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“Cool Coming Off As Cold” – Coaching Obama

I have been discussing the idea of the Perception Gap for a while now. Introverts often are misunderstood and considered aloof or disengaged when they don’t exude warmth.  Newsweek’s writer Jacob Weisberg,  had an interesting take on President Obama’s temperament in the piece, Cool Coming Off As Cold and how this perception is becoming an issue for our President.

Weisberg writes, “….so while many people deeply admire him, few come away from any encounter feeling closer to him. He’s not warm, loyal, or deeply involved with others. His most fervent enthusiasts tend to express affection more for the ideas he represents—America transcending its racial history, a fairer society, rational decision making—than for the man himself.

and, he adds….”For a politician, emotional self-sufficiency is both asset and liability. On the positive side, it supports Obama’s rationalism, his level-headedness in crisis, and his dispassionate decision making. On the negative, it can read as cold, aloof, or arrogant. It’s healthy that Obama doesn’t need the roar of the crowd for validation. It’s a problem that the crowd seems to need more from him than he is able to provide.”
Do you think our President needs to make some changes in his style  to connect more with the masses? If so, what would you coach him to do differently?
I’ll start: How about getting rid of the teleprompter?


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By Jennifer Kahnweiler
February 7, 2010

3 comments

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  1. Steve Bogner said
    on February 8, 2010

    I don’t think the teleprompter is a problem (not for me, anyway). As a fellow introvert, I’m fine with his style the way it is. But to connect with a more diverse public, he might try more flashes of extroversion – OK, lose the teleprompter at times, show his more spontaneous side now & then, and some of those other things that make extroverts more comfortable :)

  2. Jennifer Kahnweiler said
    on February 8, 2010

    Steve -Thanks for your comment. I wonder if it is just extroverts who are seeking an expression of emotion? I understand his conversation the next day with the Republicans showed more of his pre-election humanity.

Continuing the Discussion

  1. Blessings and curses | Never Too Late linked to this post on February 7, 2010

    [...] “Cool Coming Off As Cold” – Coaching Obama | The Introverted Leader. [...]

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