Best vs. Worst Communicators
Throughout history the careers of prominent men and women have been elevated or destroyed by the way they communicate a message to their particular audience. Looking at the best versus worst communicators two people come to mind, former United States President Ronald Reagan and the former Chief Executive Officer of British Petroleum (BP) Tony Hayward, respectively. Both of these men exhibited certain attributes that affected the way that audiences received the messages they were attempting to convey.
One of the key characteristics of good communication is being knowledgeable on the subject you are speaking about. Most of the great communicators such as Ronald Reagan ensure that they carry out their due diligence by performing thorough research from credible sources and competently understanding those topics they are discussing. Back in 1964 before Ronald Reagan was even the Governor of California he was out campaigning for Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid; during that time he gave a speech referred to as “A Time for Choosing,” in which he stated “Today, 37 cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector 's share, and yet our government continues to spend 17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in” (Reagan Foundation, 2009). This is a classic example that demonstrates Reagan’s knowledge and awareness of the current situation in the United States and of the misguided approach to government spending, and he
He speaks to the audience about a story in which past presidents dealt with the overwhelming issues during their presidency. Some of these problems include religion, equal rights, health care, racism. Reagan justifies how in the midst of conflict, past presidents like Abraham Lincoln were driven to their knees in prayer to reach a solution (American Rhetoric: Ronald Reagan). America has demonstrated that throughout history there may have been many issues, but those troubles dissipated due to the nation’s faith in God. William Penn’s quote supported this claim by saying that if America wasn’t “governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants” (American Rhetoric: Ronald Reagan). In Reagan's early presidency, he was involved in the democratic party, but throughout time, he began to have more conservative views as he discovered that government was not the solution to problems, but the cause of these problems (History.com Staff). From facing poverty and extenuating circumstances, he overcame these issues to become involved in theater and student council (History.com Staff). Through these activities, he built valuable skills like public speaking, charisma, and eloquence. Reagan has shown that through his own past and America’s history, anyone and anything can overcome hardships through a good mindset and God by their
One of Jordan Belfort’s best qualities was being able to motivate his brokers into being the best that they could be. In a series of powerful and rambunctious presentations, he would rile up his young brokers through words of confidence and body language that had everyone enamored. His body language was performed through a series of ridiculous actions such as banging a microphone against his head, dancing with fellow coworkers, and jumping up and down with joy. In the interaction of face to face communication he stressed the four key elements of speech which are voice quality, style, word choice, and adaptation (Flately, Rentz and Lentz 272). With a fierce and empathetic voice quality, Jordan Belfort was able to connect with his employees effectively and echo a sound that affected the listener’s experience in a positive way. The style in which he conveyed confidence captured the minds of his tenacious brokers. He preached words of wisdom like “Are you behind on your credit card bills? Good, pick up the phone and start dialing,” or “There’s no nobility in poverty. I’ve been a poor man, and I’ve been a rich man. And I choose rich every time” (Scorsese, Wolf of Wall Street). The appropriate word choice was used in order to convey a particular message and to
With many changes on the horizon at the time, America was given something and someone to believe in. Many speakers in history have had powerful points and strong words sometimes expressing through a forceful nature intended to scare listeners. Reagan was a speaker who developed a commanding but soothing way that was appealing to the world. Regardless of his background as an actor, the
For the audience he gives them examples of how government interference hurts Americans and also allusions to past times such as the revolution and how the founding fathers did not want a big government. He shares that he has “an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn’t something on which we base our hopes the future.” Reagan’s ability to connect with his audience was rare and unlike many of his colleagues. Whether the topics he spoke on were always relevant to that of the listener, it did not always matter.
Reagan was a well open speaker that impacted the audience. Before Reagan was president and the head of California, he was an actor. Since he was an actor, he knew how to talk to people out loud. In the speech, Reagan speaks effectively to the audience that gets a reaction out of them as well as making the audience interested in the things he says. After Reagan greets the crowd, he grabs the audience’s attention. Reagan remained a Democrat until he converted to the Republican side, the acting career was beneficial for talking to the audience to tell an anecdote about his switch.
This assignment will discuss two well known theories of effective communication. Firstly it will look at Michael Argyle (1972), the cycle of communication and then it will discuss Bruce Tuckman (1965) stages of communication.
Reagan was willing to lift the morale of the country, inject optimism and lead to victory in the cold war against communism. To do so, he decided to show his mandate in the recovery of the economic welfare. He made it very clear in the speech of his inauguration: “It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal government.” and averred that the secret to America’s wealth was that “here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man.” The Reaganite mission to restore popular faith in capitalism and individualism as social norms made substantial head ways in the 1980s, gains for American conservatism that liberals have not succeeded in reversing. Reagan is part of a select group of political leaders, including Thomas Jefferson and W. Wilson, whose names because watchwords for political creeds and stances toward Reagan was indeed the guy for the job as his ideals and promises couldn 't been more like what the people wanted.
