The Lost Art of Heckling: How to Heckle and Not Sound Like an Idiot

I've been writing about heckling. Heckling can be a great way to keep speakers on their toes. Heckling is often awful, but can be sharp and helpful. But, as I wrote earlier, good heckling differs from the bad heckling that infests our public speaking venues. Do you want to heckle well? Do you want your heckles to be sharp and effective? Here are some heckling rules:

First, a heckle should be quick. The heckler’s job is to give feedback, not to disrupt the speech. Let’s top heckling out at three seconds. Two seconds would be better. Just a few words. Consider the boorish heckling that interrupted Governor Mike DeWine’s speech a few days ago: the hecklers chanted “Do something!” for more than two minutes. That heckling, which interfered with the communication, was inexcusable.  The hecklers only needed to shout, “Do something!” once. If they didn’t get their point across, they could wait a couple minutes and shout, “Do something!” again, but, again, just once. No chanting. They would have had a better emotional effect and would not have made themselves look so rude. There were people who wanted to listen to DeWine speak and the hecklers should not have prevented them from doing so.

Second, a heckler can use standard formulas: “hear, hear,” “shame,” “no.” There are several ways to do this. If somebody on your own side says something you like, you can shout, “hear, hear.” Can't go wrong. Sometimes you can shout approval to a random bit of what the other side says: the speaker says, “the other party wants to take away our assault rifles,” and you, wanting to get rid of assault rifles, can immediately shout, “hear, hear,” probably getting a quick chuckle.

Third, if a speaker wants to vary from the standard heckles, it’s great to think of something witty. When President Ronald Reagan made the mistake of speaking to the Canadian Parliament in 1987, the Honorable Svend Robinson heckled him: “Stop Star Wars now!” Star Wars was the popular name for Reagan’s proposed anti-missile defense. You had to think twice about that one, did you? That was the whole point! Maybe the United States could have saved a lot of money if someone in Congress had ridiculed Reagan’s ill-conceived idea right on the spot.

Fourth, a heckler should never, ever attack the speaker’s gender, sexual preference, race or ethnicity, personal life, manner of dress, or physical appearance. Heckling should strike to the issues and only the issues. 

Fifth, respect the occasion. Don't heckle at a prayer service, funeral, or other somber occasion. Also, don't waste your breath on a heckle if the audience and speaker are acting as if they are dead or asleep. You can't help anybody in that situation. Heckling Commerce Secretary Wilbur Smith, whose speeches are the very definition of boring, would be a waste of oxygen.

Sixth, when a speaker responds to hecklers, one might remember this ancient principle: when people attack you with humor, make a serious response.

Most heckling is awful. But believe it or not, good heckling can improve our communication.

Hear! Hear! Three Cheers for (Tasteful and Witty) Heckling

I promised to explain how heckling can be good. Most heckling is awful (see my previous posts here and here), and few American speakers or audiences have the skill, cultural background, and training to deal with heckling. But, if handled well, heckling can correct errors, force speakers to stick to the issue, and improve speaker-audience interaction.

Heckling is one way to make communication two-way. If the speaker says something that the audience likes, they can call out “yes!” This happens in many churches: the preacher says something that the people approve, and they shout “Amen!” That’s heckling, of a sort, and is usually very positive.

In the parliaments of British Commonwealth nations, the honorable members deploy several standard heckling methods. If the speaker says something they like, they can shout, “hear, hear!” If the speaker suggests something awful, they can shout, “shame, shame.” Suppose the speaker asks, “Will we ever surrender to terrorism?” The audience can shout “never,” increasing their solidarity.

When I took a class in the history of British public speaking during my postgraduate studies at Northern Illinois University, the late Professor Margaret Wood explained that a demagogue like Joseph McCarthy might never arise in the United Kingdom. You may recall that in 1950 McCarthy gave a speech in West Virginia in which he said, “I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.” On other occasions, McCarthy said that his list had 87 names, 57 names, or other numbers. Rumors circulated that all he had was a laundry list. McCarthy never presented any names and gave no evidence to support his conspiracy theory. Yet his wild accusations spread disorder and suspicion across the United States.

