Clegg's communication contradiction

Part of the reason for Nick Clegg's success in the leaders' debates has supposedly been that he addresses the questioners by their first names, and also due to the way he looks into the camera most of the time when speaking. Apparently these techniques make him a good communicator, but surely there's a contradiction between the two?

Mr Clegg looks at the questioner when responding and addresses them by their first name, but then looks towards the camera. Thus although initially he must seem to the questioner to be a good communicator, to address the television viewers - ie the overwhelming majority of those watching the debate - he of necessity ignores the questioner in favour of the TV audience. And, indeed, he effectively ignores altogether the majority of the studio audience.

David Cameron seems to have adopted this style as well, but to me using the questioner's first name appears slightly contrived and overfamiliar, and addressing the camera directly seems a tad synthetic and, as outlined above, there's a lack of good communication in addressing the questioner but then ignoring them in favour of the TV camera.

The latter point brings to mind Australian cricket legend Richie Benaud, who after his retiral from the sport became a BBC commentator and pundit. When being interviewed by the programme's anchorman as a pundit, in his lengthy answers Benaud would look away from the main presenter and towards the camera, which always seemed both awkward and pompous.

Hence Nick Clegg's supposed communication skills seem to me a bit artificial and contrived, but of course this is perhaps in keeping with the leaders' debate format and contemporary manufactured politics generally. I prefer Gordon Brown's more traditional approach of addressing the questioner initially and then the audience generally, but largely ignoring the direct approach to the camera. The occasion is supposedly a debate, they are not reading the news or presenting a party political broadcast, although perhaps in effect the three leaders have been using the debates as a version of the latter.

But Clegg's approach seems to work, because the Lib Dems' poll ratings have soared on the back of the debates, and of course ultimately that's all that matters.