Bernie Sanders
In reply to the discussion: So I guess we got the meme [View all]Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)no matter how often I've said it. Messaging has to be very specifically targeted, and tone matters.
I always get angry, dismissive pushback from people when I bring that up, because they always want to blame the lack of communication on 'the other people'. "They're not listening"..."We've told them over and over", they just "don't want to hear it". Unfortunately, it's in vogue to proclaim that any sort of talk about effective communication is just another method to 'control' or 'suppress' the oppressed people by those who are among the 'oppressors'. That it's merely something for trolls, and a way to diminish the people to whom it's being suggested. But while certain trolls might use that, along with anything else, as a trolling tactic, it's still a universal constant that applies to every person, every message. To most effectively communicate, you need to match tone and message to the intended recipients.
And yes, you can turn that around and talk about the messaging and the 'tone' of the BLM protest, but they chose their tone and messaging, and it DID get through to many people. Not all, the audience was too diverse. So some people got what they were saying, and others were totally passed by, and made up interpretations based on their own priorities, which, at the moment, are largely centered around the political races.
But more than ever it applies to political candidates. They have lots of different audiences, and if they want their messaging to get through to enough people to win elections, they have to master the art of communicating to all of those different crowds. Some people come by it by instinct, some by practice, and some treat it as a technical problem, employing focus groups, polling, surveys, etc, to fine tune the message. But all successful campaigns have figured out how to communicate with enough voters to win. And they're under the gun. They have a very specific timeframe in which to do that communication, and can't afford to simply brush off the idea that tone matters.
So no matter how much Bernie speaks in about the right issues, without the right messaging and tone, it's still going to pass a lot of people by, just as if he were one of those Peanuts adults going 'wah wah wah wah?' That's why it's so important that he's listening to those willing to tell him how to talk to them, and to take the time to talk to blacks and latinos on an ongoing basis to figure out the messaging that works.