How the politicians say it NOT what they say will win the debate

Tonight we have the historic TV debate between the political leaders in the UK. Until this morning, when volcanic ash became the leader story, there was blanket coverage of the debate. Experts were wheeled into TV studios to discuss the appearance of the politicians and to analyse their body language. In all cases, experts said that it was how the men appeared on the TV rather than what they would say, that would affect the outcome of the debate.

One area that hasn't been mentioned is the tone of the voice; I find this surprising, since most of the experts are excellent. It is clear that all three men have worked on the quality of their voices: if you listen to early Gordon Brown broadcasts, you will hear that his voice has more energy and animation. I would, however, be advising and coaching David Cameron to become aware of his voice rising in pitch when he's stressed or pressured.

Since this is a TV broadcast the experts have focused on the visual impact of the men, yet there are many people that have strong auditory reactions - and the broadcast will be broadcast on radio. Whilst all the men have clear voices, Gordon's has a tendency to lack variety of tone and Nick Clegg's sometimes lacks charisma.

I have no doubt - or at least hope - that they have all had vocal coaching before this debate. Tomorrow, if I remain awake during the debate, I will let you know how well they did! But my message is: don't forget the impact your voice has on any appearance.

There is an interesting video on the Sky News website where the excellent Peter Collett analyses the 3 party leaders' body language and the messages they are sending.

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