Democrats Scored on Visual Selling
Saturday, August 11th, 2007If you watched the July 23, 2007 CNN-YouTube debate between Democratic presidential candidates, you probably noticed the format was not typical. Generally, debates consist of political questions and answers between a few talking heads. This one—with its video clips, audience participation, emotionally charged presenters and a moderator, who spoke without hiding behind a lectern—shattered the old rules. The results were dynamic and quite revealing. In fact, I believe that the format forced candidates to truly “sell” their message to the audience and stand out fro
m their competitors.
As someone who taught the importance of visual selling for years, I loved the set up for this debate. All the visual elements—from the YouTube questions to the audience shots to the candidates themselves—kept TV viewers engaged. It was a visual selling feast—one that truly put the candidates’ presentation skills to the test.
See The Great American Sales Pitch, for the full critique.