Ivette Urbina
Essay 2
4/2/09
Prf Garder HUC 108 2325
Bedtime Story
“Americans can do anything.” With these words Governor Bobby Jindal tried to
convince America that the Republican Party understands the needs of Americans just as
the Democrats. As a child of poor immigrant parents he understands the struggles
Americans go through. The governor’s speech’s nonverbal communication was
ineffective at convincing Americans that Republicans are prepared to fix the economy.
The governor’s kinesics showed he was somehow focused and not too relaxed; his
hand gestures were always towards his torso making him see anxious. His voice was also
the same tempo throughout the entire speech. Governor Jindal’s nonverbal
communication was simply monotone he could not really convince the audience because
of the way he gave the speech. At times it felt like he was reading a bedtime story to a
child and not to a nation that has lost hope in the Republican Party. Governor Jindal was
too soft-spoken. He never took his eye off the prompter, making it difficult to believe hiss
verbal communication.
With paralanguage he urged people to believe again in the Republican Party and
that they were going to get America out of these difficult economic times. However the
look on his face and gestures showed the opposite because he was too mechanical and
seemed cold. He compared his personal life story to that of President Barack Obama with
the cold tactic on his face he failed to attempt sympathy from Americans.
“Democrats believe in giving the government the money to spend, but republicans
belive that the people should use that money.” In this part of the speech it did not seem
like he was speaking from the heart, but more like he was politically pressured to respond
to democrats. The nation saw how the last administration failed and Jindal was not
delivering a substantial message.
You could tell Governor Jindal was trying to avoid nervous gestures, but while
trying to control his nonverbal communication he became to stiff and made his verbal
communication hard to believe. It was hard to believe that the Republican Party can see
these issues are important if you have someone deliver a childish sounding speech. His
monochronic style he did deal with one issue at a time. However the look on his face and
his hand gestures did not correspond to the issues and of rebuilding America.