Turn-taking Interruptions in Presidential Debate

CONCLUSIONS
The research focused on the analysis of turn-taking interruptions in the presidential debate. It has shown that interruption is not the primary aspect that might prevent the candidate from having success in the election and that interruptions do not give a clear disadvantage, although simple interruptions are likely to contribute to a negative image of the speaker. Moreover, it has been discovered that in the presidential debate such aspects as, for example, intonation and body language are more significant and should be taken into account, because they can highlight self-confidence and eye contact (as in Obama’s case), as well as anxiety and lack of eye contact (as in McCain’s case), therefore influencing the spectators’ decision on what kind of leader they want to have.
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