Bernie Sanders at the 2020 Online Democratic National Convention: Did He Talk Over People's Heads?

Bernie Sanders, US Senate photo

Bernie Sanders’ speech last night at the online Democratic National Convention laid out the basic Democratic Party case for voting against Donald Trump. He supported Joe Biden. That was fine, and the most important part of the speech is the simple fact that he gave it. We often hear about Bernie Sanders’ supporters who would rather vote for Trump than for any other Democrat. For Sanders to speak during the convention showed his supporters that he is throwing his prestige and support behind Biden, and maybe he will bring many of his supporters with him. Who knows?

Sanders’ public speaking skills have, however, long bothered me. Yes, he speaks firmly. But there’s a difference between being firm and yelling, and Sanders yells too much. Thank goodness, he didn’t yell last night. He also speaks in an ideological, abstract style that appeals to his ideological left-wing supporters, but which does not communicate well with the public.

If Sanders' supporters want to understand why their idol never became president, well, obviously, the yelling is part of it. But the ideological style is also part of it. Let me be clear: you can state an ideology, including a left-wing ideology, without using an ideological style. 

Earlier Post: Bernie Sanders Talks Like a College Professor 

We can see what went right, but also what went wrong, with Sanders’ language use by looking at his speech introduction:

“We are confronting systemic racism and the enormous threat to our planet of climate change. And in the midst of all of this, we have a president who is not only incapable of addressing these crises, but is leading us down the path of authoritarianism. This election is the most important in the modern history of this country. In response to the unprecedented crises we face, we need an unprecedented response, a movement like never before of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for democracy and decency and against greed, oligarchy, and bigotry.” [Italics added]

The rest of the speech was about the same. Lots of big words. There’s a lot to be said for speaking in short, simple sentences that sound conversational. There’s also a lot to be said for avoiding Latin root words if you are speaking English. There’s a lot to be said for using simple words when simple words will do the job. That is, simple, forceful language can carry a speaker a long way.

So, instead of “confronting systemic racism,” which sounds abstract, why couldn't Sanders say, “ending racism across our land?” Isn't that a little simpler and more straightforward?

Or, would Donald Trump say something like, “unprecedented crises we face?” No, he would be more likely to say, “problems like never before.” He would probably say it twice just to make sure that we got the point.

Similarly, consider what’s wrong with Sanders saying, “fight for democracy and decency and against greed, oligarchy, and bigotry.” I like the ideas. I do. But instead of talking about “oligarchy,” Sanders could have told us that “we should not let a few greedy people rule our country,” which is what he meant. “Oligarchy“ is a big, fancy, ideological word that most people never use in conversation.

Likewise, instead of “incapable of addressing these crises,” Sanders could have said something like, “unable to face our problems.”

I ran a quick readability survey of Sanders’ speech. He averaged almost 20 words a sentence, instead of 10-12 words per sentence, as I might recommend to a student. The speech rated at the 11th grade level on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level measurement. That would be fine if you could count on the voters to be high school and college graduates, but we know that many of them are not. 

Let’s compare that to Donald Trump’s most recent speech, the prepared remarks that he gave at a press conference at one of his many golf clubs. Trump averaged just under 14 words per sentence, with a six grade reading level. That’s much more accessible than the way Sanders expresses himself. Is it any wonder that many Americans feel the Democrats speak over their heads? No, I don’t want Democrats to start calling people names the way Trump does, or to spew ridiculous conspiracy theories. But Democrats could learn to speak in a conversational style and make their ideas user-friendly.

Ideology wins you a handful of voters, but it won’t get you to the majority. 

Earlier Post: Kristen Urquiza's DNC Speech


Thank you to the good people at rev.com for quickly preparing a verbatim transcript based on what Sanders actually said rather than his prepared text.