Donald Trumps speech style - what may have helped him win and influence the American nation.

If you were asked the unlikely question of "Who is Donald Trump?" One of the possible answers you could give would be, "The President of the United states - and a controversial one at that." But what is most controversial about President Trump is how he addresses large crowds and responds to anything anyone says to him. It's unlike any President that's preceded him. Or any other politician for that matter. 

One of the reasons Donald Trump is so seemingly unique is due to his unorthodox speech style. From an objective stand point he uses very straight forward and simplistic language to get his points across - though not always coherent but it is very straight forward and much easier to absorb what he is saying for anyone who doesn't often keep up with a lot of politics or do not fully understand it.   

Some also say he speaks with brutal open honesty which has helped him win his Presidency while others say he has little composure and low impulse control which can may often attribute to his need to use aggressive language when put on the defensive or just simply disagrees with whoever he is against. What we'll speak about is what aspects of his speech style has helped win over the people of America and ultimately influence the nation to win his Presidency.

His simple outspoken conversational style.

It's no secret that Donald Trump doesn't seem to come across as someone with a sophisticated and large vocabulary when comparing to other politicians and if anything his way of speaking since being in the political arena comes across as even surprisingly simplistic. Coupled with him often just speaking his mind and not seeming to be as measured with his words like other politicians this in itself has made him stand out tremendously because he just doesn't seem to want to fit the mold of how a politician would typically act and behave like and this build a sense of intrigue whilst at the same time being easy listen to due to his seemingly small vocabulary.

He frequently uses quick punchy phrases which really makes anything he says easy to comprehend and remember. Similar to how advertising campaigns use mottos to keep their brands memorable and easy to associate with. For example Kit Kat – “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat” or KFC – “Finger Lickin’ Good”.

Some of Donald Trumps own memorable phrases:

"I will build a great wall—and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me—and I’ll build them very inexpensively"

"We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating - let’s say China - in a trade deal? I beat China all the time. All the time"

"Rocket man is on a suicide mission."

Incoherence and confusion

Due Trump's speech style being so unorthodox and disruptive, this means that the audience is forced to pay more attention to making sense of his of what he is saying. And because of this that means that the listeners are more likely to be influenced and persuaded. Though this isn't fool proof but effective nonetheless.

The majority of Trump sentences are essentially sentence fragments where two or more unrelated thoughts are thrown into one confusing sentence. Words are arranged in a way that not everyone can grasp, even if you have a good command of the English language. (“There is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself, and the Russians, zero”). - quoted from President Trump himself.

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The use of repetition.

Our brains are excellent pattern-seekers and because repetition breeds familiarity we tend become accustomed to what we are regularly exposed to - be it a song we hear on every other radio station or a movie trailer we see on every other television channel or maybe it's a slogan we may often hear such as "Red Bull - it gives you wings." This can be described as the mere exposure effect which is written in more detail here.

George Lakoff, a graduate professor of cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California – Berkeley, explained that the brain is made of a vast amount of interconnected neurons that form circuits similar to a network, and these carry out every single word or thought we have. When these circuits are activated by words or the things we see, they become stronger, and if repeatedly activated, they can become permanent. To be put simply - by repeating something to someone you are training them to think a certain way.

In Trumps case he punctuates his speeches with repetition. It helps to bring his point across without the risk of his messages being forgotten and can also serve as a way to keep his messages memorable. Also it’s also a delaying tactic, giving him time to think of the next thing he needs to say. 

Some of Donald Trumps own repetitive phrases:

“That’s wrong. They were wrong. It’s The New York Times, they’re always wrong. They were wrong.”  

"I went to an Ivy League school. I'm highly educated. I know words. I have the best words, I have the best, but there is no better word than stupid. Right?"

"(on fellow candidates) All of 'em are weak, they're just weak. Some of them are fine people. But they are weak."

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Book Review: The Lucifer Effect How Good People Turn Evil.