Anyway, Professor Wood’s point was that in the United Kingdom, where people knew how to heckle, somebody would have shouted, “Name three of them, Joe.” McCarthy could not have named even one communist in the State Department, and his conspiracy theory and reign of terror over our country might have stopped right then and there. Sheer embarrassment would have ended McCarthy’s paranoid tirades. The heckler would not need to chant. The heckler would not need to disrupt the proceedings for more than a couple seconds. A single quick question would have done the job. Note that refuting McCarthy a day or two later, as was done, would not have the same effect as calling him out on the spot. Asking the question in a news interview a week later would not have the same effect, for McCarthy would have the opportunity to dissemble and wiggle away. No, a single, sharp, precise heckle right on the spot would have been the solution.

Other advantages of heckling: tasteful, witty, concise heckling increases audience involvement and helps them stay interested. The speaker can get precise, immediate feedback as to the audience’s reaction. This gives the speaker a chance to answer the audience’s concerns, to develop points about which the audience is unsure, and to establish more human contact with them.

In a survey, members of the Canadian Parliament said that heckling was a problem, although most of them admitted doing it. They said they heckled when a speaker was “spreading misinformation.” They often heckled “in response to incorrect facts or perceived untruths, listing words like ‘lies,’ ‘shame,’ or ‘rubbish,’ as things they say.” They often heckle when they think the speaker is too partisan. Former Canadian Speaker of the House, Andrew Scheer, agreed that very partisan speakers are often heckled, while speakers who make statements and ask questions “in a factual way” find that the House listens quietly and respectfully.

Let’s compare that to the United States Congress. There is little heckling in today’s Congress because, for the most part, the members are speaking to an empty room and their only purpose is to create a transcript or video that they can show to their constituents. Little real deliberation takes place.  (As part of my research about President William McKinley’s public speaking, I read transcripts of his speeches to Congress. In those days, Congress still engaged in real debate, and McKinley handled hecklers thoughtfully and with respect.)

Anyway, heckling is a communication art, and, like all arts, requires skill, knowledge, and practice. Audiences who wish to master it should study it.

P.S.: Credit to Professor Kurt Ritter, a debate coach and master heckler, from whom I learned much.

P.P.S.: My publications about William McKinley don’t actually cover heckling, but if you click the “William D. Harpine’s Publications” button above, you can learn about what I did write.

Hecklers Have Been Doing an Awful Job of Heckling: Ibraheem S. Samirah, Trump Protestors, and the Hapless Joe Wilson. If You Want to Heckle, Do It Right!

Let’s talk about heckling: the fine art of cutting a speaker down to size with a couple well-chosen words. 

We have heard some awful heckling. American audiences that have pride need to step up their game.  Or, if they can't learn to heckle right, maybe they should stop trying. Whichever.

Bad Heckling Example #1: Virginia General Assembly Delegate Ibraheem S. Samirah interrupted President Donald Trump’s recent speech in Jamestown, Virginia (one of my favorite places in the whole world, ever) by standing up smirking while holding a folding sign that read: “Go Back to Your Corrupted Home – Deport Hate – Unite My Family.” He wore a nice suit with a silly bow tie. Officers escorted him away, still smirking. Republicans and members of the crowd promptly cheered, “Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.”  Republican leaders cursed about him on Twitter and said that his behavior was “inconsistent with common decency.” Hmm, well, the pancake accuses the crepe of being flat, or whatever metaphor you like.

Now, Trump haters on social media thought that Samirah was great, and Trump lovers cursed at him. I don’t think we added much to public dialogue either way. The Republican responses were, if anything, worse than the original heckling.

Boring. Dull. Unimaginative. Crude. Not funny. And no one got cut down to size.

Bad Heckling Example #2:

Protesters interrupted Trump’s rally in Cincinnati last night. They shouted incomprehensible pro-immigrant slogans and waved signs saying things like “Immigrants Built America.” Well, I agree that immigrants built America, but that doesn’t mean that the protestors were competent hecklers. Drowning them out, Trump supporters shouted, “USA! USA! USA!” Punches were thrown in and outside the arena. I guess people enjoyed getting in one another’s faces. But both sides were unpolished and predictable. 

