No Lasting Shadow

10 Candidates

4 interviewers

3 hours in prime time

O inspiration.

Last night the 10 remaining Democratic candidates for President of the United States debated in Texas on nationally aired TV. Since I live on the west-coast I had to tune in at 5:00 PM (it aired at 8:00 in the East which if nothing else once again pointed out how big this country is).

I kept hoping for less logic and more inspiration from the men and women addressing us .

Didn’t happen.

You know how you can sense that the speaker is sort of on instant rewind, that they have said the same thing many times before and even they are tired of it? That’s what came through to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe they need to have thought things through and taken counsel from experts and come to conclusions they believe are right for America.

BUT no one really went “off script.”

No one threw down the gauntlet to challenge the people of America to side with them.

No one asked for my help in a way that touched me viscerally.

No one.

I’m a communications professional. Speeches are second nature to me. Coaching executives to appear in public before both friendly and hostile crowds is part and parcel of what I‘ve done for a living. I’m a master at building memorable phrases that set consultants and other independent professionals uniquely apart.

A person can learn those phrases. They can memorize the hooks. They can deliver the sound bites on cue.

BUT every human being has the power to feel as well as hear.

Each of us have an innate ability to sort out if someone really believes what we are saying

Each of us can tell when the speaker is not “into it.”

Each of us.

It doesn’t matter if the person on stage, at the lectern or in the pulpit has our best interests in mind or is at heart a dictator. That is the conundrum of every form of election of public officials. what they say in public may sway us more than we admit. Hitler was mesmerizing. Mao converted millions to Communism. Throughout history, the ability to stir hearts has resulted in regimes that in hindsight were disastrous.

So long as public speaking is the way we determine who will lead us we will crave that the person before us weaves a world of wonder that our emotions respond to with adoration, acceptance, and action.

Until we can find a way to view the candidates with both emotion and logic we will forever be choosing based more on hope than assurance. We are creatures that can think but toss it all aside when someone stirs our soul. Worse still, we crave inspiration and motivation.

All the well-reasoned arguments fall on deaf ears beside the rousing power of the voice that reaches into our heart.

In simple terms, the human race foreshortens decisions into: “Ya gotta believe.”

The debates last night came up short in that department.

BUT they forced me to think about how we find leaders that we can trust.

Leaders who lead, for the right reasons.

Leaders who in hindsight had courage and behaved admirably.

Leaders that lead with heads and hearts.

Leaders that leave a lasting legacy.

The answer, I believe, lies in each of us fighting the urge to accept group think but still "feel" when the would-be leader puts their true emotions on the line.

We must follow as convinced individuals.

We must follow as equals.

We must follow with controlled mind and heart. 

It ain't easy.

And so it goes. 

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for on and off-line Trust-based Consultant Marketing and Brand development advice that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com 
DIY Training: www.ingomu.com