As stated in an article from Newsmakers, Ronald Reagan was known as “the Great Communicator” because he was able to clearly speak to the public due to his unusual experiences before presidency (Newsmakers). Every president of the United States has a unique story, but Reagan possessed many remarkable characteristics. Today, many people recognize Reagan as a former president, but few know about the struggles he faced and his success before presidency; his political party transition, handling economic fluctuation, and his attitude throughout his terms in office made him an unforgettable political figure.
the communicator as an expert source with a capacity for leadership and decision making and as one
The most obvious way President Reagan delivers rhetoric to his audience is through his own ethos. Ronald Reagan wasn’t just your average president; he was a communicator. Reagan started his career as a sports announcer and continued on as an actor, which led to his later career in state and national politics. By the time President Reagan had delivered his address, the president had been in the spotlight his entire career and was looked up to worldwide. He had established an extrinsic ethos well before delivering this speech. By being the president of the free world, Reagan’s audience
Reagan spent more money on defense and foreign affairs spending alone than America had seen since the Vietnam War. He spent over 100 Billion dollars a year just for defense alone. Instead of cutting government agencies like the Department of energy, Reagan added a new branch called the Department of Veteran’s Affairs which has a budget of almost 90 billion dollars. He also cut income taxes of the wealthy, and increased payroll taxes, which are paid by the middle and poor classes. The taxation rate for the middle and poor classes rose by almost 16% total. Although he thought he was helping America, he was really setting America up for a long time of repaying debt and fixing balances that he threw into the
ronald reagan created the war on drugs and the war on crime which made drug reladed crime rise and he had claimed that people who commit violent crimes "are not desperate people seeking bread for their families; crime is the way they've chosen to live." this shows how he has almost no knolage of the lower class and poverty and why some people do what they do.(Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Drugs and Crime Facts," bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov (accessed Oct. 14, 2010) He also slashed federal aid to schools by more than $1 billion, and he cut the Department of Education budget by 19%(Veronique de Rugy, "President Reagan, Champion Budget-Cutter," American Institute for Public Policy Research website, June 9, 2004)his ignorence in health also showed because Reagan almost completely ignored the growing AIDS epidemic. Although the first case of AIDS was discovered in the 1980s, Reagan never addressed the epidemic until May 31, 1987 when he spoke at an AIDS conference in Washington, DC. By that time, 36,058 Americans had been diagnosed with the disease and 20,849 had died this all shows how poorly he understood poverty and what it was like being in poverty and what it made some people do and how some people needed help with drugs not to be sent to prison for the rest of there lives he also initiated the huge gap in eduication we now have today with other big countys such as china and india because of him cutting taxes for
It is essential for business leaders to have excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills, as leaders are often a symbol of a company’s integrity and this affects not only how customers perceive the company, but also impacts the thoughts and actions of lower positioned employees. For example, a leader that speaks using improper grammar, or writes correspondence with spelling errors throughout it, could project a negative image that can be harmful to a company. Customers might conclude that the leader is incompetent and they might decide that they do not wish to purchase goods from a company that hires inept leaders. Furthermore, employees might become less apt to respect an authority that appears to be uneducated, as well as employees might feel that if the leader disregards using proper communication than it is not necessary for them to use it either. Business leaders need to know when to listen, when to talk, and how to share ideas effectively. Clear and concise communication states exactly how, who, what, and when and serves to guide, direct, protect, persuade, and to inform. Communication is essential for decreasing miscommunications and for increasing productivity, motivation, and efficiency. When someone uses effective communication, he or she is more apt to have favorable results and his or her requests will become granted more often. Furthermore, communication builds goodwill. Having excellent communication skills is
President Ronald Reagan was nicknamed “The Great Communicator.” Personal thoughts are that Reagan was one of the great leaders of modern times. The former president was able to change the status quo of government policies and public opinion through effective communication. As a leader, Reagan was guided by qualities of passion and genuine concern for the people always speaking from the heart. It was Reagan’s sincere desire to serve the country through his leadership bringing about economic growth with needed adjustments to government spending. Reagan’s ability to speak with conviction and authority helped people to understand the need for change. Using communication skills is an aspect of leadership that can make a difference in whether individuals are motivated to follow or resist.
Business communication can be defined as the process of sharing information among business professionals, prospective customers, and affiliates who are associated with an organization. The essential skills of business communications are currently in demand and highly required for the workforce for the modern workforce. To be an effective communicator is to have the ability to respond with skill, confidence, and assertiveness and is pertinent to the quality and expertise business professionals considered for employment. Hence, knowing how to communicate properly in an organizational structure requires the skill of communication necessary to interact with different levels of management. In a world