It didn't even look like fun. If you want to heckle, have a good time doing it. And although some people were humiliated, no one was cut down to size. Indeed, Trump beamed during the incident, so the protestors' purpose went down to defeat. Hecklers are supposed to make the speaker look worse, not better.

Bad Heckling Example #3

For the worst, crudest, stupidest, most embarrassing, most pathetic, and sadly, most effective example of heckling in recent American history, we need to remember Congressional Joe Wilson of South Carolina. President Barack Obama was speaking to Congress in 2009 about his proposed health care plan. Obama correctly mentioned that illegal immigrants would not be allowed to gain benefits. Full of paranoid conspiracy theories and bereft of knowledge, Wilson shouted “You Lie!” He later apologized. His heckle led to a surge in campaign contributions from all over the country. Apparently being wrong and stupid but rude was exactly what his supporters wanted. Or, at least, his many supporters thought it was OK for him to be wrong if he was also disgusting.

Even after the “You Lie” incident, there were people who failed to realize that Wilson was a fool. Years later, however, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen removed all doubt. He tricked* Wilson into advocating arming kindergarten students (i.e., specially trained toddlers called “kinderguardians”) with firearms so they could protect their classmates. 

However, note I that I lived happily in South Carolina for many years, and I assure the reader that, mindless though he may be, Wilson is not even close to being the dumbest member of Congress from that lovely state.

So—heckling can be an art. This blog post has told three stories of terrible heckling.

The moral is: if you want to heckle somebody, try to be witty, brief, and sharp. Otherwise, you’ll just sound stupid. You’ll never sound as stupid as Joe Wilson—that is too high a bar—but you’ll sound stupid enough.

Believe it or not, I had heckling lessons in college. Yes, you read that right. Heckling lessons. From two different professors at two different schools. No, the heckling lessons were not a pile of liberal propaganda. And, no, they were not a waste of time. I’ll write more about that when I feel like it. Stay tuned!

* Yes, Wilson got tricked by a master trickster. Still, how can a public official have such poor judgment? Good grief.  

Heckling and Anti-Heckling in Joe Biden’s February 7, 2023 State of the Union Address: The Republicans Fooled Only Themselves

Joe Biden at 2023 State of the Union

At last night’s State of the Union Address, delivered to the United States Congress, President Joe Biden proved that bullies never win. The rhetorical issue was heckling. Biden correctly accused some Republicans of seeking to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. Conservative firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene heckled, “liar!” Then, in a brilliant rhetorical move, Biden promptly took Social Security and Medicare cuts completely out of the national discourse. Be careful when you heckle . . . for effective heckling requires great skill, while the speaker always gets the last word.

As a matter of public speaking skill, Biden’s exchange worked because he adapted to his audience and responded to the moment. Helpfully, Biden had those obnoxious things—facts—mostly on his side. The Republicans’ heckling failed, not just because they were rude, but also because they were unprepared to discuss policy. By the time he was finished, Biden not only turned the tables on the Republicans' heckling, but, for the moment, the Republican Party’s clumsy attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare.

 

So, here is what Biden said and how the Republicans heckled him

About halfway through the speech, Biden brought up the debt limit crisis, Social Security, and Medicare: 

“Let us commit here tonight that the full faith and credit of the United States of America will never, ever be questioned. Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage — I get it — unless I agree to their economic plans. All of you at home should know what those plans are. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I am not saying that is a majority. Anybody who doubts it, contact my office and I will give you a copy of the proposal.” [italics added] 

A large group of Republicans promptly booed. Greene shouted “liar.”

Biden quickly dropped his hammer:

“I am glad you see it. I enjoy conversation. That means if Congress doesn’t keep the programs the way they are, those programs will go away. I don’t think it is a majority of you, I don’t even think it is significant. I am politely not naming them, but it is being proposed by some of you. Folks, the idea is that we are not going to be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we do not respond.” [italics added]

A bunch of Democrats then cheered.

