Whether you’re in business or politics – or any other profession – having outstanding communication skills is always a powerful career advantage.
In politics for example, the United Kingdom is about to get ANOTHER new prime minister – and a glaring gap in communication skills are a key reason for this change.
The communication performances of outgoing Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, have been less-than-impressive – in the eyes of most of his British Labour Party parliamentary colleagues.
So a decent man who never really mastered the art of human connection – while having other admirable qualities – is giving up his job less than 2 years after his landslide general election win.
The next UK prime minister will be its seventh in 10 years.
The outgoing Sir Keir Starmer made a start on some of his promised changes – but he never persuasively explained them in a captivating way.
As certain as anything can be in the never-certain world of politics, the new British Prime Minister will be the outgoing Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.
He’s seen as being a far better communicator than Sir Keir Starmer.
Andy Burnham demonstrated this while being the Mayor of Manchester over the past 9 years – where he’s communicated his successes in office within the city …and far beyond.
He emphatically proved his superior communication skills to his new constituents in the northern England seat of Makerfield where he’s just won an intensely fought by-election – seen as the most significant in recent British history.
Andy Burnham’s campaigning performances earned him particular credit because he defeated the right-wing populist Reform Party – which is now viewed as the British Labour Party’s strongest political opponent.
So he’s on his way to serve in the UK Parliament in Westminster for his second stint.
Barring political banana skins, he’ll be installed at 10 Downing Street remarkably soon.
And Downing Street’s Chief Mouse-Catcher, Larry The Cat, will get to know his new master.
It remains to be seen if Andy Burnham proves a more effective political operator as prime minister than Sir Keir – but he’s already shown he is far superior at connecting with people and explaining his actions.
In the following video of the Burnham by-election victory rally, look at the communication techniques Andy Burnham deploys with mastery:
+ Watch how enthusiastically he makes eye contact – and physical contact – with individual team members and supporters before turning to face the cameras to make his speech
+ See how comfortable and assured he is with himself and with the crowd
+ Admire how he further builds on this early rapport with his supporters by referencing various local venues of significance during the campaign
+ Observe how he praises the efforts of his winning team, while only praising himself for two goals he had scored at the local football club where the event is held
+ See how Andy Burnham moves on from his meet-and-greet mode to deliver powerful messages to the news media and – through them – everyone watching on TV
+ Note how – following revelations about misogynist social media comments made by his Reform Party opponent (which Andy Burnham does not address directly) he identifies the “real winners” behind his victory as a band of “strong northern power women”
+ Look out for the good-humoured feminist message that he “wouldn’t mess with” such women
+ Notice how he avoids mentioning Sir Keir Starmer by name – while sending a strong message to the media, the UK public and Labour MPs in particular – identifying the opportunity to replace the Labour prime minister as being the “last chance to change”
+ Watch for the substantive political messages to the whole nation such as “We need an economy that works for everybody” and “We do need to bring down water bills and energy bills, rail fares – just as we’ve brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester.”
You can view Andy Burnham’s by-election victory speech here:
If you or your team need sessions on “Presenting With Confidence, Impact & Pizzazz”, check out the details here:
https://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/presenting-with-confidence-impact-and-pizzazz/
Whether Andy Burnham is able to succeed in turning his prime ministerial agenda into reality is one to watch.
But in his post-campaign rally he was very easy-to-follow – even though we’re yet to learn important costing details.
Alas, being direct and easy-to-follow is something which Sir Keir Starmer has so often been unable to achieve.
He has a tendency to shy away from being direct – especially when dealing with something that’s bold and controversial like the idea of bringing in a wealth tax.
In an interview with Sky News back in 2021 – when Sir Keir was still Opposition Leader – Sky News journalist Beth Rigby quizzed him about a possible wealth tax.
Sir Keir became so unclear and bogged down with caveats that comedian Michael Spicer made a video sending up how incoherent he became.
To ram home his point, Michael Spicer acted as a frustrated advisor to Sir Keir – out of sight of Beth Rigby – as he pretended to shepherd him towards saying exactly what he meant, while comically failing.
Here’s the result, where the answers from Sir Keir are real – even though the mock interventions by an exasperated Michael Spicer never happened.
Alas, Michael Spicer foresaw that Sir Keir Starmer would never master the skill of giving hard-hitting prime ministerial answers to tough specific questions.
Making sure that those in business can master media interviews and other situations requiring great answers – ideally BEFORE you get to the top – is the central mission of Michael Dodd Communications.
Guiding those who have reached great heights – but who are still wanting to test out and refine their approach before your big communication moments – are also part of the mission.
There’s more information about “Becoming That Inspirational Business Leader” at:
https://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/become-that-inspirational-business-leader-in-12-hours/
Details about sessions on “Give Great Answers To Tough Questions” are here:
https://www.michaeldoddcommunications.com/give-great-answers-to-tough-questions/
Communicating at the level of outgoing Prime Minister Starmer – or incoming Prime Minister Burnham – is a choice you can make now!