There is nothing like a presidential race to demonstrate the importance of a personal brand and the nuance of communications. As a PR expert in Seattle, it was easy to pick up on things in the Democratic debate last night that would help and/or hurt a candidate.
Let’s put aside for a moment that 20 people running for the Democrats is bordering on crazy. I will also do my best to keep my own political views out of this post as they are irrelevant for my points. And I will leave candidate names out of here as those are somewhat irrelevant as well.
I had a previous business commitment last night, so only caught the last half hour. Not enough time you might say, but I saw many telling things.
One candidate blatantly (and annoyingly) ignored the time limits at least twice. It made me wonder if he would be able to really listen to the leaders of foreign countries, or would he just blather on with a disregard for proper protocol.
Another one seemed uncomfortable speaking on that kind of world stage. It will be critical for our next president (and any of our presidents) to have confidence and a strong presence. Others showed great poise on stage and I trusted their strength immediately.
A couple candidates brought in their personal stories in their closing comments and I found myself tapping my fingers waiting for them to get to the point. Although stories may be more memorable, when you only have 90 seconds, getting to the point is important. Perhaps save the storytelling for another longer format.
Another person used a bit of humor and that was a breath of fresh air. People win many things in life by “being human.” Yet another made a factual mistake when he said he was the only one who put the climate change first. Less than 10 minutes before, two or three other people had mentioned the importance of dealing with climate change. I felt like saying, “Did you not just hear that?”
When I first learned about these debates and the fact that each candidate would only have about six minutes to share their views, I thought it would be like judging a candidate by a tweet. I was also concerned it would be mass chaos. Surprisingly, I was able to glean relevant information in a very short amount of time.
All in all, I give these candidates a lot of credit for maneuvering through this very awkward forum. When is the last time any of us was on stage with nine other people, being drilled with questions by several people?
That said, the candidates’ personal brands came through fairly clearly. The Democratic debate (at least this first half) was also a great example of how quickly one can make or break perceptions about themselves. It will be fun to watch the rest tonight in the second half.
Personal brands are critical in business as well. Just ask Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. If you are interested in working on your own personal brand, and/or the important nuances of your company’s brand, contact me at By the Sea Communications.
