The Rhythms of Political Speech

I tell people that I’m a recovering academic, and one of the consequences of that is that my writing has a disturbing tendency to be dense and long, which is acceptable for academic theses but somewhat less so for blogs, social media, political speeches, or other media messages. When communicating with general audiences, shorter and clearer message are both more easily transmitted and comprehended.  Consequently successful politicians tend to adopt similar speaking styles because they are effective. There are a range of written works that inform this topic, but I’m trying to reign in my dense, academic thesis-esque instincts, so I’ll recommend one book, Our Master’s Voices: The language and body language of politics by Max Atkinson (1984). Atkinson articulates the rhythms of political language and inside tricks that makes some politicians different from or better than others.

The first of Atkinson’s rules that stuck in my mind concerns presenting arguments in terms of lists of three. This is am argumentation technique that is common throughout history from the sacred Christian Trinity to the more secular Hegelian dialectic and negative feedback relationship, but presenting information in lists of threes is a natural technique that corresponds to how people naturally think. A list of three is compelling because it makes the list seem sufficiently long that it could be easily elongated if necessary. A list of two, in contrast, seems insufficient like you may have done insufficient research or the point you’re making is insufficiently supported. So persistent are lists of three that people will often add a third item to a list of two to fill it out in the form of the word, “etcetera.” I didn’t pick this up until Atkinson pointed it out, but then I started noticing it occurring frequently.

A second effective argument pattern concerns contrastive pairs that take the form, “either this or that.” The technique implies a decision point, a choice, or a cognitive verge. Contrastive pairs can be superimposed on a policy issue to structure its confusing complexity. This superimposition can be done both for good and for ill.  When done for the former, it can help make complex issues more understandable. When for ill, contrastive pairs can oversimplify the natural complexity associated with a complex policy issue. More pernicious still, contrastive pairs can makes imply a false dichotomy that increases issue stridency by dividing populations into “them” and “us.”

The third point concerns the reasons why these argument framing techniques should be pursued: so that political communications can be more effective and more memorable. Effective communications should leave your audience whistling a tune. Talks should be memorable. So what do you want that tune to be? What should the listener take away? Note that this perspective puts the focus on the listener rather than what the speaker wants to say. It forces the speaker to consider what the listener can hear.  Experts in a field may have a deep understanding of an issue, but distilling and presenting that information in a way that is effective remains an art. This is especially true for conservatives as their worldview centers on what works over the long-term, which is inherently complex. Liberals, progressives, and Democrats in contrast, subscribe to a worldview that centers on the “advertising ethic” – that is, the truth is that which sells in the short-term, regardless of what works or “reality.”

In order to have a larger impact in the political arena, conservatives need to improve their communications strategies, and some suggestions have been made here. Additional potential suggestions include keeping arguments short and clear and being sufficiently informed and prepared to “drill down” and provide more detailed and supported explanations when required. It also helps if politicians are attractive. For example, before becoming Prime Minister, Margret Thatcher had her teeth fixed. Check out the before and after pictures as they’re quite surprising. I offer these communication tips because, in an attempt to be clear, understandable, and influential, I intend to focus on lists of threes that help the reader understand something memorable about a complex topic. We’ll have to see about becoming more attractive.