Immediately following Friday night’s presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, the usual array of pundits will descend on the airwaves to declare a winner. While the candidates’ substantive responses should factor heavily into this analysis, history suggests that the candidates’ displays of personality will be just as critical in influencing voters’ impressions. With this in mind, here are a few pointers that McCain and Obama might consider for bolstering their respective likability factors:

1. Demonstrate your grasp of the specifics, but don’t overdo it.

Given the extent to which experience has been a major theme of this campaign season, McCain and Obama are likely to challenge each other on nitty-gritty policy details. Yet if either candidate presses his opponent too hard, he runs the risk of looking pompous. In this vein, consider the backlash against Al Gore when he pressed George W. Bush on the arcane Dingle-Norwood bill during the 2000 debates.

Furthermore, in addressing specifics, Gerald Ford’s embarrassing statement on Eastern Europe during the 1976 debate is instructive: when a candidate addresses policy details, he must get them right.

2. When age differentials come up, blow them off.

Given the twenty-five year age gap between the two candidates, age will inevitably come up at some point during the debates. The age question clearly favors Obama, and he will look like the bigger man if he avoids taking cheap shots at McCain.

Meanwhile, McCain needs an answer that implicitly rejects the credibility of these concerns. He is therefore best served with a witty response a la Ronald Reagan’s 1984 performance, rather than attempting a serious answer as Bob Dole did in 1996–the former approach demonstrated sharpness, whereas the latter appeared stiff.

3. Feel free to talk about your family, but don’t insert them into policy answers.

Candidates typically speak about their families to better connect with voters. But during his 1980 debate with Reagan, Jimmy Carter took this strategy a bit too far, foolishly citing his 13-year-old daughter Amy’s view that the economy was the most important issue.

Alternatively, George W. Bush located a very effective strategy for using family to the advantage of his likeability factor while debating John Kerry in 2004. Rather than speaking about his own family, Bush responded to a question regarding Kerry’s character by praising Kerry as a good dad, and thanking Kerry’s daughters for their kindness to his own. Kerry responded with similar praise for Bush, marking one of the debate’s few warm moments. Obama and McCain might take advantage of similar openings.

4. Finally, avoid making some of history’s most infamous debate blunders.

In this vein, if your wife is attacked, defend her (not worth emulating: Dukakis 1988). Avoid comparing yourself to revered historical figures (not worth emulating: Quayle 1988). Leave your watch at home (not worth emulating: Bush 1992). And, perhaps most importantly, show that you know why you’re there (not worth emulating: Stockdale 1992).