What A Strong Message Sounds Like
One of the big stories in the aftermath of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia was the series of mixed messages that kept coming out of the White House. But we heard strong messages as well.
One of the big stories in the aftermath of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia was the series of mixed messages that kept coming out of the White House. But we heard strong messages as well.
We wanted to make sure you saw what a strong message looks like. It came from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who was joined by Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signor, City Manager Maurice Jones, and Police Chief Al Thomas shortly after the streets of their city were cleared.
This was crisis communications at its best—all of the speakers at this press conference did excellent jobs of delivering a unified, clear and concise message. Governor McAuliffe set the tone when he said directly to the white supremacists at the center of the day’s violence: “Go home. You are not wanted….Shame on you!…Take your hatred and take your bigotry.” Though his voice was clearly full of emotion, he spoke slowly and clearly. The length of his pauses made his remarks seem even more powerful.
For those of you who want to make a strong impact with your words, notice how strongly and effectively McAuliffe came across by simplifying his message into just a few well-chosen phrases, and by giving them plenty of time to sink in for the audience before he continued his remarks.