The Lucifer Effect, a New York Best Selling book written by research psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo  highlights an uncomfortable but honest observation regarding human nature: That even the most seemingly ordinary, up-right and good person can become a perpetrator of evil. When we're trying to understand behavior that is destructive, irrational and malicious we often direct our focus primarily onto innate characteristics or personality traits which would have lead to such behavior, while ignoring any circumstantial factors which would have shaped such behaviors. Similar to the Fundamental Attribution Error which you can read more about here.

What Zimbardo hypothesized is that it is possible for external situations and systems to become key influences of  change in behavior and that they can often override a persons morals and values and be a corruptive force in extreme circumstances. The analogy of Lucifer within this book was that he was God’s favorite angel, but due to Lucifers fall from grace when he challenged God’s omnipotent authority, Lucifer was transformed into the forever recognized symbol of evil, Satan. This is the idea of people turning from good to evil.

In The Lucifer Effect, the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 is the ideal starting point for Zimbardo as he recalls from first person accounts on how the events of the experiment unfolded. He describes how he and the other researchers set up a simulated prison in the basement of one of Stanford University's academic buildings and then selected 24 students to participate and play the roles of both prisoners and guards. The students he said were chosen from a larger group of 70 volunteers and were chosen specifically because they had no criminal background, had no psychological issues or medical conditions. The student volunteers agreed to participate during a one to two-week period in exchange for $15 a day.

Lasting only a premature six days due to the experiment having to be stopped early Zimbardo describes in gripping detail how the students began to sink deeper and deeper into their roles and how they as guards became abusive, and the prisoners begin to show more signs of extreme stress and anxiety as their time in the experiment went on. While the prisoners and guards were free to interact in any way they pleased, the interactions became hostile and malicious. The guards began to behave in ways that were aggressive and abusive toward the prisoners while the prisoners became passive, depressed and show signs of anxiety.

He writes that even the researchers themselves began to lose grip of the situation and lose sight of their objective whilst potentially leaving the students open to psychological damage. Zimbardo, who acted as the prison warden, repetitively overlooked the hostile behavior of the jail guards until graduate student Christina Maslach voiced her concerns as to the conditions in the simulated prison and the morality of continuing the experiment. Zimbardo aptly draws out every bit of emotion and drama involved in the experiment in 1971, which keeps the  reader in awe every step of the way. The Lucifer Effect is brilliantly written, intriguing, and keeps you emotionally engaged throughout reading it. In reference to the end of the experiment Zimbardo beautifully quotes in his book "Only a few people were able to resist the situational temptations to yield to power and dominance while maintaining some semblance of morality and decency; obviously, I was not among that noble class,"

The book doesn't stop there.

In the remainder of The Lucifer Effect, Zimbardo goes to show how important the concept of the Stanford Prison Experiment is and extrapolates that to some of the more horrifying real world events in recent times, such as the abuse at the hands of agents of the US at Abu Ghraib, the genocide in Rwanda and the rape of Nanking. He discusses how the insidious and corrosive effect of power often leads to the creation of a corrupt system corrupting the people involved.

The prison study of Abu Ghraib in Iraq is used as an example. Zimbardo became thoroughly involved in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib when he was asked to be an expert witness for Sergeant Ivan Frederick, one of the accused who inevitably stood trial for alleged prisoner abuses. Through his research into what transpired at the Abu Ghraib prison, Zimbardo was able to gain insight into what it was like for the soldiers who spent long weeks working shifts within a military prison, and although the accused was eventually sentenced to eight years hard time in another military prison, Zimbardo was able to document the failures in leadership that led to many of the abuses and states that the military system itself was the leading proponent and should be to blame for the conditions in which such atrocities could take place.

In conclusion, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Much of the book has much of a darker sombre feel to it compared to other books due to the descriptions of how ordinary good people can perform evil acts. The final chapters of The Lucifer Effect offers us a lighter tone reminding us that some people are able to resist situational influence and can have an unbending resolve against peer pressure and systemic evil. Zimbardo gives examples of such unique individuals which include Christina Maslach, the graduate student who spoke up to Zimbardo to end the Stanford Prison Experiment, and Private Joe Darby, the soldier who blew the whistle on the atrocities that took place at the Abu Ghraib prison.

