Posts Tagged With: "Barack Obama"

Rule of Three – List of Three

	Posted by Bert Decker \| November 11th, 2008 \| 6 Comments \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | November 11th, 2008 | 6 Comments | Tweet This

Max Atkinson has a great blog that you will want to visit if you are at all interested in speaking and communications (which is why I assume you are here!) He is the speaking expert from the UK behind "Claptrap", which is an outstanding movie classic on the use of oratorical devices. Sounds boring, but the 30' film dramatically takes a woman with moderate education and makes her into a "standing ovation" parliamentary speaker. With Max Atkinson's help. (Unfortunately the film's only available in PAL.)

His great post on Barack Obama's advanced use of alliteration, list of three, and other oratorical devices is not to be missed. Atkinson is a master at coaching and analyzing the written speech. As he mentioned in his email to me, Obama "included 27 three-
part lists at a rate of about one every 30 seconds!"

And keep in mind that the "list of three" is not just a device of rhetoric. As a proven principle in physics, it is also used in communicating for

organizing ideas on the spot
creating presentations, and
putting together agendas of any kind

(and a lot of other uses beyond those three.)

It is one of the organizing principles for The Decker Grid, which we use in every program we teach and train. So if you use the Rule Of Three you will be

More prepared,
More persuasive, and
More powerful!

Categories: Film, Great Books, Public Speaking, Short Bits
Tags: Barack Obama, Claptrap, Decker Grid, Max Atkinson, oratory, rhetoric

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The Bully Pulpit Is Taken

	Posted by Bert Decker \| November 10th, 2008 \| 2 Comments \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | November 10th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Tweet This

Never has a President-elect wrested the reins of communication so fast. In less than a week Barack Obama has already taken hold of the Bully Pulpit - that very real lightning rod of power of the presidency.

Why?

Obviously because Obama is an outstanding communicator. That is now a given, and people expect him to speak out clearly, and with force.
Bush gave up the Bully Pulpit long ago. His voice as one of power and influence has long since been weakened, and is now almost irrelevant. Astounding for a U.S. President.
The Obama people (and thus their leader) appear very smart. They ran a very competent campaign, and they are not slowing down. They are being immediately proactive on several communication fronts – media, internet, Obama appearances, key appointments that make impact, etc.

So power doesn't really shift for more than two months, on January 20th. But it already has.

Proving once again that the effectiveness of a President's communication determines the effectiveness of his presidency.

Categories: Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications, Speakers
Tags: Barack Obama, Bully Pulpit, Bush, Presidency

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Transformational Election – Transformational Speech!

	Posted by Bert Decker \| November 4th, 2008 \| 18 Comments \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | November 4th, 2008 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

A rare moment of opportunity and execution came together in the Presidential Election and the victory speech. The election itself was transformational – that's not for this blog to expound as there are enough others talking, blogging and twittering over that major event.

Barack Obama gave a once in a decade speech in accepting the Presidency. He has an incredible ability to move people with oratory in both his behavior and content – and he took advantage of that when he had his most important audience of perhaps hundreds of millions of people across the world.

Presidential: He looked and spoke like a President. Whether you voted for him or not, if you weren't impressed you were not looking and listening. He did all the right things, under pressure.
All About You: He talked about the people of his campaign, the people of his country, and the people who did not vote for him. He did not gloat, but he spoke as one who wanted to unite. This speech was not about him.
On Point: He had a Point Of View, and stayed on message – just as his campaign did. It was all about change. Change from a country of slavery to a country where a black man could be elected President. Change from a broken country to a healing country. It was a disciplined speech, just as he ran a disciplined campaign.
Story: He used his usual picturesque language, and had a great story of Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106 year old woman from Atlanta who waited to vote for 4 hours. She was born a generation from slavery, and when women couldn't vote, couldn't drive and couldn't fly. Powerful contrasts to today, and the task at hand.
Likability: This is one of the most important factors in communicating – and determines most elections by influencing the undecideds. Barack Obama has the unique quality of being both Presidential and likable. He is measured (actually professorial), easy going yet energetic. He smiles, has an open face and appears thoughtful (a listener). His personality and ability to connect with eyes, gesture and voice is impressive, and certainly helped him influence the vote in his favor. And those behaviors all came to the fore in this memorable speech.

There is more, and there are some things he could do better. But that's for another time. Tonight is President-elect Obama's night – and he took advantage of the opportunity to bring others along with him. That's what a great speech does.

