Mamta Bhatia: Secret messages given away by their body language and tone of voice

DAVID Cameron learned his lesson from last week and looked into the camera directly. He focused less on making strong eye contact with the studio audience and more on appealing to the programme viewers.

Throughout, he was polished. He hardly smiled, but, as his tone was considered, he managed not to come across aggressively.

However, his breathing was shallow, showing anxiety with the situation.

Determined to remain on top of his game, he made notes throughout, almost not listening to the others as they talked about their policies. When he did listen, he displayed a confused expression.

Towards the end, he was leaning forward and reaching out with his hand, showing he wanted to "touch" the people of the country.

Nick Clegg's tone was softer. He talked at a normal volume and his tone was calm throughout.

His open body language – riding on the success of last week – showed he was not fazed by the pressure of situation.

He wrote throughout, quoted President Obama without making it sound forced and attacked the other two seamlessly.

Once again, he paid great attention to the questions that were asked and the people asking the questions, showing he respects people and their state of emotion.

Gordon Brown was composed from beginning to end, although he spoke with a higher volume throughout, determined not to waste the opportunity to get his points and messages through to people.

However, he noticeably softened his tone when addressing the 84 year-old woman who asked a question on the issue of pensions.

Often, he uses visual language to paint pictures of how it could be. He said: "Imagine David Cameron in this meeting", taking people to that place. He likened the other leaders to his two young boys squabbling – cleverly patronising and dismissing Clegg and Cameron's credibility as leaders.

• Mamta Bhatia is a psychologist and body language expert