How to Give a Good Speech

Giving a good speech is tough. You have to grab the audience’s attention, set up the problem, provide a convincing solution and inspire the audience to do something with a call to action.

Just ask Obama. He gives hundreds of speeches a year to all kinds of different people and has to personally connect to each individual in a compelling way.        

The latest talk in the pundit world is about the effectiveness of the Obama’s jobs speech. Most Democrats think the speech was well done while most Republicans decided it was a failure before he uttered his first word. It’s interesting to look at the contrasting commentary to understand the ideology behind these views.

Political commentators Dave Helfert and Bob Lehrman agree that the Obama delivered a good speech. He sent exactly the right message, “I care and they don’t,” and used exactly the right rhetoric: “Made in America,” and “We are Americans.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, Republican political commentators Noam Neusner and Hal Gordon agree the Obama’s speech was bad. He was predictable, unconvincing and used familiar logic. He said what everyone expected him to say, “Mere words.”

If a Republican spoke instead, Neusner and Gordon may have been more receptive, but a couple of fundamental disagreements among Democrats and Republicans like increasing taxes to the wealthy, weighed heavily on conservative minds from the start.

Giving a motivating speech is difficult, ESPECIALLY in a crowd of partisans. Evaluating a speech is even harder. Some of the most brilliant pundits disagree on whether a speech is good or bad because of predispositions. People will always have mixed opinions no matter the argument, the key is figuring out how to connect with the majority.

Diet Coke vs. Starbucks

As some of you know, I'm in grad school, working 30 hours a week and doing research for two of my professors. I don't really have time to sleep so I've turned to Diet Coke to get me going in the morning. My classmates and coworkers jumpstart their day with coffee instead, which makes me wonder which is worse--Diet Coke or Starbucks?

A quick Google search brings up the nutritional information for both drinks: A 12 fl oz can of Diet Coke has 0 calories, 0g total fat, 40mg sodium, 0g total carbohydrate, 0g protein, and 0g sugar.

A 16oz grande Starbucks coffee has 5 calories, 0g total fat, 10mg sodium, 0g total carbohydrate, 1g protein, and 0g sugar.

Diet Coke has less calories, more sodium and less protein. But which drink is worse? Starbucks coffee seems to have more nutritional value even though it has a few more calories. It looks like I might have to jump on the coffee bandwagon after all!

Re-election Strategy for Obama Campaign

In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted August 27-31 by Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff, 1,000 adults were asked questions about Obama’s presidency.

200 of the 1000 interviewees were surveyed over the phone, and of them, 48% were men and 52% were female.  The poll has a plus-minus 3.10% margin of error.

It is important to note that 22% of respondents reported a combined yearly income of more than $100,000, while only 5% reported less than $10,000.

It is also important to note that the majority of respondents were Protestant (48%) and the poll only included cell-phone only users.

Significant findings include:

1.) 44% approve of the job the president is doing, 51% disapprove

2.) 37% approve of his handling of the economy, 59% disapprove

3.) 49% think we’re headed into a recession, 72% think we still haven’t hit bottom

4.) 73% say we’re headed in the wrong direction

5.) 82% disapprove of the job Congress is doing, 13% approve

These findings are particularly useful for forming a strategic re-election communications plan. With Obama’s 51% disapproval rating, it is important for the re-election campaign to understand why the public feels the way they do about the president.

Specifically, the poll indicates that 59% of people disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy. People vote on how well they think the economy is going to do, so it is important to focus on improvement by pushing the new jobs bill and emphasizing Congress’s huge disapproval ratings.

According to the poll, 82% disapprove of the job Congress is doing.  Their low ratings show the electorate that the weak economy is not necessarily the president’s fault. It’s important to capitalize on these low numbers and publicly urge legislation to pass the administration’s jobs package.

It’s still 14 months away from the election so there’s time to urge voters to get behind the bill and to pressure lawmakers to pass it. In doing so, the public’s negative energy will pull away from the president and focus on Congress.

While the president does have a high disapproval rating, over 70% still find him likeable. Obama’s personality was one of the reasons that he was elected in 2008. He relates to the people and conveys a sense of empathy and understanding.

He should continue his message of hope and united perseverance in his campaign for re-election. Like he often says, “We are tougher than the times we live in.” People want to be able to relate to their leader in a united front against the economy.

The president is starting to give the people hope through his recent jobs bill. Gallup tracks the daily percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president. Today, his disapproval rating is 49% and his approval rating is at 42% with a plus-minus 3% margin of error.

These numbers indicate a 2% increase in approval after the announcement of the $447 billion job creation plan. The focus of the campaign should be on job creation and putting people back to work.

Polls are crucial to the success of a re-election campaign and these results should be taken seriously. Focus on Congress’s low ratings and use the president’s relatable personality to win re-election. People voted for Obama once and they’ll do it again.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspx

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-gallup-poll-congress-jobs-20110913,0,4688826.story

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44401295/ns/politics/#.Tm_Th3NuE4Y