Once a year about this time I get the inescapable urge to predict the year ahead in public speaking. For the last few years, I haven’t acted on that urge, but this year I’m going to, mostly because the world has become so silly and, well, stupid, that it’s impossible not to comment. So here goes – with the caveats that it’s only my opinion and it’s only the first week in January – what the year 2016 will look like. And be warned: this is a bit of a rant. If you don’t like rants, don’t read on.
1.Put on your rhetorical seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride. That is, it’s silly season in the United States – the presidential elections.. This time around, the candidates are already throwing in the towel on the truth – facts no longer matter, and we haven’t even had the first primary. The lies that the Republicans are telling about the Democrats are only equaled by the lies the Democrats are telling about the Republicans. It promises to be the saddest, dumbest, most hate-filled public discourse we’ve ever seen here in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave – and that’s saying a lot. And at a time when we need intelligent discussion more than ever.
Two particularly egregious examples come to mind – the Republicans trying to outdo each other on cracking down on immigration, when the net flow at the Texas border is now negative – people are going the other way. The opportunities are better in Mexico! And the Democrats are trying to sound tough on terrorism, when the facts are that since 9/11, fewer than 50 Americans have died on U.S. soil because of Islamic terrorism, fewer than 50 have died because of right-wing crazies – and more than 200,000 have died from ordinary murder. On top of that, some 50,000 Americans die every year from opioid overdoses. We are worrying about the wrong things. The TSA will spend some $42 billion dollars in 2016 on what the experts call “security theatre” (and that’s not a compliment) purportedly to stop terrorism at the airports, when Americans are more in danger of drowning in our bathtubs or being struck by lightning.
2. Mr. Trump’s success so far means that the call for authenticity is more irresistible than ever. We have finally eschewed marketing hype altogether for authenticity. Weirdly, Trump’s fast and loose relationship with the truth doesn’t seem to hurt him in the authenticity stakes – because he’s emotionally available. So, apparently, what we’re really talking about is the ability to emote. We now officially mistake intensity for authenticity. W. B. Yeats said it best, in 1919, after World War I:
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
So perhaps it’s not a new phenomenon. But it’s still upsetting. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big fan of authenticity. But not fake authenticity.
3.If you can’t tell a good story, you won’t get any attention. I see this trend as a positive, more or less, since good storytelling is memorable, clear, and colorful. But refer back to #1 – sometimes the facts get lost in a good story. The best stories provide a shape – an arc – to the experience they’re relating, so by definition they stretch or modify the truth. Those Hollywood movies that begin with the “based on a true story” disclaimer do so because Hollywood knows that you’ll pay more attention if you think the story has some relationship to the truth, not because the writers, directors, and actors in Hollywood care more about the truth than politicians.
So enjoy the stories, but check the facts when it counts.
4. Forget about the word; this is the era of the image. Since about 2007, we’ve lived in a blogger’s paradise, where a blog was defined as a written piece. Now, we’re in the middle of moving to a visual world. Blogging won’t die, but it will change. Instead of writing this, I should be filming it. The single most important skill in the future will be the ability to get your point across in a short video. And by short, I mean not much longer than a Super Bowl ad – and some of those tell a complete story in 15 seconds. That’s a kind of art.
5. Finally, the anger, misinformation and misery of our era will continue unabated. I used to predict a return to optimism, or at least civility. I no longer think that’s possible this year. The world is too afraid, upset, and paranoid to let us return to decency. Sorry. As W. B. Yeats said in that terribly percipient poem:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
Thank goodness for air bags. Stay safe out there.
As long as the airbags are not manufactured by Takata!
Thanks, Tony — I’d managed to block out that particular disaster in order to keep my optimism alive. Now you’ve killed it again….Here’s to 2017!
I love Nick rants. :)
Your point about authenticity reminded me of the quote, which I’ll paraphrase: “Authenticity. That’s the thing in the politics today… And just as soon as I can learn to fake that, I’ll have it made!”
I think you’re right about people being sick of focus-group-tested sound bites, which are far from authentic. It’s a tricky business trying to determine if someone is genuinely authentic or faking it, though if I had to trust someone to make that assessment, it would be you! In the speaking profession, I’ve seen some people show so much ‘passionate enthusiasm’ that they came off as insincere. But it could be I misread them.
Without making a statement about Trump’s positions, I don’t think he’s faking authenticity. I think he’s displaying who he really is. Whether that causes someone to vote or vomit will be determined at the polls. But it’s not as clear, at least to me, that he’s guilty of fake authenticity. Passionate intensity, for sure.
I’d put a similar assessment on Bernie Sanders. I wouldn’t say the same for Clinton or Bush. As Bill Mahr said about Secretary Clinton: “I find her slogan ‘Are you ready for Hillary?’ to perfectly capsulize how I feel about her. Am I ready for Hillary? Yes. Am I excited? No.”
If nothing else, and similar to what you suggest in point 2, both Trump and Sanders show that there’s a hunger for at least perceived authenticity!
Thanks, Andy — thoughtful comment, as always. I’ll reserve judgment on Mr. Trump — is he acting sincere or sincerely acting? It’s not obvious. But time will “out” him one way or the other.
One thing I’ve found is that if you’re speaking on reputation, communication or presentation skills, audience members will want to know your thoughts on the presidential campaign and will ask about it in the Q&A. It can be dangerous territory for people not prepared with a good answer!
Indeed, Rob — and you have to be v. careful with your answer. A hitherto friendly audience can turn mean very quickly if they have different political views. Best to include a lot of caveats….or comments that address both parties….or avoid it altogether!