If you want to learn more about The Lucifer Effect and read other book reviews about it...

Check it out here on Amazon.

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Being an extrovert: The good and the bad.

A term first introduced by psychologist Carl Jung, extraversion is a personality trait where a person directs their energy outwards by seeking stimulus from either being social and outgoing, taking risk taking activities and generally seeking excitement from the outside environment. These traits are contrary to being an introvert. The modern western world often praises extrovert characteristics which is usually perceived as being well adjusted and often socially intelligent; to quote Susan Cain the author of the book Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking ...

 ''We live in a culture of personality, where extraversion is ideal, a far departure from the past that was the culture of character which prized honour and discipline.''

Naturally being an extrovert comes with a lot more emotionally rich experiences leading to possibly a more varied lifestyle than introverts; usually keeping an eye open to meet new people and networking opportunities extroverts generally have more doors opened for them due to the sheer amount of socializing they do and prefer being around the company of other people and being included in novelty or risky taking situations.

Extrovert characteristics
These are the general characteristics of  someone with an extravert personality may possess, though this may not be an absolute description for every extrovert but it will give you a good outline of their overall demeanour.

- Outspoken
- Thrives in the company of other people
- Constantly seeks new experiences
- Easily bored
- Drawn to crowds
- Generally quite animated
- Assertive
- Responsive to external stimulus 
- Opinionated

Pro's of being an extrovert
There are definitely some positives in regards to having an extrovert personality trait. Extroverts are very outgoing and are usually motivated to attend social gatherings and mingle with new people exposing themselves to a variety of social interactions, this may explain why extroverts usually have a story to tell because of this frequent exposure to new interactions and situations. On a similar note because of the quantity of interactions extroverts get involved in they learn their social skills at a faster rate than an introvert would. Their constant craving for social interactions and proactiveness in this regards means that they can make friends easily, are easy to get to know as they often let their thoughts and feelings be known and love to be engaged in conversation to a wide variety of people whether it is one on one or a group discussion. Extroverts aren't known to shy away from the spotlight they can handle social pressure quite well while some may even welcome it, this comes with their love of being the focus of attention; a reason why you may find a large amount of extroverts in the entertainment industry. They usually are very upbeat people with high self esteem, with the ability to make many friends they can flourish in circumstances where there are groups and even crowds of people. Lastly their lust for excitement can translate into their lifestyle or hobbies they choose, they can be career choices such as being in the media, being a fire-fighter, deep sea diver etc., or risk taking ventures like skydiving, tornado chasing or maybe an extreme sport like rock climbing or snowboarding. These kind of hobbies or career choices keeps their day emotionally rich and keeps them highly engaged mentally also.

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Con's of being an extrovert
Believe it or not being extroverted does have some down falls despite the positives discussed earlier. Though extroverts do have the ability to meet and greet with a lot of people; often a lot of the people an extrovert meets will just be acquaintances and nothing more and that means a lot of shallow relationships, this is because there often isn't enough time to delve in and develop a meaningful relationship with each and every person they meet. From time to time they also may have to learn to break off from undesirable relationships because due to the sheer amount of people they may meet they will eventually come across people they feel they do not mingle well with or worse not get along with at all. The need to be constantly engaged with another person can be a hindrance to the extrovert  as they can find it quite difficult to be alone or in solitude for too long, even something as simple as reading a book in a quiet room can be quite a task to some extroverts, they find that either they get incredibly bored very easily or their mind starts to wonder due to their short attention span and need for an external stimulus. People can see extroverts as attention seekers and even a little shallow. Though most people enjoy the company of an extrovert person because of their upbeat nature, with enough time they can feel a sense hollowness in  their relationship between them and the extrovert because they feel they haven't really gotten to know them past their social persona.


As stated in the last post no one is completely extroverted or introverted and are usually a balance between the two and may swing one way or the other depending on a variety of factors.

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