debate: A Likely Study in Communications Skills and Missteps

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