The British election has provided a treasure chest of learning points that we can use to help us become better communicators.
This is mainly by doing the opposite of what the Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been doing over the past few weeks of campaigning.
Partly as a result of her uninspiring communication efforts, it was an election where the outcome proved more interesting than the campaign itself.
Mrs May said she called the early election to strengthen Britain’s hand in the “Brexit” negotiations with the European Union and promised repeatedly to provide ‘strong and stable government”.
This backfired.
She claimed she wanted Britain to avoid the alternative to a Conservative Government which she said would be a “coalition of chaos” stitched together by her various political opponents.
But the voters’ response – which saw Mrs May’s Conservative Party majority swept away – has left her new administration dependent on support from a minority party from Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionists, in order to command a narrow majority in parliament.
This has already triggered what appears to be kind of self-inflicted “coalition of chaos” as the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionists, in the first stages of their new relationship, were not able to publicly agree between them on what they had actually agreed.
Both sides put out conflicting statements on the subject.
This is anything but strong and stable government!
And the Prime Minister’s hold on power has been left so precarious that her senior Conservative Party colleague, George Osborne – who has given up being an MP to become a headline-seeking newspaper editor – ungallantly described Mrs May as a “dead woman walking”.
So what are the communications lessons that the Prime Minister gifted us during the campaign which led to this weak and unstable outcome?
There are many.
I’ve identified two of the most important lessons here.
Hopefully you’ll find the lessons useful in business and the wider world – even if you never wish to become a prime minister yourself.
These lessons became apparent during the campaign, but I didn’t want to publish them before the vote as – given the massive influence of this e-zine!!! – I was reluctant to have my humble observations altering the course of the election.
LESSON ONE:
DON’T BE A ROBOT – BE A HUMAN
In any form of successful persuasion, you need to convey a message.
This applies whether you’re giving a speech, pitching for a contract, doing a media interview or taking part in an important professional conversation.
But effectively sending a message is different from merely parroting a slogan.
Theresa May became the object of ridicule during the campaign for endlessly repeating the term “strong and stable government” which she was purporting to offer.
She was using the “strong and stable government” term the way meditation gurus might get you to repeat a mantra.
The Guardian newspaper’s comedy sketch-writer portrayed Mrs May as a robot called the “Maybot” which had been programmed to just keep saying the same thing.
But just repeating your message isn’t enough.
You need to demonstrate the truth of it.
Mrs May, in robotic mode, wasn’t able to demonstrate effectively that she was providing strong and stable government.
It’s no wonder that so many voters – who were telling opinion pollsters at the start of the campaign that they were inclined to vote for her – changed their mind along the way.
In fact, at a key point in the election campaign the Prime Minister exhibited exactly the opposite of strong and stable government.
She did this by suddenly doing a U-turn on a key part of her new policy for looking after the elderly.
If you don’t demonstrate strong and stable government during an election campaign, it’s hard to persuade people that you will deliver it when the campaign is over.
When speaking at conferences and in master classes for business leaders my key message is often “becoming an inspirational communicator is a learnable skill.”
But just saying it isn’t enough.
I typically do a quick makeover on a couple of audience volunteers so audiences can witness how changing the content, structure and delivery style can make people come across far more inspirationally.
It’s a matter of showing rather than just telling.
There’s more about helping your team becoming more inspiring communicators at your event here:
http://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/speaking-at-your-event/
THE NAZIS WERE WRONG
The German Nazi Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels, was notorious for in the 1930s and 1940s – among other things – saying that a lie told often enough becomes the truth.
But when looking at things objectively, this doesn’t stand up to the truth test.
We could keep saying that aeroplanes are made of cheese, but this would not make it true.
If your message isn’t a self-evident truth then you need to give your target audience solid evidence to back it up – which often involves pointing to real life examples.
This will not only help you become more convincing but will make you sound less like a pre-programmed robot and more like the wonderful warm human being that you are!
LESSON TWO:
TO PERSUADE YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE
The second lesson is that If you are seeking to persuade your audience, you have to fully engage with them.
Mrs May’s team, for whatever reason, sought to severely limit the amount of engagement she had with ordinary voters.
For example she didn’t take part in the televised election debate with the other leaders.
Not surprisingly, she was condemned throughout the debate by the rival party leaders who did turn up.
Opportunities to interact with what reporters off-camera call “real people” was kept to a minimum by the Prime Minister’s minders.
When the minders tried to present her as a normal person it didn’t quite work.
So this built a perception that Britain had a Prime Minister who was out of touch with ordinary folk and/or was scared of interacting with them.
In business, especially in tough times, the leaders who come out best are those who are seen to engage with the public.
In “Great Answers To Tough Questions At Work” I cite the case of Sir Richard Branson fronting the cameras after one of his Virgin trains was involved in a fatal crash.
Facing up to tough questions in challenging times is something that you need to plan, prepare and practice for.
But – as indicated earlier (my key message!) – it is a learnable skill.
You can find out more about Sir Richard’s approach in this free sample chapter of “Great Answers To Tough Questions At Work.”
Politicians, aspiring politicians and business people are welcome to check it out.
Mrs May would not have got to where she is without a high degree of intelligence.
But intelligence alone is not enough to perform well at the top, as the election results have shown.
If she wants to have a long Prime Ministerial term she needs to go beyond parroting slogans and to genuinely engage with her audiences.
Otherwise she will indeed prove to be a dead woman walking.