TRUDEAU’S INEFFECTIVE PRESS CONFERENCES
Every day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau engages in what is promoted as a Covid-19 update but which inevitably turns out to be a prolonged ego trip for someone who is deeply in love with the sound of his own voice. Never in the history of Canadian politics have so many words been uttered to convey so little substance. (I reference Canadian politics because Trump probably surpasses him.)
Let’s start with his prepared content. It’s mostly a warmed-over version of what Deputy Prime Minister Christia Freeland (who continues to shine), Finance Minister Bill Morneau (who seems to be coming into his own), and other cabinet ministers announced earlier. Every now and then it will include some “clarifying” detail which more often than not is presented in a way that raises more questions than it answers
Then comes the question period. He evades the vast majority of questions and seems incapable of uttering the words “yes” or “no” in either official language. Regardless of the point of the question he begins every answer with a lengthy, tedious, repetitive speech of how hard he’s working with “partners,” premiers, health officials, and virtually everyone else on the planet to ensure that he will “always be there for us.”
Finally, there’s his speaking style. He’s adopted a tone that either he or his advisors, probably both, have decided conveys compassion and concern, but which actually comes across as understated preaching. Also, he’s never learned how to breathe properly when speaking off-the-cuff, and his unscripted remarks are irritatingly laced with hesitations (what the patron saint of public speaking, Dale Carnegie, called word whiskers). He seems to prefer negativity, ignoring that effective communicators emphasize the positive whenever possible. He needs to study Ronald Reagan’s style, of which my favourite example is his changing a speechwriter’s phrase from “I’ll never forget” to “I’ll always remember.” Reagan also told his speechwriters that he wanted to talk “to” his audience, not “over their heads or around them.”
As someone who taught communication skills for forty years I’m probably overly-critical when it comes to assessing would-be orators, and I’m certainly no fan of Justin Trudeau. But the simple fact is that he is a very poor speaker who fails to meet almost every standard of effective communication.
AND THEN THERE’S DAVID FOSTER
With a couple of minor exceptions, I thought last Sunday’s Stronger Together telecast was very well done and met the goal of providing some uplifting relief at a time when it is sorely needed. But David Foster’s cringeworthy egotistic display of Grammys on the top of his piano was was a major exception.
Although I never had a conversation with Foster, I’ve met him and have been in the same room with him a few times. My first and lasting impression of him was that he was a narcissistic jerk, which he manifestly proved last Sunday. That he’s had five wives adds more credibility to my opinion.
The minor exceptions were that I didn’t notice any representation from PEI or Saskatchewan, nor did I understand why Drake was chosen to close the show. However, I may have missed the former and the latter is likely attributable to my age.
THE PAROLE BOARD OF CANADA BLOWS IT AGAIN
Even though he has served less than half of his 10-year sentence, the Parole Board Of Canada has granted day parole to the selfish drunkard Marco Muzzo, who killed three children and their grandfather while driving with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood stream. The main qualification for membership on this board seems to be wrong-headedness.
REMEMBERING BILLY MURNAGHAN
Billy Murnaghan passed away this week. The vast majority of my readers will not recognize his name, but if you frequented Charlottetown’s Rolloway Club in the 50s and 60s you will certainly know who he was. Billy was a magnificent guitar player, and his band, The Tremtones, would have been nationally recognized had they had proper promotion.
Back at the height of his band’s popularity Billy delivered the best show business line I’ve ever heard. He had been convinced to go to Nashville to try his hand at cracking the Music City scene but was back in Charlottetown in less than a month. When a local skeptic cynically said to him “I guess you weren’t the best guitar player in Nashville,” Billy replied “I wasn’t even the best guitar player in the motel.”