Was von der Leyen "von der Rolle"?
No, she did not lose it. Madame la Présidente delivered a solid first State of the European Union address in three languages. It was an uplifting yet uninspiring attempt to demonstrate leadership amidst the pandemic. What makes her performance above average?
Substance - 13 points out of 15
The 75-minute speech covered a long list of topics and started with the most relevant ones. Ipsos, a multinational market research, conducted global polls during the pandemic yielding three interesting results. First, coronavirus and unemployment became the main worries of the world. Second, a majority now favours social progress over economic growth. Third, 86% of the 27,000 adults interviewed want the post-pandemic world to become more sustainable and equitable. The first part of the tenth State of the European Union hence rightly focussed on health, jobs and the climate crisis.
Finding the best content does not help if you face a broken relationship. President von der Leyen joined the conservatives 30 years ago, served twice as a German Federal Minister and was born in Brussels. Despite being a seasoned politician with a European background, only 383 of the 751 MEPs elected her because she did not run for office in the last EU elections and earned the reputation of being a “compromise candidate”. Offering influential members of your audience to give input can, however, build trust and bridges.
Her proposals were substantive and consistent. She created common ground by praising the work of Europeans during the pandemic and built credibility by explaining the reasoning behind policy proposals. For example, raising climate ambition to a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is not based on hot air but an impact assessment. When she warns of fragility, anecdotes illustrate accomplishments. When she advocates for vitality, statistics support her policy proposals. Some initiatives could have been more ambitious but, in contrast to other world leaders, fact checkers did not sound alarm bells afterwards.
Structure and speed - 12 points out of 15
The EU is more transparent than the US when it comes to speeches. Whereas American newspapers only link to the raw transcript, you can easily find the original version of the State of the European Union with some annotation. The Commission’s speechwriters put words in bold and chapter headings in uppercase. Such highlighting and signposting tells the presenter where to put emphasis and when to take a longer pause. Dividing a speech also makes it easier to distribute tasks similar to work packages in a project. It is nevertheless crucial to verify that everything ties in neatly with the central theme.
This year’s State of the European Union was more long-winded than previous ones. For example, when you skim over Jean-Claude Juncker’s 2016 speech, the title already tells you what to expect: a Europe that protects, empowers and defends. Even without a rhetorical climax, using the rule of three gives structure and guidance. Von der Leyen’s team seem to have taken a storytelling approach with the EU, as the hero, leading us from fragility to vitality. Member States and individuals illustrate key points as “supporting actors”. If you get the plot right, your audience remembers the flow better because you activate more parts of the brain.
Stay calm during a crisis. Research by American psychologists during the pandemic confirmed that decision makers lose points if they show highly emotional reactions to stressful events. Von der Leyen appears presidential because she only utters around 100 words per minute and forms clear, short sentences. Interestingly, the pace does not vary much when she switches languages; but the German sentences include more words (6 vs. 4.8 on average).
Style - 10 points out of 15
Following a State of the European Union is not like watching Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch. The interactive thriller holds your attention much longer than a politician speaking at you for 75 minutes. That is why the Commission spiced up the speech by preparing charts, clips and stories.
Carola and Vittoria’s image stood out. The two Italian girls struggled with the lockdown in Liguria. They then decided to make the best of the situation and played tennis on the rooftops. Retweets by the ATP Tour and a surprise visit of Roger Federer followed spreading optimism across social media.
Without such uplifting stories, political speeches do not elicit emotions. American presidents use real-life anecdotes all the time and even announce special guests on the website of the White House. In Europe, we play it safe by sprinkling examples from different Member States. Inviting Europeans who tell stories from the ground could demonstrate that the EU institutions put people at the centre.
The Commission’s speechwriters have to take on an onerous task. Besides dealing with input of less eloquent policy wonks, they have to craft a speech that should not to cause any misunderstandings in the 24 official languages. Translations limit your oratorical options.
When your audience is not fluent in English, keep your rhetoric simple. Alliterations pose less of a challenge than asyndetons. Metaphors work better than zeugmas. Von der Leyen’s speech creates contrast, quotes famous Europeans and includes regular repetitions.
Examples
Contrasting the corona and climate crisis:
“While much of the world's activity froze during lockdowns and shutdowns, the planet continued to get dangerously hotter.”
Quoting Hume:
“The European visionaries decided that difference is not a threat, difference is natural. Difference is the essence of humanity.”
Anaphora in French:
”Quand il fallait trouver une voie pour notre avenir, nous n'avons pas laissé les vieilles conventions nous freiner. Quand nous avons senti la fragilité autour de nous, nous avons saisi le moment pour donner une nouvelle vitalité à notre Union. Et quand nous avons eu le choix de faire cavalier seul comme par le passé, nous avons utilisé toute la force des 27 pour donner à tous les 27 une chance pour l'avenir.”
To add a bit more suspense, she could have told exciting stories with polysyndetons, countered critics with litotes and summarised the speech with a universal idiom. The 2017 address, for instance, called on Europeans to catch the wind in our sails.
Von der Leyen presents with more power than her predecessor. Whereas Juncker tended to deliver a monotonous speech with his hands on the lectern, the current president stressed key phrases by emphasising words and with determined gestures. She thereby did not go overboard and “stayed in the box”, the space between our chest and waist.
The main thing that von der Leyen can learn from American politics is to not speak when you read. Standing tall is hard if you look down all the time. Easy solutions are either a clear teleprompter or to read, mesmerise and look at your audience before addressing them. Although her coaches still have to make her come across as more natural, the firm voice and determined gestures contributed to the image of a competent leader.
5 lessons for communicators
Your message will now resonate more at EU level if you are talking about health, jobs or the environment.
Base your claims on sound evidence, ideally from independent sources.
Organise the body of your speech in (three) parts. If you need more, structure it like a memorable story.
Only in case you present in front of a large audience, spice up your presentation with rhetorical questions, pictures, dialogism and clips every 5 minutes.
Keep your hands in the box most of the time and stress key points with open gestures.
Learn the techniques. Boost your confidence. Make your point.
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