Speaking Skills Can Win Elections

10 Mar Speaking Skills Can Win Elections

By Joe McLeod
This column first appeared in the Orlando Sentinel.

Before Gov. Chris Christie was knocked out of the GOP presidential race last week, he managed to deliver a series of powerful blows to Sen. Marco Rubio at the New Hampshire primary debate. During the feisty salvo, Christie claimed that Rubio was “talented,” but his 30-second memorized speeches didn’t amount to the experience necessary to occupy the Oval Office.

The New Jersey governor didn’t need to provide an example. Rubio took care of that when he ducked the charge, then pivoted to his scripted line that President Obama “knows exactly what he’s doing.” This exchange dominated the news cycle and stirred up social media to the point of chipping away at Rubio’s sharp and polished persona.

Christie was right about Rubio’s talent, but wrong about the significance of communication. He insinuated that delivering a well-crafted speech can fire up a passionate crowd of supporters, but doesn’t equate to getting things accomplished. Christie highlighted his executive achievements throughout his campaign. Touting his experience as an accomplished governor plays well on televised debates but never turns into votes.

While voters might view gubernatorial experience as a commendable résumé enhancement for candidates seeking higher office, it’s not the primary factor. If it were, Jeb Bush or John Kasich would be leading in the polls, Christie wouldn’t have dropped out, and the public might actually know who Jim Gilmore is. Speaking skills matter. Conventional wisdom suggests that giving speeches and the act of governing are worlds apart. But history shows they are connected and interdependent.

In 1960, there was consternation among evangelicals to support John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, because of fear that the pope would be indirectly running the country. Kennedy delivered a critical speech to a gathering of ministers in Houston to address this concern head on. Kennedy’s speech highlighted his patriotism and commitment to religious liberty, which ultimately assuaged those concerns and helped him garner enough support to win the election. It was the artful delivery of a speech, not executive action or a legislative achievement, that produced a thumbs-up from skeptics.

With the country deeply divided along party lines, the GOP needs a nominee who can win over voters, not by altering the party platform, but by defending it and explaining it in a way that resonates with people outside the Beltway. Effective speakers can rally their bases, while welcoming new, and potentially unlikely, supporters to join their causes. Communication skills are not only required to win elections; they’re also needed to drive policy.

The Cold War was won by aggressive U.S. policies and clandestine operations conducted by the CIA, but it was President Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator, using his speaking skills to shore up the public support needed to bolster those policies. Powerful speeches such as the “tear down this wall” speech at the Brandenburg gate in Germany fueled the collective resolve from the international community, ultimately ending the spread of communism throughout Europe.

Words might not always produce action. However, the ability to communicate well isn’t an ancillary factor or a side benefit but a vital component of the policy-making process. It’s not something a leader does in addition to governing. It is governing.

Speakers can undoubtedly use their influence to be deceptive. They can leverage their oratory skills to mislead the masses, smear opponents and gin up emotionally driven fervor in support of their causes. This is a testament to the power that lies within the spoken word, spoken well.

Politicians in all parties have crafted messages with nuggets of broken facts — the truth but not the whole truth. They can present their interpretation of the issues while omitting pertinent information that would add context and possibly lead viewers to arrive at a different conclusion. This is why voters must be informed enough to evaluate these messages in order to confirm or challenge the candidates on their positions.

Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca once said, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” Issues management, decision making, consensus building and time in office are desirable characteristics for a chief executive. But to be an effective leader on a national stage, in 2016, that executive must be able to articulate a vision for the country and rhetorically connect with a diverse cross-section of the American public.