Whether Barrack Obama becomes a successful U.S. president and visionary global leader is a question the future will decide. But we are all fortunate to be witnessing one of the most charismatic and effective communicators in a generation and a powerful example of how leadership success is propelled on the wings of inspirational communication.
"Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have courage to remake the world as it should be." This quotation highlights how he communicated his message of "hope" to millions of Americans collectively fatigued by prolonged war, partisan politics and economic collapse.
But in most countries voters -- like employees in many corporations -- are fatigued and likely switched off the same old rhetoric, talk and hollow sounding promises. So the challenge for Obama was to energize his core supporters, make the doubters pause and give him a chance and more strategically expand his base by appealing to the undecided. In doing so he demonstrated an amazing mastery over some core principles of communication.
The first principle is that only uplifting and positive messages resonate over a length of time. Achieving this is not easy given the negativity all around us and the pervading sense of cynicism. Rather than waging a losing battle with the cynics, Obama reached out to a prospective constituency -- young voters below age 30. And the message to this generation was that "change doesn't come from Washington, change comes to Washington". His signal was clear -- young voters had a historic opportunity to prevent a "Bush third term" or accept "more of the same". And as the momentum grew his optimism that "change was coming to America" was met with an enthusiastic "Yes we can!" which also became a simple yet universally appealing campaign slogan.
The second principle is that genuine passion and sentiment is what distinguishes sincere communication from mere spin. "I will never forget that the only reason I'm standing here today is because somebody somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn't popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up; and then a few million stood up; and standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world." Such stirring oratory left few unmoved, largely also due to the fact that there was also no disconnect between the authenticity of the message and sincerity of the messenger.
Empathy with the target audience is the third principle of communication. A good example of this was how Obama communicated his vision for affordable universal health care -- a hot button issue -- to voters. Apart from the technicalities of the plan he reminisced about his mother dying of cancer but having to battle insurance company bureaucracies over claims. Many in the audience could relate to this and cheered at his vision for providing ordinary citizens the same quality of health care as is being received by members of Congress.
Empathy was enhanced by Obama's clearly evident interpersonal skills -- engaging, connecting, listening, smiling and reassuring. He was forceful yet polite, tough yet respectful, intellectual yet accessible. These were consistently on display not just under the glare of cameras and publicity. These also shone through during times of pressure -- scrutiny of his past associations with Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers as well as during the tough negotiations surrounding the Wall Street bailout package. As a result he looked presidential to the neutrals in contrast to his opponent, who at times appeared surly and overly reactive.
The fifth principle of effective communication is smart usage of the various forms of contemporary media. Apart from his stirring speeches, smart interviews and carefully choreographed TV Obama made excellent use of online communication through the Internet. He used the Net to connect with millions of youngsters, garner funding through an extensive e-collection drive as well as draw youth into his campaign, philosophy and "change mission". Podcasts, blogs, You Tube, text messages and a variety of tools were used to communicate the core themes.
Finally, for communication to create a lasting impression it must have substance. No amount of style can mask mediocrity. Apart from being a skilled orator Obama is also adept in written communication and in The Audacity of Hope he lays out succinctly the case for rejecting extremes and adopting the middle path -- "I am convinced that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. For it's precisely the pursuit of ideological purity, the rigid orthodoxy and the sheer predictability of our current political debate that keeps us from finding new ways to meet the challenges we face. It's what keeps us locked in 'either/or' thinking: the notion that we can only have big government or no government; the assumption that we must either tolerate forty six million without health insurance or embrace 'socialized' medicine".
The opportunity for hope and change, Obama made the case, had to come from the moderate middle. And largely in part due to his outstanding communication ability it did.
The columnist is a senior management professional and writer based in Jakarta. Next month's Insight continues the discussion on communication principles and their application in the local corporate context.
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