Leaders' debate tonight: Here are the winners and losers from 'Democracy's Evening'

There's something truly special about a leaders' debate. It's where the polished campaign style has to give way to sharp rhetoric, and where individual leaders are truly tested under pressure. And last night, we got the full deal when DR broadcast 'Democracy's Evening' live from the studio. As usual, I was glued to the screen, and even though several political observers pointed out afterwards that an evening like this rarely shifts a huge number of votes, it shifts an enormous amount when it comes to who comes out with their reputation intact.

The moment of reckoning: Who won, and who stumbled?

When putting together a leaders' debate tonight review, it's not just about who had the best one-liners. It's about who managed to make their point clearly while the cameras were rolling. For me, there was one who clearly stood out, and one who got off to a bit of a shaky start.

It was hard not to notice the audience's reactions last night. In fact, there were several moments where the audience's clapping and gasps were talked about almost as much as the debate itself. It raised a few eyebrows in the corners, especially when the reactions seemed a bit too predictable. But that's all part of the game in a live broadcast – you never quite know when the sound from the hall suddenly becomes part of the story.

The winner type: The one who came prepared

A leaders' debate tonight guide for viewers who might have missed the live broadcast should start by zooming in on the first 20 minutes. That's where the tone was set. Those who managed to launch an attack early without seeming too desperate gained ground. It's classic electioneering, but rarely has it been so clear that the big words like "responsibility" and "future" weren't just empty talk.

• Sharpness: The winners were those who could answer a concrete question without talking around it for ten minutes.
• Body language: The losers were those who fell into the classic trap of looking down at their notes just as the camera came in close.
• Back-and-forth: It became clear who had trained for the contest, and who relied on "just being themselves." In a live leaders' debate tonight, that's rarely enough.

How to get the most out of the debate

If you want to use the leaders' debate tonight to get a clearer idea of who you might actually vote for, forget the lofty talk about "the finer points." Instead, I suggest you do what we do in the editorial team: Notice who answers the question, and who just keeps talking from their own script. Last night, there were several examples of the latter, and the audience picked up on it very quickly.

I remember one episode during the final half-hour where one of the party leaders tried to steer a discussion about the economy towards something completely different. The moderator was tough, and that's where some of the smaller party leaders got a chance to shine, because they had actually done their homework on the day's agenda. That's how you earn respect from those who are actually paying attention.

The aftermath that matters

Even though the debate ended late, the real game started afterwards. The seasoned commentators were quick to name both the surprise of the day and the blunder of the day. But what I notice most are the conversations in the corners afterwards. Who was left standing alone, and who sought out the others. That often says more than 90 minutes of live TV.

For those of us who are into it, a leaders' debate tonight is never just a debate. It's a mirror of what the power balance actually looks like right now. And if you ask me, last night's edition shook things up a bit more than most people expected. Now it'll be interesting to see how this lands with the electorate in the coming days.