???? Deconstructing the PM's speech. ????

Back in April, we 'broke down' the Queen's speech highlighting the seven communication techniques she used - brilliantly - to talk to the nation at the start of lockdown. Watching the British PM last night, we thought it'd be interesting to deconstruct his speech given the situation the UK faces.

Here's what we made of it.

LEADERSHIP

There is great uncertainty at the moment, so we want - and need - our leaders to help guide us through these unprecedented times. One way of doing this successfully is to structure your strategy and everything you communicate around the following three pillars:

1. Understanding.
2. Reassurance.
3. Excitement or given the circumstances, Positivity.

Let's look how the PM's speech did or did not use each of these pillars, starting with Understanding.

1, UNDERSTANDING

This is where most people start from when there is great uncertainty. They ask the question: "How will this affect me?"

What does this mean for my job? For my business? For my family and friends? People need answers to questions like this before they can mentally engage in whatever action you wish them to take. If you cannot answer these, helping people understand 'why' you are doing what you are doing is the next best thing.

The virus has started to spread again in an exponential way. Infections are up, hospital admissions are climbing.

Whilst the risks were mentioned in broad terms (as in the quote above), the speech fell short in offering a singularly compelling reason 'why.'

At the start of the pandemic, the R-number was the single most important metric. It was new to us but we all came to understand what it was and why it mattered. Yet no mention of this at all, not once. Did you the R-number is currently between 1.1 and 1.4, which means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 11 and 14 other people?

This felt like a missed opportunity. Uniting us in the common goal of returning this to below 1.0 would have helped the public better understand the need for action.

2, REASSURANCE

The speech tried to offer reassurance but lacked any real conviction.

Lines like "I am more certain than ever that this is a struggle that humanity will win" and "I have no doubt, however, that there are great days ahead" are examples of this - but in truth, did they reassure you? More prevalent were 'alarming' scenarios. Job losses, lost livelihoods, death, even.

And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten not just jobs and livelihoods but the loving human contact on which we all depend.

Two paragraphs that epitomised this approach were at the very end of the speech. The flicker of 'reassurance' quickly doused by a tide of 'alarm.'

"If we follow these simple rules together, we will get through this winter together. There are unquestionably difficult months to come.

And the fight against covid is by no means over. I have no doubt, however, that there are great days ahead."

What message would you recall from this, if asked?

3, POSITIVITY

There is always a fine line leaders must walk between false hope and the brutal honest truth.

A great (free) tool to help with this is Readable as it rates a speech or any written text for readability. One of the aspects it assesses is Sentiment. This gives an idea of whether the text uses mostly positive language, negative language, or neutral language. For the PM's speech, the rating was Neutral.

On top of that, it also lacked sufficient Personalism. This is the degree to which you are writing about the reader, rather than yourself, using words like 'you' and 'your' rather than 'we' or 'our'. Again, the speech rated the wrong end of the scale and received a D rating overall. Text aimed at the general public should be grade B or better.

Footnote.

This is not a political post or a comment on the Government's strategy for dealing with the pandemic. It is an objective critique of a speech written undoubtedly for the Prime Minister, which in our experience was lacking. This is based on many years of supporting leaders to navigate choppy waters using the three pillars of Understanding, Reassurance, Positivity.