They Aren’t Great Communicators
Yet We Keep Watching Anyway
As we hunker down during the pandemic, Governors across the country have taken to the airwaves. Much has been written about who has – and who hasn’t – delivered in the battle against covid-19. As a speechwriter, I began to track the appearances of our more effective Governors: Andrew Cuomo, Jay Inslee, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Mike DeWine and the like. I was intrigued.
How had some of them, I asked myself, risen to national prominence through the press conference, a comms platform that – let’s be honest – is far from riveting.
What had caused one writer to declare her love for Cuomo and another to label him the “Control Freak We Need Right Now?” How did Inslee, Newsom, and Whitmer (aka “that woman from Michigan”) leave their state peers in the dust? Why had Ohioans created a popular drinking game called “Wine with DeWine?”
What on earth were these leaders doing right?
Lipstick on a Pig
I worked in the Pentagon years ago writing for the Secretary of Defense. I had a colleague in the public affairs office, around the corner and a few doors down. He often said, “you can’t put lipstick on a pig.”
The speeches I wrote could be eloquent and stirring as, no doubt, I prayed they would be. But his refrain about the pig always reminded me of two things. Language, however beautiful, could never cover up bad news. (What comes immediately to mind … the haunting pictures of Abu Ghraib. I remember cringing at them under florescent lights in the bowels of the Pentagon.)
Second, the image of a pig with lipstick was a vivid reminder that big speeches – not retirements, not ribbon cuttings – had to have weight or substance. They had to be newsworthy to accomplish DoD’s goal: that is, influence our primary audience.
As I watched various press conferences on covid, my baseline for effective Governors was simple: results. They had to have made an impact. Flattened the curve or built overflow hospitals. Rolled out testing or rounded up ventilators. Otherwise, they were just putting lipstick on a pig.
Command of the Details
Governor Newsom was one of the first in the nation to issue a stay-at-home order. Decisive action like this helped flatten the curve and save lives in California.
Here’s what else I learned … Cuomo, Inslee, Newsom, Whitmer, DeWine and others have a handle on the details. And that’s an understatement.
They know exactly how the Defense Production Act can and cannot help their state. They know the status of ICU beds: how many are in use today and how many will be needed tomorrow. They know the status of covid clusters in their state as well as intakes and discharges on any given day. They have proven to be capable administrators, pulling whatever levers of power they can reach, tapping whatever resources they have on hand with one goal: getting results.
Their mastery of detail confirms their competence. But it also shows how well they perform under pressure. For example, Newsom was the first to put a widespread stay-at-home order in place. Many have credited his foresight with flattening the curve and avoiding over-crowding at hospitals. How did he do when the feds shipped broken ventilators to California? Newsom snapped into action, quickly calling on Silicon Valley to fix them. Over time, he built enough capability to ship 500 ventilators to seven different states.
When Governors dive into the deets, it gives us a window into their ability to lead. We get to watch relentless problem solvers in action. Like a covid reality show, they tackle obstacles head-on in real time, week after week.
They don’t always win the day of course. Newsom faced a backlog of test results in which some 65,000 people had no idea if they were infected or not. He admitted it was unacceptable and owned it, saying, “I have a responsibility as your governor to do better and to do more testing in the state of California.” Newsom’s next step? Appoint a task force and manage the hell out of the problem.
Press conferences let us watch from the peanut gallery as our Governors battle away. They wrestle the surly details to the ground and try to pin them fast. All amid a lack of national coordination and petty distractions from the White House.
And you know what? We cheer them on. We applaud each victory, however small. We celebrate with them, knowing that in the end, they are fighting for all of us.
We’re Adults (Tell us the Truth)
The Governors that people follow in a crisis respect us enough to tell us the truth, even when – especially when – things don’t look good. (And let’s be honest: that’s not easy for any politician, election year or not.)
Inslee out of Washington state has been clear-eyed about the scope of the pandemic from day one. Less than 4 days after the first covid-19 death in the country, he was out and about, visiting remote quarantine sites across the state. Early on, he shared the grim numbers on lack of ICU beds and sky-high projections for ventilators. He grounded his assessments in facts and science, never shielding Washingtonians from problems. These included the dire need for more testing kits and the time required to find a vaccination (estimated at 12-18 months, if we’re lucky). Lately he’s been talking about the importance of building “an army of contract tracers.”
He’s been forthright about the data. As of April 19th, the state had over 12,000 confirmed cases and over 650 deaths (an 8.6% positive testing rate). These numbers may not be as bad as hard-hit areas like New York and New Jersey. But they are still gut wrenching (especially the fatalities at nursing homes). Even so, Governors like Inslee share what they know because they believe we deserve to be told the truth, straight up.
Similarly, Inslee and others consistently cite the hard steps needed now to avoid a rebound of new infections later. This past week, Inslee has repeatedly discussed the specific thresholds needed to trigger a gradual back-to-work plan. “We need two things to move forward to the next phase,” he said on Apr 16th, “One, we have to have fewer numbers of infections and two, we need a much more robust testing and contact tracing organization.”
In a crisis, we want clear, no-nonsense language. We want cause and effect linked, no daylight between them. As highlighted in a recent NYT’s interview, “Leaders who trust people with the truth are trusted more in return.” We’re adults. Be honest. That’s what Inslee and others have given us and we’re grateful to hear it.
Remind Us Who We Are
We all know an effective press conference is more than just informational. It’s persuasive. People should shelter in place, stay 6’ apart, stay home when sick.
