Who was better prepared for the first 2012 presidential debate? If you monitored Twitter like I did, the overwhelming opinion favored Republican Mitt Romney.
I tried to do as subjective a search as possible and tracked the keyword “prepared” along with the hashtag #debate. Here’s a sample of quotes in one short period that reflects the general tone on Twitter during the entire 90-minute event.
Is it just me or is Romney better prepared for this debate?
Romney just appears more prepared.
Romney looks like he’s prepared since last year.
Obama seems surprised at how well prepared Romney is.
Who prepared Romney? Obama seems a little flustered.
I don’t like either candidate, but Romney came prepared and is smacking Obama right now.
With five minutes left in the debate, Obama lost uuber-liberal comedian and talk show host, Bill Maher, who tweeted: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter. Vanity Fair tweeted to its 700,000 followers, “Has Obama ever been this off his game?” and CNN host Piers Morgan sent this message to his 2.7 million followers: “I don’t have a horse in this race, but Romney’s romping home a clear winner tonight.” As soon as I turned to CNN on television, I heard democratic consultant James Carvill said, “The President didn’t bring his A-game.”
Let’s be fair. Obama was comfortable discussing the subjects. He is a skilled debater and had a deep knowledge of the content. But when I watched the reaction of a bi-partisan focus group on Fox News, the words they used to describe Obama were “flat,” “passionless,” and “unprepared.” So why did Romney appear to be better prepared? As a communications coach who prepares leading global executives to launch major products or to tackle difficult questions, I can tell you exactly why Romney looked so well-prepared.
Romney developed lists. If you listened carefully, Romney used lists to answer many of the questions. He had “three ways” to reduce the deficit and “a three-point plan” for job creation. Readers of this column know that I’m a big fan of giving an audience 3 key messages (see my column Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, and The Rule of 3). Giving your audience “three” key points makes a speaker appear confident and well-prepared. The longest list Romney offered was a five-point plan to get the economy moving again.
Romney delivered the lists as key message points. The second step is to develop lists of three to five points for each categories of question—how the question is framed doesn’t matter. Moderate Jim Lehrer had six major questions and Romney delivered lists in his response to each of them. “What are the differences between you and the president on how you would tackle the deficit?” Lehrer asked Romney. “There are three ways to cut the deficit,” Romney said. He reviewed the three ways: raise taxes, cut spending, grow the economy. Romney then said the president prefers to raise taxes while he would lower spending and encourage growth. The list gave Romney an easy structure to follow.
Romney spoke confidently. A speaker must deliver the list with confidence. Romney had strong body language. He made solid eye contact with Obama and rarely looked down except when he was taking notes. He appeared strong and confident. Poor body language can sabotage the best-structured message.
In any presidential debate, challengers who do well against an incumbent nearly always get a boost and grab attention, but Romney was especially well-prepared to take on a skilled communicator like Barack Obama.