It was about time. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau prides himself on his ability as a stump speaker. With no notes and no prompts, he can keep a Liberal audience enthralled. And if all he had to talk to was Liberal Party members, no change was needed.
But with the oncoming federal election it is time for broader audiences. There can be no more off-the-cuff remarks and no more gaffs. It means Trudeau must be provided with carefully crafted scripts that he can stick to. It means he must become as one with his teleprompter. He has to join the big kids in this big time game of politics. There is no shame in being in tune with your teleprompter.
The best English language speaker we see on television today is U.S. President Barack Obama. You also never see him making a major speech without a teleprompter. It simply goes with the territory. It is no grocery list he is reading. The man feels what he is saying.
And for any of his announcements from the Greater Toronto Area to Nunavut, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is never without his staged presentation and his teleprompter. His reading might be stony and pedantic, the people making up his backdrop irritating and bored and, for that matter, he seems bored with himself.
The surprise of the last federal election back in 2011 was seeing the late New Democrat Leader Jack Layton using a teleprompter. We saw it as a crutch because of his health problems but it also freed him to animate and mug with his words. He came through that election well ahead of his rightful place.
Mind you it was in part Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff’s professorial approach more than his political shortcomings that cost him the election and any political future.
Young Trudeau with a teleprompter has great potential. He can appear guileless. He can take time to smile. He can convince and he can win.
But no teleprompter is better than the prepared script. You have to use words that connect with the target audiences. You need to use the power phrases that motivate. You need to present ideas that stimulate and you have to close the deal.
It was a great warm-up the other day at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel speaking to the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. Trudeau spoke of the differences between himself and Prime Minister Harper. He reminded his listeners that the Liberal Party is by far the best champion of Canada’s vaunted liberties, freedoms and inclusiveness. And it is only a beginning.
-30-
Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]