Kamala Harris' Communication Stands Out in Presidential Debate
What the vice president did better, what she did well and where she might still be able to improve
Vice President — and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States —Kamala Harris has been often criticized for her awkward interactions with the media and clumsiness of her public speaking. Her presidential debate this week with Donald Trump however earned far more positive feedback by analysts and supporters.
Communications professionals have provided analysis to Communication Intelligence.
The vice president was objectively improved and better in this public speaking situation, maybe the most critically-important one yet in the campaign.
“One of the key criticisms of Harris is that she doesn't always speak with clarity and that she's not the most engaging speaker,” says Zoe Mumba, senior manager of public relations and communications at BitMovin, a multimedia technology company which provides services that transcode digital video and audio to streaming formats.
“In this debate, it was essential that she showed that she can communicate her policies and also respond off the cuff to questions in a high-pressure environment.
“She mostly nailed communicating her policies but what worked really well for her was needling Trump on things he cares about, like his rallies and baiting him to go on rants with outlandish claims.”
The public and media observers may have judged the debate in different ways yet the victor should have been clear, one analyst asserts.
“Kamala Harris clearly won the debate just on the point that she remained positive while Trump was almost exclusively negative,” says Debra Caruso Marrone, the president and owner at DJC Communications, a New York-based media relations firm.
“Her posture, presentation, responses, everything, were spot on. Whatever criticism she received prior to last night was negated by this performance.”
Harris excelled in an area that had been a struggle and often left her open to criticism and mockery by opponents in the media, entertainment, social media and the court of public opinion.
“She maintained composure, didn't ‘oversell’ her reactions and appeared assured, authoritative and poised, despite provocations,” says Nneka Etoniru, a former investigative journalist turned strategic communications expert and the executive vice president of global brand strategy and head of public affairs and crisis management at Avenue Z, which drives growth for rapidly growing challenger brands.
The vice president developed, at least for a night, into a skilled communicator.
“Kamala Harris exhibited clear improvements in her delivery and her ability to stay on message under pressure,” says Dr. Contrecia T. Tharpe, chief storyteller and strategist at FayeVaughn Creative, a marketing, branding and communications agency that specializes in inclusive marketing and crisis management.
“One of the most notable advancements was her capacity to remain composed and in control of the narrative despite several pointed attacks from her opponent,” Tharpe added. “In past debates, Harris has occasionally been seen as reactive or hesitant in responding to aggressive questioning. This time, she remained assertive and unshaken, demonstrating greater confidence in her tone and body language.”
Harris worked on her clarity in answering questions, which had been an area where critics were hard on her and unforgiving in the past.
“Harris showed a marked improvement in speaking clearly. Her responses were concise and she delivered them with a sense of purpose, which gave her arguments weight and prevented her from meandering through complex policy explanations,” Tharpe says.
“The pacing of her responses felt more natural, allowing the audience to digest her points fully without feeling overwhelmed by jargon or technical details.”
Harris stood out in additional ways against former President Trump.
“The vice president was able to speak about her policies, to focus on her advocacy of the middle class and people in need, rather than demonizing various classes of people, especially immigrants, as Trump did,” Caruso Marrone noticed.
“While Harris was clearly on the attack and on offense, Trump was on defense and allowed himself to lose his cool. His scowling and hunched posture did not portray him in a good light. Harris portrayed strength by standing up straight and smiling, even if her smile was sarcastic.
“Overall, Harris showed herself to be a leader who could remain in control with a command of the facts. Trump could only attack and go to his standard playbook, using negativity and divisiveness. Harris seized on that and called him out on it.”
Etonirou agrees about the vice president’s confidence, aggressiveness and effectiveness in her messaging.
“Harris went on the offensive last night. She had relevant takeaways to offer the audience, strategically used the debate to clarify policy positions and used her time to refute the claims that she lacked a clear vision,” Etoniru states.
Harris’ poise and fluidity got noticed.
“Her ability to pivot without losing her core message was impressive,” Tharpe says.
“For instance, when confronted with criticisms of her previous decisions, she didn’t dwell defensively on the attacks. Instead, she used the opportunity to reiterate her vision for the future, positioning herself as forward-thinking and solutions-driven.”
That created a noticeable benefit, Tharpe claims.
“This shift in how she responded to criticism allowed her to maintain her credibility while highlighting her leadership capabilities.”
A tremendous amount is at stake, historically speaking and Harris had tremendous pressure to deliver for herself, the Democratic party, supporters who were counting on her for a new leader and what victory in November would mean socially as far as gender, race and ethnic background.
“Harris could be the first female President of the United States and this debate was make-or-break for her in terms of communicating her policies and presenting herself as a strong candidate and Trump as a weak one,” Mumba says.
She adds that a move that the vice president made at the onset of the evening was more than a social nicety; it was strategic, as was other action.
“I believe that Harris conveyed strength by walking up to Trump's podium at the beginning of the debate to shake his hand to show she isn't intimidated by him,” Mumba says. “She also continued to look directly at him throughout the debate as a way to assert dominance.”
With her communication, the vice president made sure to do what Trump is not known for doing and she herself had previous struggles, listening well and speaking directly to questions, providing transparent answers.
"One thing Harris did that worked to her advantage was she focused on outlining her policies clear and how they would impact the American people, but also how Trump's policies would negatively impact the public,” Mumba says.
“This was in contrast to Trump who has a reputation for being less concise and clear in his communications and who often goes on a tangent.”
She noticed something she didn’t think the public expected, a unique approach.
“What I found most interesting is how Harris wasn't afraid to laugh at Trump. Harris laughed when Trump claimed that illegal Haitian immigrants were eating people's pets. She also wasn't afraid to poke fun at his rallies, which Trump didn't take well,:” Mumba details.
“This is in contrast with President Biden who often said Trump was ‘The greatest threat to our democracy.’ However, by using humor, Harris is taking away some of the power of Trump and encouraging voters to laugh along with her and take him less seriously as a candidate.”
The communications specialists see areas for further growth and development.
“Her facial expressions on the split screen as Trump was speaking could have been tempered a bit,” Caruso Marrone says. “But, honestly, that’s trivial.
“Her performance was masterful on all levels and will serve as a model for future presidential candidates debating their opponents.”
The vice president had obviously putting time into practicing the figurative game plan diligently for the debate and it showed in her ability to compete against a challenging personality.
“Harris has improved as a communicator and she succeeded in baiting Trump so he went off message,” Mumba says. “In terms of policy, she may have not swayed Americans on issues such as inflation — which is a huge concern for the majority of voters — and the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
The vice president can still learn and further improve for her future communication in the campaign.
“At times, Harris let Trump set the parameters or frame a certain question and she ended up tailoring her response to rebut his claims,” Etoniru says. “While it's important to do that, it's a delicate balance.
“Going forward, she should focus on swiftly answering the question at hand and making sure she leaves time to deliver her key messages.”
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