More in Sorrow than in Anger – Tools of the master communicator
Many of us took the chance to watch the calm and composed Michelle Obama eviscerate Trump at the 2020 Democratic Convention this week.
It was masterful.
“He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” she reflected, using Trumps own words from his disturbing Axios interview to diminish him. “He is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.”
Painting Trump a fraud rather than an evil genius is a classic example of one of the most effective tools for putting out the fire rather than feeding it - not someone to be feared for his extraordinary powers but someone to be pitied for his overwhelming inadequacy.
More in sorrow than in anger is the tool to burst the balloon of the narcissist demanding attention and the bully threatening vengeance and retribution. It steals the oxygen that, in Trump’s case, would be used to fan the flames of malicious insults and sweeping self-congratulation.
The AFR recently reminded us of other examples referring to ‘a reptilian passage of Tony Blair’s chatty memoirs. The classic error, [Blair] says with the sureness of the thrice-elected, is the lurid, over–the-top attack. Swing voters learn to tune these out. What moves them is the lesser charge, expressed more in sorrow than in anger.’
In a world where we can’t avoid the bully and the narcissist, the power of well expressed disappointment allows us to raise our influence and impact without raising our voice.
Time to practise!
Further Reading
This article was published on 19 August 2020 on LinkedIn.
Dr Rosemary Howell is the Principal of Strategic Action a business dedicated to providing tailored Mediation, Coaching, Facilitation and Skills Development services to business, government and not-for-profit organisations.
If you would like to talk with Dr Howell about your organisation’s needs please email rosemary@strategicaction.com.au
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