For members, communication is key

It’s no question that politics and public speaking go hand in hand, but it often takes times and practice for politicians to become great public speakers. In an age of rapidly changing communication technology, sometimes politicians need to learn the ropes.

Many major politicians learn to polish their public speaking skills as they work their way up the political ladder, Steven Keller, retired professor of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, points out.

{mosads}“The training ground for most political speaking is candidates starting out as county officials and then moving up to the state level, and then running for U.S. Congress,” Keller said.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) can certainly speak to that. Before being elected, the senior Volunteer State senator served as the governor of Tennessee and as U.S. secretary of Education. He also made an unsuccessful run for president in 1996. He says politicians have to be able to be persuasive.

“It doesn’t do you much good to have a strategy and an agenda if you can’t persuade at least half the people you’re right,” said Alexander.

Alexander says he’s picked up some public speaking advice throughout his professional career. When Roots author Alex Haley came to hear Alexander speak in Tennessee, he suggested that the then-governor begin his speeches by saying, “Let me tell you a story.”

“Since then, I have tried to tell stories rather than make speeches,” said Alexander. “I find my audience appreciates it.”

A newer member of Congress, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) says she prepared herself for public speaking by “jumping into the deep end of the pool.” 

“When you’re campaigning, you have to speak a lot,” said the freshman congresswoman. “So it’s just a question of coming to grips with whatever nervousness or intimidation that you feel. You’ve just got to get over it.”

Though Bass has gotten used to public speaking, she says she always tries to keep her audience in mind.

“The biggest concern about public speaking for me is not boring my audience,” she said. “There’s nothing worse than having the speaker that just goes on and on and can’t see that their audience is all asleep.”

But keeping the audience in mind has a different meaning than it did 100 years ago.

Senate Historian Don Ritchie says that with the advent of radio, television and social media, political oratory has evolved. When radio was invented, politicians had to “tie themselves to the microphones” to keep from pacing around as they spoke. When television came about, the focus was no longer on the sound of a politician’s voice, but on his overall appearance. 

“Politicians have evolved to fit the media that’s available,” said Ritchie. “The medium has really driven the political message, essentially. It’s decided how people should speak and how they should appear.”

According to Keller, the digital age has caused public speaking to become de-emphasized: A speech is given, it’s processed quickly in the 24-hour news cycle, and then folks move on. But, Keller added, some speeches can still make waves.

“In a world where [the] Chuck Schumers have a comment on everything every day, someone whose oratory is striking is still going to attract attention,” Keller said.

With today’s technology, politicians have also learned that any of their words can quickly become public. Press conferences, debates and rallies aren’t the only places politicians’ speech and actions are recorded anymore, as Bass points out.

“With today’s media you can be televised anytime, anywhere — all you need is a cellphone,” said Bass “I think that [politicians] over the last 10 years have gotten adjusted to the fact that you can be filmed at any time.”

Politicians approach public speaking in different ways. Ritchie says some members of Congress are on the floor every day making their one-minute speeches, while some don’t speak much at all. 

But Alexander says communication is critical to his job.

“Being able to speak and write clearly and in plain English and be persuasive is absolutely crucial to any sort of political leadership,” he said. 

Bass agreed, saying, “The No. 1 most important part of my job is to be able to communicate.”