More Political Messaging

I know I said this time we’d talk about your message, but I realise there is another aspect of a politician’s messaging which differs from most others, and needs to be mentioned. I don’t want to defend hypocritical politicos, bit it is worth pointing out that there are loads of hypocrites in other professions, they just aren’t as visible. And that is the point about political messaging: every audience sees every message. The press, pundits, the blogosphere and YouTube all conspire to ensure that nothing can be hidden from anyone. A message appropriate for one group of voters often is not what another wants to hear. Yet by definition a politician must appeal to a wide variety of constituents. He or she is always walking a tightrope.

Take the example I used a few days ago about asking for a pay rise. Would you really want your boss to hear what you said about it to your friend? Or have your friend privy to your discussions about exactly how much more money you deserve? Yet potentially everything a politician says - public or private - can be exposed. A tough situation and one which most of us never have to deal with. Does it lead to cynicism, or wouldn’t it be a lot more accurate to say that in many cases the “cynicism is in the eye of the beholder?”