The Next President Will Be …

The next president will be … whoever best restrains their words and demonstrates a cool spirit!

No place is this more apparent than with how a person effectively communicates. The late great author Tom Wolfe revered speech so much, he penned a powerful book in 2016, “The Kingdom of Speech.” Wolfe argued speech “is not one of man’s several unique attributes. Speech is the attribute of attributes.” Wolfe called speech “the human superpower.”

For 28 years I’ve been blessed to teach public speaking and coach college speech teams. In 2008, I was fortunate to start working with executives and professionals in the “real world.”

The two big reasons — in this order — that people call for help with public speaking are: one, anxiety (lack of a cool spirit), and two, they have no plan for composing speeches, aka organizing their thoughts and information. With this considered, I always lean on the words written by King Solomon, found in the Proverbs, where God’s word says, “He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” Restrained words and a cool spirit are foundational for all successful communication, but are vitally important for effective public speaking. This is because public speaking is leading. Note the order of the two critical elements according to King Solomon, a leader considered by many to be the wisest person to ever live.

First, is “restrained words.” The definition of restrain, means “to keep under control.” The only way a person can keep their words under control is with an organized mind. An organized mind requires a person — with purposeful effort and true commitment — to always strive to be carefully organizing and structuring their thoughts before speaking their words. Be it a prepared speech, or an impromptu speech (like, but not limited to press interviews), an organized mind not only permits the audience to follow the speaker effortlessly, but also the speaker to follow the speaker. An organized mind prevents the speaker from getting lost in their own thoughts, tripping over their words and compromising their message. And when a person employs an organized mind, more often than not, this helps to control anxiety, and in doing so develop a cool spirit. On a base level, can you think of anything more crucial for a president to always have and consistently demonstrate than an organized mind and a cool spirit?

We currently have two candidates for the president of the United States, the most powerful nation on the planet, and the leader of the free world, who are not known for having demonstrated, with any consistency, restrained words and cool spirits. Kamala Harris’ oratory is defined by her peculiar laugh, and avoidance of speaking unscripted. As I write this, she has been the Democratic nominee for 14 days, but has not given a single press interview.

President Donald Trump only recently has shown any restraint with his words. First, in his debate, against the clearly declining, sadly, mentally and physically, President Joe Biden. Second, with the “first part” of his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. Unfortunately Trump neglected to restrain himself for most of his acceptance speech, and spoke for more than an hour past the good content. Rambling. Part of restraining one’s words is also knowing when to stop. Less is very often more! Or as Shakespeare put it long ago, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Or as I frequently tell my students and clients, “KISS does not just stand for ‘keep it simple, stupid,’ but also, ‘keep it short, stupid.’” Too often people speak to pontificate, rather than communicate.

Harris and Trump are close in the polls, and, as demonstrated thus far, equally lacking in the ability to speak effectively. Which is why if one of them improves, it could truly decide who wins!

While both Harris and Trump clearly know how to “perform” for their adoring, and even worshipping audiences, the candidate who does what’s needed to most successfully cross the aisle with restrained words and a cool spirit (humble and not prideful), that person will be our next president.

Practicing another bit of wisdom from the Proverbs would also help elevate one far above the other. The Proverbs also tells us, “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Nothing is louder than controlled silence. This direction comes from the God that our Pledge of Allegiance says our nation is “under,” not me. I’m just a community college speech professor observing the influence of speech — the greatest of all superpowers. On Sept. 4, we’ll all get to witness Trump and Harris debate, and we must all be praying for the “restrained words and cool spirit” needed to lead our nation … and vote accordingly.