Deconstructing Donald

The Best Storytelling Strategies from the US presidential campaign.

By Lisa Lipkin

Whether or not you’re a political junkie like me (who stayed up until 4am to watch the debates in Amsterdam), whether you loathe the Donald or feel the same way about my gal, Hillary, don’t despair. There are some great storytelling strategies to be gleaned from players in both parties. Here are a few of my favourites:

1. Use repetition.

In ancient pre-literate times repeating words, sentences, and stories was a potent strategy used by the oral poets to make information stick. Donald Trump intuitively understands this technique and effectively uses repetition in virtually every speech or response he gives. Here’s an excerpt from Donald Trump during this week’s debate.

'We need law and order. If we don’t have it, we’re not going to have a country'

"Secretary Clinton doesn’t want to use a couple of words...and that’s Law and Order. We need law and order. If we don’t have it, we’re not going to have a country. When I look at what’s going on in Charlotte, a city I love, a city where I have investments in, when i look at what’s happening in various parts of our country... we need law and order in our country. You walk down the street you get shot. In Chicago they’ve had thousands of shootings, thousands, since January 1st, thousands of shootings. And i’m saying, where is this? Is this a war-torn country? What are we doing? And we have to stop the violence, we have to bring back law and order. “

Tip! The next time you have a presentation to make, try beginning and ending it with the same sentence. Repeat keywords and/or sentences throughout. You’ll be amazed by the impact such a subtle change can make on the listener.

2. Connect Emotionally.

In order to really move your audience, you have to be moved yourself, a fact that the latest neuroscience bears out. When you connect emotionally to your material, oxytocin, the bonding/generosity hormone gets produced, sensory and motor neurons light up, and a phenomenon called “neural coupling” happens, in which the brain of the teller and the listener synchronize. In other words, your ideas, thoughts and emotions become those of your audience.

I don’t think anyone connects to his own emotions better than Vice President Joe Biden, for whom every speech, interview, and spontaneous encounter seems to tumble directly from his gut. I especially like the way he responded to Steven Colbert on the Late Show in 2015, shortly after his son, Beau died, when asked whether he was considering running for the presidency,

"I don’t think any man or woman should run for President unless, number 1, they know exactly why they would want to run for president and 2, they can look at folks out there and say, i promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this. And I’d be lying if I said, I was there."

And of course, his speech at the DNC, which was, in my estimation, the most powerful one of the whole lot, due to its raw emotion. Here’s a link to it:

Tip! When preparing for a presentation, never start by asking yourself, “What should I talk about?” Instead, ask yourself, ‘What moves, fascinates, angers or delights me about this material?’ Find a personal memory or small anecdote that illuminates your answer and use it to begin (and end) your presentation with. Remember, what moves you will move your audience. And when your audience is moved, they can be persuaded to act.

3. Less is more.

Listening is not the same as reading. Audiences can’t reread a point once you’ve made it; they simply can’t process too much information at once. So limiting the focus of your talk is essential if you want information to stick.

Michelle Obama got it right at the Democratic National Convention when she rightly focused on one point—her children’s lives and those of the next generation and continually returned to that theme. From a storyteller’s point of view, she was absolutely masterful in her story structure, namely, starting with one core theme that was deeply meaningful to her and hanging the other facts and sub-stories on it.

TIP: When preparing your presentation, don’t stuff lots of facts or initiatives you are involved in in one sentence. It will be lost on the listener. Focus on one deeply-felt theme, and use that as your core story. Find a way to reference the other facts and material you want to include, continually returning to and ending with your core story. You can always give your audience printed hand-outs or a USB stick with additional information you want them to have.

Want to learn more storytelling strategies, book a workshop or story-coaching, or simply talk politics?

Please contact me at: [email protected]