One mans' opinion on why Barack Obama will be our next president

I have no college degree.

I have completed enough college level classes to put me somewhere near an associate (two year) degree.

I mention this now, because something that I learned in one of those long ago community college night classes that I took comes back to me now to inform this opinion. It is not what you say - it is how you say it.

When an individual looks to attach meaning to a verbal communication, the words only convey about seven percent of the message. Body language, facial expressions, intonation, inflection, intensity - all of these make up a greater portion of the message perceived.

Keeping this in mind, I would ask you to give up a few minutes of your time to watch these two videos. One is of Barack Obama. The other is of John McCain. I chose these two clips as they were both presented to large groups of supporters, and both candidates were speaking with conviction to these supporters.

Barack Obama at a rally in Virginia (about 4 minutes)
John McCain at a rally in New Hampshire (about 2 minutes)

Now if you have the time, watch them again (or a portion of them) and turn the sound off.

I make my living communicating with people on a daily basis. I have good days, and bad days, just like everyone else. On the good days, there is no doubt in my mind that the humor, the enthusiasm, and the attitude contributed more than the words. Because the words are the same words that I use when I have a bad day.

Ronald Reagan was called The Great Communicator. That was a skill instrumental in President Reagan achieving the White House. And I believe that Barack Obama will be our next president based on a similar set of skills.