The more effective Governors are persuasive because they offer just the right dose of empathy among the facts and charts. They provide an emotional, personal touch at a time when many viewers are anxious and upset. In doing so, they remind us of who we are and what we value.
During a press conference on April 15th, DeWine showed a video of a husband-wife team. One was a principle research scientist. The other, a family physician. Over dinner one night, the wife mentioned the lack of N95 masks at the hospital where she works. Together, the couple came up with the idea to clean them – a process now being scaled up across the country.
But the video wasn’t just about the shortage of PPE. It was also a love story. The couple intertwined two narratives: how they brainstormed ways to sanitize masks and how they met, fell in love, and got married 18 years ago. (They were blushing and – I’m not exaggerating – giggling all the while.)
DeWine called it a story “typical of Ohio,” highlighting good, old fashioned mid-western values: solving problems, fixing what’s broke, and getting ‘er done. The video underscored the good of his community and I, for one, came away heartened by the easy, light moment DeWine had created.
Some people may see these digressions as corny or contrived. That might be true. But I also believe they add an emotional, heart-felt touch in a time when we’re thirsty for good news stories and real human connection.
There’s more to these leaders of course. Much more.
They ground their assessments in facts and science. (So sad, isn’t it, that we need to acknowledge this?) They dish out praise to others who make sacrifices for the greater good. They are humble, asking epidemiologists, doctors, and scientists to re-explain complicated terminology. They admit they don’t have all the answers but nor will they quit on us. They will live to fight another day. Tomorrow or the next day or the next. They’ll hold another press briefing, take another bite of the apple.
Let’s Keep it Real
Many of our Governors have, indeed, risen to the occasion. No doubt about that. But as communicators, I want to keep it real. They aren’t strong or compelling speakers. We’ve all watched DeWine and Inslee stumble out of the gate, cameras rolling. Others have garbled names and medical terms. Across the board, delivery is generally monotone.
My point is this. Our nation’s finest, our more capable leaders in this dark hour, aren’t charismatic. Not a Churchill or Obama in sight.
And the format our Governors have chosen to reach us? The press conference. On a good day, it is plodding and methodical. This is, after all, the information age. In an era of technological explosion with dozens of viable options, yet they’ve all fallen back on the sturdy, well-worn platform of yesteryear.
And yet.
Day after day, I dvr Cuomo. I youtube Whitmer and the others. Millions of people – myself included – sit there as the clock ticks by 30 minutes, 45 minutes, over an hour. And many folks (again, including me) live far from the state they represent!
The king of nonsense. Governor Cuomo issues warnings (we don’t want to hear) and shares the numbers (even when they’re grim).
So Why Do We Keep Tuning In?
The press conference I belittled earlier? Turns out, it’s just what we need. Calm and comforting. Slow and predictable. Perfect at a time when things are moving too fast, including the number of confirmed cases in the US, now pushing 800,000 as I write this.
Our most effective Governors communicate in a way that matches the moment. They are steady at a time when we seek reassurance. Caring as we seek comfort. They stand at the podium and read their remarks as the kind of deliberate, rationale leaders we crave right now.
Along the way, they remind us of our better selves and the values that drive us. As they step through the pie charts, call on medical authorities, and share the corny videos, they somehow give us a little glimpse of their humanity – by extension, ours.
Cuomo is masterful in this regard.
We all know he has a tough-guy image. And you don’t want to get on his bad side, as this article points out. Some have called Cuomo a bully in his pre-covid life, quite capable of elbowing out opposition. Others have liked his briefings to dinner with an Italian patriarch sitting at the head of the table.
And just there, off in the distance, is Cuomo’s magic. Because of the tough shell he wears on the outside, we value each of his small, personal revelations. He doles them out just infrequently enough to leave us wanting more.
Last Friday, Cuomo said, “Now, my daughter is a young woman. She’s not one of the vulnerable categories. So, I have to talk myself through the facts, right? You’re talking about my child, right? You want to talk about emotion. Just, just goes up in you. So, I had to talk myself through the reality of the situation and the facts of the situation to calm myself. So, I understand fully the anxiety that people feel.”
We’ve been there. Gone through the same machinations. Is this allergies or something else? Was that a dry cough? Does my daughter have a fever? Is my son losing his sense of smell? Especially in the early days of covid, many of us scrutinized our health and the health of our loved ones more than normal.
And guess what? So did Cuomo. This little window into his own anxiety reflects our own humanity back at us.
So turn on the next press conference. Either one that’s he’s leading or any of the real leaders in this crisis. It’s time to lean in.
We are desperate to know, yet again, that someone will protect the heroic doctors and nurses on the front-lines. That someone is monitoring the curve, watching the precious leading edge for a plateau or, even better, a downward tilt. That someone is consulting the experts on the new normal: what will it look like and how can we get there together. And above all, that someone loves us enough to show up, again and again, and do the hard work as elected leaders, fighting to keep us all safe.
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Want more on this topic? I’d recommend this rundown of best and worst governors from Politico as well as this most excellent piece called, “We Need Great Leadership Now and Here’s What it Looks Like.” The New Yorker offers another terrific read, “Seattle’s Leaders Let Scientists Take the Lead. New York Did Not.”
Looking ahead, I have a number of webinars lined up to include Speechwriting School Online (starting May 6) and Military Speechwriting Training Online (Aug 4-7, 2020). Looking for a speechwriter, speech coach, or speaker? Let’s talk. Please email me at rose@rosespeechwriter.com.