Categories: Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications, Speakers
Tags: Barack Obama

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If it was the first debate…

	Posted by Bert Decker \| October 15th, 2008 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | October 15th, 2008 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

If this was the first debate, John McCain would have won. Here's why:

McCain tended to be direct, confrontational, looked (more or less) calmly at Obama when he was talking, and was in control – not passive. Actually he was effectively on the attack in the middle of the 'debate.' But that is very much offset by the fact most people don't LIKE the attack. Force can be weak, although appearing strong.
Obama tended to be professorial, began most answers with "Well," or "Well look," was mostly looking down, had a lot of 'ums' and 'uhs,' and tended to smirk with disdain as McCain talked. And he talked details in a lecture mode. Yet offsetting this was the important fact that he was perceived as more likable 70% to 20% – a critical indicator. He didn't alienate, as McCain did to many.
My problem with both of them was – where's the leadership, where's the conviction, where's the power of communication? Neither of them captivated us.
They both did fine with the issues, such as they were, but we don't remember issues, we remember being inspired and motivated…

So if this was the first debate, this election might be a horse race. But it's the end, not the beginning.

For this to be a debate, John McCain would have to have dramatically changed the direction of a losing campaign, or Barack Obama would have to have fallen on his face. Neither happened – it was not so much a debate as a discussion of issues.

So it probably had no impact on those who have already decided how they are going to vote (most everybody,) and little impact on the few undecided's left.

Since we emphasize the behavior that creates a communication experience in this blog, there's not much more to talk about, now. (Although we learned more from seeing them standing in the first debate, and moving around in Town Hall in the second one. Here, seated, both McCain and Obama were restricted, and thus muted.)

But…

It's fascinating to see what we CAN learn from watching ALL of the debates, including Biden-Palin, and later on, (after a much needed debate break,) I'll have a post on…

The major difference of formal 'speaking' vs. interviewing
Importance of facial expression -both smirk and smile
Reading vs. thinking on your feet
The amazing speed which you can change people's opinions (feelings) when speaking
Why where you look counts so much
How people buy (vote) on emotion and justify with fact

Categories: Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy
Tags: Barack Obama, Debate, John McCain, the debate winner

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Obama McCain – Who won the debate

	Posted by Bert Decker \| October 7th, 2008 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | October 7th, 2008 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

This was John McCain's debate to win or lose. He did not win it.

Considering the political climate, John McCain had to do extremely well, and Barack Obama had to falter. Neither happened. Obama won the debate just on this issue alone.

If you consider the behavior, trust, believability and impact of the candidates, which is the purpose of this blog – here are some thoughts:

There was no electricity. Here we are in one of the most difficult economic climates in decades, or perhaps since the depression.Tomorrow, or the next day, ask your friend or associate about a specific issue – they will be hard pressed to name a specific stance of one candidate or the other.
McCain did not bring up anything about Obama's character, which was the emphasis of the McCain campaign attack in the days preceding the debate. This issue will now disappear. So will McCain's chances.
Obama was comfortable. There was much talk about the Town Hall being the medium for John McCain. They were both good in relating to the audience, eye contact and movement, but there was no big distinction. Obama wins by beating the expectation.
KEY POINT: Nothing to do with Obama and McCain, but with the audience meter. If anyone was channel surfing, as I was, they would end up with CNN and the audience meter. How do the independents FEEL about the answers. In a dynamic debate, we would watch the participants for body language and expressions. This was not a dynamic debate, (see below), and became more of the same – a political debate rather than an arresting discussion of opposing ideas in time of great turmoil. So to maintain interest it was INTERESTING to watch what objective observers felt.
FASCINATING: From the Audience Meter – at all times with both candidates, when they turned negative, the audience turned negative. They did not like it. When they applauded themselves, people did not like it. And when there were a lot of LBOW's (Lovely Bunch Of Words that sound fine but don't mean much) they also turned negative. There were many more negatives for McCain than Obama.
Slightly interesting: They are both left handed – we watch them making notes. Both looked benign in the cutaways as they were listening.
John McCain never hit his stride. He used "My friends" more than a dozen times – it becomes a cliche and a formality. That phrase does not connect, and McCain did not connect. He did move, he did look at people, and he did try to use a couple of instances of humor, but with no impact.
Barack Obama was comfortable. He also moved, looked at people, and was articulate. He did not connect at the emotional level, but he really didn't have to in this debate. All he had to do was get by – he's the front runner. He did more than that.
The Likability Factor: A poll taken at the end of the debate judged likability – the most important criteria based on past campaigns (and noted in my book "You've Got To Be Believed To Be Heard")

The result on Likability:

Obama 65% and McCain 28%. Not much more to say.

Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications
Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, the debate winner is, The Likability Factor, Who won the debate

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Three Lessons from Obama…

	Posted by Bert Decker \| August 28th, 2008 \| 1 Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | August 28th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Tweet This

We can all learn from Barack Obama’s acceptance speech:

1. The effectiveness of our communications determines the effectiveness of our lives.

Barack lost his first election to the Illinois House in 2000, won his first election in 2004 to the US Senate from Illinois, and in 2008 is the likely next President of the United States – because of his communicating.
His speech at the 2004 Convention vaulted him into contention, and his speaking continues to elevate his cause.
He is a polished, practiced orator who can also hold his own in spontaneous settings.

2. Create the moment.

At this speech at this moment, Obama hit substance without inspiring with rhetoric. I was actually surprised that he was not more expansive in his inspiration, but the stadium crowd and the commentators were moved. He was appropriate to the moment, he played it right, and knew exactly what he was doing.

3.Use the skills of communicating.

Barack Obama has practiced and learned the skills.
He uses the measured pause (perhaps too much so in his off the cuff remarks, but perfect for formal speaking and oratory.)
He uses oratorical devices (The Rule of Three, Set ‘em Up and Knock ‘em Down, Contrast)
He is using the teleprompter better, with three focal points at this speech vs. two. (He could actually practice this skill.)

Bottom line – a very successful speech, although not as soaring as I expected.

Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Political Communications
Tags: Barack Obama

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The Best Debate since Kennedy-Nixon

	Posted by Bert Decker \| August 16th, 2008 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | August 16th, 2008 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

The First Debate – Rick Warren with Obama and McCain

OK, it wasn’t a debate, it was better! It was historic and was what a debate should actually be – insightful, candid, conversational – where we can see the character and personality of the candidates as well as their views. And this will change the Presidential election.

When Rick Warren had a "conversation" with both Barack Obama and John McCain in his Civil Forum tonight, he set a precedent. I hope the national debate forum will change to model what we saw tonight.

All three came away winners – though perhaps Warren won the most, with McCain reestablishing himself in what is now a horse race for the Presidency. So much to say, but in a nutshell:

Rick Warren:

On the cover of Time this week, on Larry King Live on Monday – what will stop him from continuing to grow in impact and in creating world change on a high level. One of the greatest communicators in person (he was one of my Top Ten Communicators of 2006 – second only to Obama!) and in print (best selling non-fiction book of all time, except for the Bible), he continued his streak. Confident and appropriate, he had great questions, and was even-handed, friendly and in control. Amazing.

Contrast:

Perhaps the best contrast of Obama and McCain (amplified in the following commentary) is to view these two clips, where Rick Warren gives exactly the same question on abortion to the two of them:

Obama gives his 1′ 20" answer, which actually went on longer.

McCain gives a 30" answer, which includes the applause.

Barack Obama:

Thoughtful, measured, knowledgeable and confident. No doubt a leader. He did away with the criticisms of not being a Christian, and not being humble. Nuanced to the max – Obama qualifies and finally gets to the point, and takes a stand when he has to. He is a GREAT communicator, and it is his communications that got him there. (He was the top communicator in my Top Ten of 2006.) He communicates as a leader.

But he didn’t exude emotion, and actually had a couple of behavioral flaws – Obama has about 3 or 4 ‘Ums" and "ahs" per minute. Thoughtful perhaps, but evidence of caution and need to say the "right" thing. He also has a severe head tilt to the right and looks down to the right – habits that are not straightforward, nor appealing. (Of course all this is at the unconscious level, but it counts.)

John McCain

Decisive, vital and energetic. A turnaround for McCain, as I was about to blog on how the race was pretty much over because Obama was so much better communicating than McCain. But not any more. McCain showed that he will be a contender – look to the Presidential Debates to perhaps make the big difference.

McCain connected emotionally with the audience, and it’s perhaps this factor alone (plus energy) that made the difference. He was humorous, specific and quick with answers, thus decisive (see his answer to the abortion question), and he didn’t have any hesitations. No "ums" or "ahs" as if he had to think, and thus confident in his answers. More importantly he used stories continuously – and good ones at that.

This now will be an interesting election from a communications point of view. There is no question that Obama will appeal to the younger, and McCain will resonate to the older. David Gergen made a great comment on whether we want a leader who is more nuanced and a conciliator (Obama) than one who is more decisive and specific (McCain).

We will see, and now the manner in which Obama and McCain communicate their vision will determine the ultimate outcome.

Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Political Communications
Tags: Barack Obama, Civil Forum, debates, John McCain, Rick Warren

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