Working Voices CEO Nick Smallman unpicks the confusion
Written by Working Voices • 15 November, 2024
Leadership Article
In the first presidential TV debate of the 2020 campaign, Donald Trump demonstrated his willingness – in case we were in any doubt – to break the rules. There were a few moments where Biden talked over Trump when it wasn’t his turn, but for the most part Trump repeatedly trampled over the rules of the debate in essentially yelling out his Twitter feed.
Each candidate was allocated two minutes to respond to a question, but with Trump repeatedly flouting this, Biden found himself pleading “Will you shut up, man?”, a slogan rushed on to T-shirts by his team before the debate was even over. Both candidates talked over moderator Chris Wallace and neither covered themselves in glory. Wallace himself seemed conscious that Trump wanted to break out of the constraints of the debate.
At one point, a visibly exasperated Biden said it was hard to follow Trump’s line of thought. “I can’t remember everything he was ranting about”, Biden said. With the election now just five weeks away, the question hanging in the air is which other rules will Trump be prepared to break? Kathleen Hunter at Bloomberg said: “The biggest takeaway from the unedifying spectacle might be Trump’s refusal again to commit to a peaceful transition.”
Into the spotlight
The value of a live conversation between two potential leaders can’t be overstated. Beyond the polish of a staged speech, this is a rare chance for voters to see how their candidate performs in the cut and thrust of debate. For now it’s just the other opponent, tomorrow it might be the leader of China. Voters want to know ‘how my guy fights in the heat of the moment.’ Candidates, usually, want to appear as strong yet fair, tough yet conciliatory.
These are complicated boxes to tick, it’s hard to get it right and easy to get it wrong. Errors can be costly. A seemingly innocent comment can quickly become a banana-peel, as Biden discovered in June 2019. Running out of time during the Democratic primary debates, the 76-year-old cut himself off mid-answer with the ill-chosen thought that: “My time is up.”
While debates are a fantastic platform for a candidate to showcase their personality and ideas, they also are one of the most precarious arenas for mistakes. In the social media age, the potential for a misstep to go viral is palpable. Both candidates have their flaws and in the heat of the moment mistakes are sometimes hard to avoid. After two decades advising UK and US CEOs and politicians on skills in leadership and communication, I was curious to see how Trump and Biden would compare.
Shameful and unedifying
The race for the White House has been stable for many months with Biden holding a consistent lead. Tactically, they might have had different strategies for their performance in front of the cameras. Having said that, there were big questions that both candidates needed to answer, and I imagine that both will have been well briefed by their respective teams.
Trump needed to change people’s opinions and bring more people across to his side, whereas Biden needed to prosecute a consistent case against the president. So far, so good. But from there, it all went terribly wrong. The well-planned strategies descended into chaos and writing a coherent analysis of what happened is almost impossible.
This was without doubt the most chaotic, shameful and unedifying experience I’ve witnessed in 28 years of watching political debates. Trump was very aggressive and interrupted relentlessly. Biden was thrown off his stride at the beginning but managed to land some useful points. He missed multiple opportunities to outline his case but to be fair, the president made it very difficult for him to concentrate on his message.
Breakdown
The first 30 minutes were lost to chaos as Wallace struggled to maintain control. It was genuinely difficult to understand what was being said as the interruptions were constant. If the idea was to communicate with the American people and showcase real leadership qualities, then it failed.
It was genuinely exhausting to stay with the thread of the exchanges as there seemed to be two and sometimes three people talking at once. This is not to say that the fault lies equally. Biden was, in the main, a spectator who oscillated from shaking his head to saying, “That’s not true”. Trump reeled off his greatest hits but decided to take the gloves off in a way that appeared callous and nasty. For all Biden’s shortcomings as a debater (and there are many), he came across as someone who cares about bringing people together.
All of this may ultimately mean nothing in light of an exchange late in the debate where Wallace asked the president about a peaceful transfer of power. He was asked to denounce neo-fascist groups, and instead of kicking the ball into an open goal the president refused to denounce them. Instead he told them to “stand back and stand-by”, a frightening dog whistle that looked to encourage violence if the election did not go his way.
My conclusion is that Trump will not be able to expand his voter share based on that performance. Biden was a bit flat but relatable as he regularly looked into the camera and tried to bypass the noise by talking directly to the viewers. We will see in the days to come how the polling changes. I’m not sure where the debates go from here as the format seemed to be broken. After such an unedifying display, I crawled into bed, still scratching my head as to what I had just witnessed. Perhaps, more will become clear in the debates ahead. We’ll have to wait until October 15 and 22 to find out.
Get our latest insights by subscribing to our newsletter. Each week you'll receive updates helping you to understand and respond to the challenges facing your organisation. We won't share your details with anyone and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Learn to tackle the day-to-day challenges faced by women in the workplace with confidence, control and conviction.
This fast-paced interactive talk delivered by our motivational keynote speakers provides insight on how women can communicate with more impact and how they can develop within a leadership role by enhancing their personal presence. Our women’s speakers aim to help you build the confidence to be included in meetings, and raise your visibility as an authentic and influential leader. This talk can be tailored to your business and any specific requirements you might have.
The founder and CEO of Working Voices, Nick Smallman has been at the top of his profession for 25 years. Advising global blue-chip clients on engagement, productivity, and retention, he counsels leaders on increasing revenue via simple cultural adjustments.
