Having just watched President Bush make his latest demands on the Palestinians, It occurs to me that he has trouble making eye contact with his audience.
It seems obvious that he is reading from prepared text and I’m certain that he uses a teleprompter. I also know that he has had lots of training in public speaking, so is there a reason he would spend so much time with his eyes averted?
It’s well known that is difficult for liars to look their victims in the eye.
I don’t agree, bare. I think he makes eye contact quite frequently and believe the times you see him looking down, or away, you are seeing the speaker’s tool of “weighing one’s words”.
Yes, he makes a lot of verbal faux pas, but I can’t fault his eye-camera contact.
Quasi
Please, this isn’t intended as criticism. If I wanted to criticize, it would be too easy to find a valid topic.
I am looking for a factual reason. Maybe he doesn’t like to use a teleprompter or perhaps, since the speech was delivered outside, a teleprompter doesn’t work because of glare.
Maybe, on second thought, it is criticism. I want my President to look me in the eye, so to speak.
perhaps he’s thinking about all the crack he’ll smoke up and the oprhans he’ll murder once he’s done with the speech. or am i going off the point?
:rolleyes:
Because he’s afraid it’ll steal his soul…oops, too late.
Because the unblinking eye of the camera troubles his guilty conscience…errrr, nope, not that one either.
Because Karl Rove and Condi Rice have trained him not to stare at it for too long out of fear of being hypnotized…maybe.
But seriously, I’ve watched him speak many times on TV, and his close set eyes (an easy target of political cartoons and caricatures) give his face a worried look, especially if you stare at him for a long time. IMO, he looks away to add weight to his words like Quasi said, but also to keep his face animated and his eyes open wider when he returns his gaze to the camera.
Not really a factual reason like you wanted, just my observation.
I can’t remember where I heard this, but I was told that polished media performers (such as politicians) should never look directly at the camera when giving an interview or speach, rather they look at the interviewer or the audience. I don’t really remember why, but my guess is that if it goes on too long, it begins to look like they’re staring you down, which is more likely to make you feel negative about what they’re saying.
i think that if you go thru all of your vids you’ll see that very few of the old boys stare directly into the camera unless it is something just like an address to the nation. If there is a live audience before him with Q & A you’ll never see his direct gaze.
Good one, Mr._Friendly!
Good ones, widdershins!
I believe he does during oval office addresses, where there is one camera. During speeches on the lawn or other places, there are scores of cameras. He can’t look into all of them!
glilly, I was referring to his looking so frequently at his notes, not that he wasn’t looking directly into the camera.
Perhaps I just got too acquainted with Bush’s glib predecessor.
You’re not supposed to look directly into the camera when giving a speech. It makes it appear that you are staring, intently, and rather creepily, at the viewer. Even in the Oval Office the President is not looking directly into the camera, but to a point just to the left or right of the camera.
One of the first things they teach you in film school.
Kirk