RTE Final Leaders’ Debate 26 November 2024 Reaction

RTE Final Leaders’ Debate 26 November 2024 Reaction
 
THERE WERE NO WINNERS IN A STILTED, DULL DEBATE
 
Responding to last night’s final television debate ahead of Election 2024, communications coach and founder of The Public Speaking Course, John Deery said:
 
A growing body of research on the impact of television debates on voter intention indicates that the policies discussed are less important than the qualities the leaders display – in short, it’s not what they say, it’s the way that they say it. By that measure, it was Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, who edged it last night in a dull, two-dimensional debate that saw none of the party leaders cover themselves in glory.
 
From a public speaking perspective, Martin gave the best impression of ‘reliability’ – he spoke clearly with a calm, sonorous voice; he connected with the interviewers and kept his messages relatively concise. He lost this calm, measured demeanor when ruling out the possibility of a coalition with Sinn Féin – here he got as heated as he could without losing it – but overall his performance and body language was good.
 
Mary Lou McDonald tried to hold her own, but I felt she was flustered, particularly on housing and the economy/tax. She was strong on the coalition section and made a convincing case as to why Sinn Féin should be allowed to break the 100-year deadlock, but in general she came across as the underdog. She is a formidable politician in normal circumstances, but she was a little out of her depth on detail on this occasion, and, in my opinion, failed to connect with the television audience.
 
Simon Harris came over as the least convincing of the three. He spoke far too fast, and had too many prepared facts, figures and sound bites. He had an annoying habit of sniping from the side and interrupted McDonald excessively. He also kept looking at her – staring, even – when she was answering questions, which gave the impression that he was – consciously or unconsciously (the former, I suspect) – trying to put her off. He couldn’t explain the Charlotte Fallon encounter convincingly enough and was lucky it was the first question – he got away lightly with that. Overall, his demeanour and body language came over as somewhat slippery.
 
In the TV debate platform where personal integrity, leadership, competence and warmth are the most effective means of swaying voters, there were no winners last night. Instead of authenticity, we got a stilted, dull debate.
 
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Karina Buckley, Healy Communications on behalf of The Public Speaking Course
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ABOUT JOHN DEERY AND THE PUBLIC SPEAKING COURSE
John Deery is based between West Cork and London. He has spent decades coaching a broad spectrum of individuals and groups in the art of public speaking, working with everyone from college graduates and corporate CEOs to politicians and professionals. The Public Speaking Course teaches attendees to control nerves and overcome stage fright; to use their natural voice to communicate with confidence and clarity; to clearly define and develop their message for maximum impact and to build (or rebuild) self-confidence through interactive group exercises. Testimonials for The Public Speaking Course indicate that attendees have found the process transformational.