Overseeing the successful expansion of Working Voices across the UK, the US, Asia, and the Middle East, Nick supports the leadership and communication capabilities of clients in a wide range of sectors. In particular, he has advised companies such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Sony, Nomura, M&S, and Blackrock for more than 15 years.
Developing his reputation for thought leadership, in recent years Nick has been leading work on The Sustainable Human, the subject of his forthcoming book. A concept unique to Working Voices, The Sustainable Human offers a package of solutions focusing on leadership enablement, future skills, and cultural harmony.
Working closely with HR specialist Mercer, Nick has developed solutions to four key modern workplace challenges:
“I’m excited to share the conclusions of three years of research that, if implemented, can make an immediate practical difference to leaders and their organisations.”
All articles by Nick Smallman
Our motivating keynote speakers will help you to gain an understanding of how you present yourself to others and how they identify with you. You’ll also gain an understanding of how influence and the development of a personal brand can enhance your impact. In this enthusing talk our expert business speakers will explore the practicalities and techniques involved in developing a suitable personal brand and creating a strong personal impact.
Networking skills are important for achieving success in business. This talk delivered by our engaging keynote speakers will provide you with an insight into good networking etiquette. Our business speakers will focus on understanding the importance of networking, how to plan and prep before an event. You’ll learn some good tips for reading group body language and some essential icebreakers to get you started.
Parents all over the world are becoming increasingly worried about the effect of screen use on their children’s mental health. In addition to a lack of understanding as to what they are looking at there is the deeper issue of how online behaviour is shaping the way that children think and form relationships. We unpack the neuroscience behind the addictive nature of screen time and offer a blueprint to help parents coach their children towards a more fruitful relationship with the internet.
The internet is lauded as a giant leap for communication and a vehicle for mass connection in a busy world. What is also becoming clear is the opportunity for bad actors to manipulate important social, cultural and political conversations through the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation. We lay bare the methods that are used to inject confusion and grievance into the conversation and how we as consumers are not naturally wired to combat this. We will offer a framework to help protect you from fake news, distraction and getting sucked in to destructive communication
70% of people will experience a genuine fear of being exposed as not good enough, of being a fraud in their working lives; this talk will help you combat such feelings and deliver practical guidance that will help you feel confident and comfortable when taking on the next big challenge.
In a world dominated by showmen, charismatics and influencers it is becoming more and more difficult to find leaders that are intellectually credible as well as influential. The ability to think critically is being downgraded while the ability to attract attention is lauded. It is possible to do both and we will show how strong mental models can underpin a long-term leadership persona.
The self-help industry is an ever expanding and hugely popular vehicle for personal development. Humans have an innate desire to improve themselves and raise their status – what’s not to love? However, some of the ideas and tropes used in many of the self-help products available rely on flawed thinking to be successful. We explore 6 major themes, deconstruct their effectiveness and relevance in the modern world and provide an alternatives that are more effective.
“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Jeff Bezos (Founder and Chairman of Amazon) that’s why it matters so much. It’s all about creating the right external impression, ensuring it is authentic and makes you stand out from the crowd. This inspirational talk by our expert keynote speakers will explore the methods, techniques and practises of developing an authentic personal brand that gets you noticed.
Presenting can be a daunting ordeal at the best of times but this highly interactive and fast paced talk will help build your confidence and improve your delivery with any audience. Our keynote speaker will take you through how best to prepare for your big moment, along with helping you look and sound the part as well.
TED Talks can be both informative and inspiring, but how do the best speakers deliver their message with such impact? In this talk, one of our inspiring keynote speakers will walk you through the TED method and help you deliver your very own idea with confidence and precision.
Emotional intelligence is about the ability to identify, assess and manage the emotions of yourself, of others and of groups. Having a high EQ will improve your ability to maintain good working relationships and communicate successfully. This highly interactive talk will give you a practical insight into how emotional intelligence works. Our expert keynote speakers will give you a concise overview of the emotional intelligence know-how and stratagems you need to interact commendably with clients and colleagues.
Making a good impression and having a strong personal presence is an important part of being successful in business and in life. Personal impact is about having presence and charisma. In this engaging talk our motivational keynote speakers will explore what both of these actually mean, what they look like and feel like. We will look at the practicalities of each and punctuate both topics with brief exercises to help you to become more aware of the way you interact with others. This is an exciting and interactive talk which our expert business speakers deliver in an inspirational style.
Successful people are super communicators – they think clearly and are expert at interacting with others. They understand themselves, other people and know that superior relationships are the cornerstone to a fulfilling life These characteristics are learned attributes. Now you can master these skills and behaviours and work towards becoming a super communicator yourself.
Improving your influencing skills is important in helping you to build better rapport and have positive relationships with your clients and colleagues. This fast-paced talk delivered by our expert business speakers helps you to explore and develop your existing influencing skills. Our inspiring keynote speakers will focus on maintaining mental and linguistic flexibility when interpreting and presenting information helping you to become an effective influential leader. Our keynote speakers can adapt this talk to your business needs and requirements if requested.
Our sentiments and feelings towards people are created by our own experiences but we’re not always aware of how those sentiments affect the way we act towards people and make decisions about them. Our engaging keynote speakers will bring to light your unconscious bias in this thought provoking talk: how it works, the affect this has on decision making and most importantly, what you can do about it; making sure you are the inclusive leader you wish to be.