The Next “Great Communicator”? What we can learn from Barack Obama
Whether or not President Barack Obama can work miracles with the economy, health care, and all the other problems we’re facing, one thing we can all be happy about: once again we have a leader in the White House who knows how to communicate.
No matter what you thought about George Bush’s actions during the last eight years, you have to agree his way with words was often laughable and at times, embarrassing. Just Google “George Bushisms” and you’ll be reminded of some doozies, enough faux pas to fill 35 books offered on Amazon.com.
• “Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?”
• “They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the compassion of the commander in chief, too.”
• “There is no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind that we will fail.”
And no matter what you think about President Obama’s political views, you have to admit that now we have a leader with speaking skills we can not only applaud, but also emulate. Bush won elections in spite of his ability to communicate. Obama won because of his abilities.
We’ve already seen plenty to showcase his talents. His first major speech, at the 2004 Democratic convention, made such an impact it rocketed him to national prominence and set the stage for his presidential run.
More recently, Obama wowed critics and pundits with his nomination acceptance speech and his speech on election night. His inauguration speech, though not a spectacular effort for the President, was far and above what many can deliver.
Content
So what does Obama do that makes him such a powerful communicator? First, of course, a good speech starts with how it’s written. Here Obama shines (with help from his writers). He knows how to phrase things conversationally, yet poetically and eloquently.
He effectively uses oratorical techniques such as repetition — “Yes we can.” He understands how to use contrasts — “…and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” And he regularly employs the rule of three — “…our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
Emotion
Obama knows that abstract ideas don’t register with audiences emotionally, so he uses specifics. Instead of saying, “We are lucky to have freedom of speech in this country,” he says “We can say and write what we think without hearing a knock on the door.”
He tells stories. This skill separates run-of-the-mill speakers from awesome ones, and Obama knows how to do it right. In his acceptance speech on election night he used a powerful anecdote about 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper, who grew up in a time when neither women nor African Americans could vote. Yet here she was in 2008 casting a vote for a Black man.
Delivery
Once the speech flows on paper, Obama delivers. He is cool, calm and confident, yet passionate when he needs to be. While many speakers underestimate the power of their voice, Obama makes skillful use of his. He lowers and raises his volume, speeds up and slows down his pace, and most importantly, he pauses.
Obama’s not perfect
While Obama reads the Teleprompter better than most, he could learn to be better. He does too many right and left motions too quickly and too predictably, as if he’s watching a tennis match. He needs to spend longer on each side. He also should expand his eye contact points away from the prompter, including the far left, far right, and middle.
Obama also communicates well without a script. But he has one annoying habit. He continually says “ah” when he talks. It’s only going to get more irritating as we hear more and more of him. If he can quit his smoking habit for wife Michelle, he can certainly break that verbal tic for us!
If you value communication and want to improve your own, the next four years will present plenty of opportunity to look, listen and learn.
