Political communication
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Recently, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam were rightly assailed for their harsh statements on two separate issues.
PM Koirala was reported to have said that he could do nothing even if 'he' dies, referring to Dr Govinda KC who was on a fast-unto-death, in a meeting with some prominent civil society leaders. At a time when Dr KC's strike was gaining momentum, with support from several walks of life, the PM's statement was crude. Though the PM Office refuted media reports, people were not convinced. His reckless statement is not new. His carelessness and lack of command within the party is well-documented. Be it the case of some diplomatically appalling photos shared in Facebook during his US visit last September, or his statement about Tanakpur in which he said Tanakpur belonged to India, PM Koirala's public image is questionable.
Unplanned speech, random statements, inappropriate political communication and negligence or under-estimation of possible impact of the message are at the center of such controversies. From former Defense Minister Sharad Singh Bhandari, who controversially remarked on possible disintegration if 22 districts of Tarai decided to secede to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal's statement on UN mediation in peace process that combatants' weapons were swept away by rivers—there are many cases of insensitive messages by responsible leaders which in turn indicates necessity of professional approach in design and delivery of political messages.
Even messages brought to public notice after cabinet meetings contain inconsistencies as they come from multiple sources. Multiple sources carrying news results in inconsistencies in the message.
In persuasive political communication and political image building, the roles of PR agencies, individual spin doctors and giants of lobbying industry are active in several countries. The US leaders set the example of well-designed political messages. Many, from Thomas Paine, one of founding fathers of the US, who was known for his thought-provoking writing, to existing President Barack Obama, who has set the perfect example of Integrated Marketing Communication for publicity and image building, have stood tall as influential leaders. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advisers have taken help from professionals to portray him as a 'driver of change' in India. People, irrespective of their political ideology, ethnicity or religious faith, voted for Modi mainly because of his image, the way he spoke and engaged the public, showing clarity in his message and convincing people.
In the United Kingdom, for the first time three main political parties took part in televised debates during the 2010 general elections. There were clear swings in polls as debates progressed and differences among the three politicians and their respective parties became clear. Recently, as part of the imminent election in the UK on May 7, a debate took place among representatives of all seven parties.
Once something has been uttered, it cannot be taken back. A wise politician can use public platforms as opportunities to neutralize his negative image or convert a negative image into a positive one. Our politicians need to appoint communication professionals to backstop their communication strategy including design of the message, contents, the timing of publicity and delivery by, for instance, appointing professional press advisors.
The current policy of appointing a party cadre as press advisor means that an amateur handles things. A press advisor is also a pollster, counselor, writer and publicist who can prevent the leader from damaging his/her public image. Another way to prevent possible misfire of words is to practice using a scripted message instead of randomly spelling out words, a technique rarely practiced among our leaders.
The media handlers of our political leaders are missing a trick. Social media communications are vibrant channels for 'personal branding', but this remains underutilized in Nepal.
Unfortunately, Nepali political parties and leaders are far behind in making use of technology, thereby creating a clear gap with the tech-savvy world. Though some leaders such as former PM and UCPN (Maoist) leader Baburam Bhattarai, Nepali Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat, CPN-UML leader Rabindra Adhikari, RPP-Nepal leader Kamal Thapa (among several others) have some presence in social media, many politicians are still invisible.
New media can be helpful for leaders, offering immediacy to their views, refuting rumors, downplaying negative information, issuing public statements and managing crises. Use of new media can also help them build their image and improve communication with people. However, people always expect their leaders to be honest.
Though there is a thin line between persuasive communication and propaganda, they are clearly differentiated in the purpose and the modern audience can readily recognize this difference. A smart leader considers possible consequences before s/he speaks.
The author teaches journalism and mass communication and is a freelance journalist bigyansharma@gmail.com
