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I think I have finally figured out Howard Dean's appeal. To explain it, I need to digress to human communications. I highly referenced study found that when we communicate with one another, 55% of the communication comes from you appearance and body language. Another 38% comes from our tone and inflection of voice. Only 7% comes from the words we use.
Howard Dean has mastered that completely. He always appears in a long sleeve shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. One might ask, why not just buy short-sleeved shirts. The answer: image. He also speaks with much confidence and his voice is filled with passion and anger. I guess you could say his performances are somewhat like a rock star's - all noise and spectacle without substance.
In the words part Dean says some really inane things. But his followers are unfazed. Take a look at the numbers above. The words themselves are only 7%. Sure he's got the words part screwed up, but the other 93% are right on. He attracts people at a visceral level, not a logical and reasoned argument level.
Similarly, the Bush haters, hate Bush viscerally, and then look for logical excuses to justify their anger. By the way, the Bush haters have just had a really really bad week. They are not going to have a Merry Christmas.
In sales we have known this for a long time. The saying is, "People buy emotionally and then find reasons to back up their emotional decision."
So Dean’s apparent Teflon coating should be expected.
Posted by Ted at December 19, 2003 9:14 PM