There are important things we can learn about effective communication from Donald J Trump.

They are mainly lessons in how not to do it.

The American businessman, “reality” TV show host and US presidential candidate has shown the world how to make more headlines than practically anyone else in recent times.

If you take the view that any publicity is good publicity, Mr Trump can be your communications hero.

Alas when you take a close look at reality, if you are an essentially serious human being with important points to make, then any publicity is NOT good publicity – as rapists, murderers and paedophiles might tell you.

Good communication is largely about getting across clear captivating messages.

But if you are to be credible, these messages require a certain consistency.

If there is a change in your position, a good reason for that change needs to be presented if your messages are to be believable.

THINK IT THROUGH BEFORE OPENING MOUTH

Good communication is partly about thinking things through before opening your mouth.

Donald Trump’s multiple conflicting stances on the always hot American issue of abortion would leave anyone trying to follow them feeling like another once-famous volatile American, John McEnroe.

McEnroe, who shared Trump’s ability to throw toddler-like tantrums, was famous for saying: “You can’t be serious!” whenever there was a line call with which he disagreed.

The past few weeks must leave anyone seeking clarity on Donald Trump’s twisting, turning positions on abortion concluding: “You can’t be serious?”

KEEPING YOUR MESSAGE TRAIN ON THE TRACKS

There are two essential parts to getting a message across effectively.

When both parts are working the result can resemble a train travelling smoothly along the tracks towards a well-planned destination.

You need to have a solidly thought-out factually-based position to communicate – represented by the tracks which guide the way the train runs.

But you also need to have some emotional punch – represented by the fuel that is powering the train.

If you have all facts but no emotional punch your message runs the risk of being ignored because the audience doesn’t have reason to care about it.

This was exemplified by a one-time successful presidential candidate, Calvin Coolidge, who when in office was known for having very little emotional punch.

When Coolidge’s death was announced in 1933 a wit famously asked: “How can they tell?”

However if a message is full of emotional charge but is not in line with a well-laid out factual basis it can be seen as crazy and out of control – like a train running off the rails.

Trump is strong on emotional charge.

This makes him good at attracting attention – whether it’s through condemning and insulting Mexicans, Muslims and other potential immigrants and visitors to America he doesn’t like – or rival candidates or people heckling him at his rallies (before he directs the security guards to roughly remove them, rather than engage with their arguments).

Lots of emotion is great for attracting attention and news coverage – but without a well-thought out position in line with the facts it can look dangerous and out-of-control.

As a communicator, Trump generates more heat than light. This is not reassuring for an audience inside or outside America when the final prize being sought includes having one’s finger hovering over the world’s biggest nuclear button.

It’s even unsettling if you’re one of America’s European allies, as Trump won’t rule out dropping a nuclear bomb on Europe!!!

FLIPPING AND FLOPPING AND LOSING CREDIBILITY

Let’s have a look at how the twisting and turning Trump positions and messages on abortion have unfolded.

You will see from the following video that the assorted collection of conflicting positions starts with Trump being interviewed way back in 1999.

At this point Trump claims to be not only “pro-choice” – that’s American for letting a woman choose whether or not to have an abortion – but in his words “very pro-choice”.

He then “flip-flops”, as the Americans call doing a backwards somersault, to being “pro-life” – or anti-abortion.

Trump then leapt to the more extreme stance of advocating the punishment of women who have an abortion.

When this triggered an outcry he rapidly shifted position by saying it’s the doctor carrying out the abortion who should be punished.

And then he sought to close down the controversy he started by saying that the laws on abortion should remain as they are – as you can see here.

So what does any American, who wants to decide their vote on the basis of the abortion issue do when it comes to deciding whether or not to vote Trump?

Tearing their own hair out might be a tempting option.

Whoever you want to support in this most entrancing but scary American presidential election year, I hope Donald Trump has inspired you to do something…

…Think out your position on important things thoroughly before seeking to communicate them.

And then communicate by having the facts of your position in line with the emotional charge driving it.

Whether you’re planning a great presentation, preparing for a job selection panel or a media interview, announcing a new product or communicating on anything important, do your thinking first.

Let me know if you need help formulating your messages and conveying them with the power of a fast-moving train.

THINK IT THROUGH BEFORE OPENING YOUR MOUTH

And finally, from someone larger than life – Donald Trump – to someone smaller than life…

It was sad news indeed that the diminutive comedian Ronnie Corbett has left the TV stage in this world to join his double-act partner Ronnie Barker on the next stage.

Despite his lack of height – or perhaps partly because of it – Ronnie Corbett made a big impact.

His entertainingly rambling BBC monologues – from that chair which seemed so much bigger than he was – were delivered in a masterly way that epitomised something I seek to get my clients to emulate.

It’s the art of having things carefully thought out, but delivering them looking and sounding as though you have just thought of what to say in the moment.

It’s what’s known in the BBC as “planned spontaneity”.

Ronnie Corbett – and his fellow Ronnie from The Two Ronnies – were masters of planning, delivery style and timing.

They were also good at deploying something I don’t automatically admire: the pun.

There was one pun that was especially good.

To fully appreciate why I regard it their best ever pun, you need to be aware that the corporate colours of Michael Dodd Communications are red and maroon.

The red is for grabbing attention.

And maroon is the colour of my local rugby league team in Sydney – the mighty Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

This gave rise to the name of my first newspaper column I got to write on the northern beaches of Sydney: “The One-Eyed Sea Eagle” – the column which would never admit that the team had been defeated whatever the result.

I appreciate that this is starting to sound like a Ronnie Corbett monologue, but the greatest pun the Ronnies came up with was a so-called “news item” about a ship carrying red paint that collided with a ship carrying purple paint.

It concluded that “both crews have been marooned.”

The two Ronnies knew how to plan and deliver a great ending – in a way we can all learn from.

So it’s goodbye from me.

And – alas – it’s now goodbye from the two of them…both masterly communicators in their own silly but ever-so-clever way.

Keep smiling,

Michael