Vancouver_Magazine_May_2017

Perfecting

the Candidate

In the popularity contest that is

politics, winning requires more than

just juicy campaign promises: you

also need people to like you. Here,

two experts weigh in on what makes

a politician appealing on a gut level.

BY Carly Whetter

City ELECTION

The Head Tilt

In a dominant politician, who

may influence behaviour through

aggression and intimidation, “we

see a downward head tilt with

a directed gaze, which gives a

menacing and aggressive sort

of vibe,” says Witkower. Alter-

natively, there’s the “boss

you really look up to,” a.k.a

the politician you might

actually want to hang

out with. Those

people often use

the upward head

tilt, which also

has the eff ect of

increasing your

apparent size.

“You often see the

combination of an

upward head tilt with a

smile, which has very

large eff ects on percep-

tions of prestige.”

SURVEY SAYS Follow the Leader? Not Necessarily

28 VANMAG.COM MAY 2017

Their Physical Size

“Non-verbal

expansiveness—

behaviour that increases

your apparent physical

size, such as having your

arms extended away from

your body, or puff ing out

your chest—has huge

implications for how

competent someone

is perceived to be by

others,” says Witkower.

The Personal Bubble

Donald Trump’s lurking gait and signature

handshake “yank” have become the butt of

jokes, but those traits may be advantageous

to his image. “ Those who encroach on

others’ personal space tend to be colder,

angry or more controlling,” says Witkower.

“The fact that this has received so much

public attention shows that people perceive

this behaviour as dominant.”

THE EXPERTS

Zachary Witkower, psychology

graduate student at UBC and

exper t in non-verbal behaviour.

Bruce Young, managing principal at

Earnscliff e Strategy Group, specializing

in counselling public servants and

corporate leaders in B.C. and Alberta.

The Winning Smile “There are certain

muscles in the face that get activated

for real enjoyment smiles and others for

forced smiles. People can often pick up

on these forced smiles,” says Witkower.

That being said: “Even a fake smile can

increase likability as it indicates the

person wants to be warm, which is also

very important.”

The Real Deal “One of the

single most important factors

is authenticity. Media training

is important but you can’t make

a person likable and you can’t

make someone into Barack

Obama,” says Young. “Voters

are smart and they realize

when politicians are trying to

be something they’re not.”

The fine print: Results are based on an online

study conducted by Insights West from February

23 to February 26, 2017, among 801 adult British

Columbians. The data has been statistically weighted

according to Canadian census figures for age and

gender. The margin of error—which measures

sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Say they’d never vote

for the BC Liberals

with Christy Clark as their leader, no

matter what the party’s policies are.

Agree: “I wish we had bet ter people ser ving as leaders of B .C.’s main political par ties .”

77%

Say they would never

vote for the NDP in a provincial

election, no matter who the leader is.

28% 49%