Candidates Must be Wary When They Talk

By Allan Bonner

In the early days of the American republic it was considered crass to seek election. So, candidates engaged in “front porch” campaigns, writing letters of concern that made their way into newspapers and sitting on their front porches waiting to be “drafted” into service.

Candidates didn’t visit conventions until the 1920s and didn’t make much use of airplanes in modern democracy until JFK’s plane named “Caroline” in 1960.

There’s a dark paragraph in this history. It involves Adolph Hitler. He was the first politician to use the airplane extensively. His early campaigns featured massive leaflet drops, billboards and crowd turnout—what we would call “advance”. He was always in too small a room with crowds overflowing onto sidewalks. Buttons, souvenirs and hoopla gave the events the air of today’s rock-concert. Hitler usually spoke late and was usually a disappointment after all the big buildup. Regrettably, the techniques worked.

The revolution in our politics came in 1960 when Robert Drew invented the lightweight sound camera. The film producer shot candidates Kennedy and Humphrey in documentary he called “Primary”.

The downside then, is just as it is now with Youtube. Any candidate could suddenly find himself slipping on a banana peel on national TV. The upside is that candidates had close-up, personal and even intimate relations with their voters, via film and TV.

But there was a toll to pay. The toll for good relations with voters is the clip, sometimes called a sound-bite, sound up or actuality. From 1960 on, if a candidate couldn’t pay the toll, s/he just didn’t get the access or profile needed to have electoral success.

The old 30 second “window” became 20 seconds and by the turn of the 21st century, the average clip on radio and TV in a contentious situation was 8 seconds. Length varies on talk shows, interview shows, public broadcasting, newscasts and so on. But everything is shorter these days.

A good clip has several dimensions—the psychological, the physical and the semantic.

Psychological

We’ve all been at parties during which we want to fake a heart attack to get away from the guest that’s either too talkative or too passive to be a good conversation partner.
We want to receive a benefit from the other person to justify the time spend. With somebody famous, just being in their presence may be enough, but we also usually want an insight or two for our time.

So, the psychological stance with a journalist is that this person is fascinating. The questions are stimulating and you are determined to be as informative and helpful as possible. One of the main ways to transmit the right attitude is with energy and passion.

Physical

Eye contact must be with the journalist if one is there. If there’s just a camera (double ender or videographer), then you have to look at the lens. Double-enders involve the journalist being in the studio and the candidate being in the office or at the event.

In a TV studio, the body language should be “overly correct”. We all remember from grade school that sitting up straight and looking attentive is hard work. It’s often not comfortable, but that’s what’s required.

Gestures should be open, double-handed. They should be bigger and slower than in real life. These gestures relax you, loosen the muscles in the chest so you can breath, and transmit that you’re communicative.

Your back should be straight and you should lean slightly forward into the interviewer. Eye contact should be maintained at all times. In an eight second clip, looking away once looks guilty.

Semantic

A clip needs to make sense. This sounds obvious until you consider that public communication is making less and less sense these days. Take advertising—a kind of clip. Forty years ago, slogans were complete sentences, sometimes rhyming or sung:

    “Let Hertz put you in the driver’s seat today”

    “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should”

    “You deserve a break today”

    “See the USA in your Chevrolet”

I can’t think of too many declarative statements in advertising these days. In corporate life, we are awash in mission, vision and value statements that business studies show don’t mean much to front line workers.

In politics, focus groups tend to iron out the wrinkles in slogans and speeches to the point where nothing is being communicated.

Consider this phrase:

    “Well, my opponent and I certainly have a very different approach to these issues, and over the years my constituents have come to know my values and my views on integrity and leadership.”

This is saying nothing. The speaker hopes listeners know what both candidates have said on a range of issues and this is an unrealistic expectation.

Think of clips that stick:

    “Walk softly and carry a big stick” – Teddy Roosevelt

    “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself” – FDR

    “If you can’t stand the heat, get the out of the kitchen” Harry Truman

    “The military industrial complex” Dwight Eisenhower

These were all spoken well before the television age, but still work today. They are short, simple and make complete sense. They encapsulate complex foreign policy public policy and the national mood. They are in and of their moment in time.

These characteristics are even more important in the multi-channel media age. People hear these clips while driving, exercising, wrestling with the kids, eating and all kinds of other activities. They better be good.

One cautionary note—the bad sticks better than the good. Consider these clips:

    “I am not a crook” Richard Nixon

    “Read my lips: no new taxes” George H. W. Bush

    “Vast right-wing conspiracy” Hillary Clinton

    “I did not have sex with that woman” Bill Clinton

    “I am not gay. I never have been gay” Senator Larry Craig

Negatives and absolutes (no, not never, nothing, none, always, never) are very dangerous.
Finally, many of my political clients protest that making good messages and clips, while staying on top of complex policy issues is a tough assignment. Most say they’re too busy. But there’s lots of time in the shower, in the back of the limo and on planes to rehearse and practice. I advise using the mirror, video and audio recording and family and friends to try out your clips.

Nothing should ever be said in public that hasn’t been practiced at least three times in private. Practice is a lot easier than explaining hundreds of times why you made the silly statement you did. It’s also easier than looking for work as a lobbyist.

Allan Bonner has coached 8 heads of government and several dozen
cabinet level politicians. He is the author of several books
on communication and can be reached at Click here to contact this Author.