Seeing no reason to quit while he was winning, Biden then pointed out the (sudden) bipartisan agreement:

“So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare off the books now, right?” [italics added] 

Bang! Taking advantage of the hecklers, Biden shoved the Republicans’ main talking point right off the table. He then announced that the Republicans had reached a bipartisan, indeed, unanimous agreement:

“All right. We got unanimity. Social Security and Medicare are a lifeline for millions of seniors. Americans have been paying into them with every single paycheck since they started working. So tonight, let’s all agree — and we apparently are — let’s stand up for seniors. Stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare. Those benefits belong to the American people. They earned them. If anyone tries to cut Social Security — which apparently no one is going to do. If anyone tries to cut Medicare, I will stop them. I will veto it. [italics added]

"I will not let Medicare be taken away, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. But apparently that will not be a problem.”

“But apparently that will not be a problem” sounded suspiciously like gloating. Grasping the moment’s importance, Biden emphasized that both sides had now agreed. The Republicans agreed with Biden by booing and heckling. How remarkable. Note that Biden also summarized why Medicare and Social Security made a big difference for Americans. He reminded Congress that American workers have paid into these programs with “every single paycheck.” He promised that he would stop anyone who tried to cut these programs. Time for a victory lap! The debt limit battle was now over except for some mopping up and handwringing.


What about heckling?

Now, witty, clever, and to-the-point heckling is a time-honored rhetorical tradition. Nevertheless, my graduate school mentor Kurt Ritter insisted that boorish heckling should never be tolerated. Biden brilliantly not only shut the boorish hecklers down, but he actually used their heckling against them to nail down his policy proposals.

"OK, Boomer:" Chlöe Swarbrick Teaches Us How to Put a Heckler Down Flat

The Lost Art of Heckling: How to Heckle and Not Sound Like an Idiot

Hear! Hear! Three Cheers for (Tasteful and Witty) Heckling

A Tale of Two Heckles: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Jabs Kevin McCarthy - And Resets the National Debate

Did Republicans really want to cut Medicare and Social Security?

The fallback position when Greene shouted “liar!” was for Republicans to pretend that they had never wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare. That, on the one hand, is good for policy. Medicare and Social Security cuts have now been swept off the bargaining table. But had they threatened to cut Social Security and Medicare? Of course they had. And when Republicans denied that they wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare, well, they themselves were the liars. Let’s look at that.

Let’s start with basic math.

Math shows that the massive cuts that Republicans seek can only be obtained by cutting “entitlement” programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. (See the Treasury Department chart.) We know perfectly well that Republicans will never vote to cut National Defense. Discretionary spending (national parks, border enforcement, the FBI, and so forth) represents only a small part of federal expenditures. That leaves entitlement cuts. Policy-wise, Republicans have painted themselves into a corner: their elderly voting base depends on Social Security and Medicare, not to mention Medicaid (which didn’t come up yesterday). Tax cuts for the rich have been a hallmark of Republican policy for more than 40 years. Fiscal responsibility, by which they mean balancing the budget like a family checkbook, has been a hallmark of Republican rhetoric since forever. Alas, those goals don’t add up, setting the stage for Biden’s anti-heckling.

Do Republicans seek Social Security and Medicare cuts?

Oh, yes, despite Greene’s heckle, a powerful Republican core has long sought to rip up Social Security and Medicare. In 2010, for example, conservative Senator Mike Lee said this on video:

“I’m here right now to tell you one thing you probably have never heard from a politician: it will be my objective to phase out Social Security, to pull it up from the roots and get rid of it.”

Liars, be warned: in the 21st Century, there’s always a video!

The Talking Points Disease: The Sad Case of Mike Lee's Have More Babies Speech

Lee is not alone. Last summer, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned that the United States needs to make cuts (“reforms”) in “Medicare and Social Security and other entitlement programs.” He absurdly said that “entitlement reform is a must for us not to become Greece.” Graham correctly noted that discretionary funding can’t be cut enough to balance the budget.

Senator Graham and the Word Mystery of Entitlement Reform

Indeed, just last week, former Vice President Mike Pence brought up a DOA proposal to replace Social Security with private investments for future retirees. Ludicrously, Pence called this a “modest reform.”

Why did the Republicans collapse?

So, yes, many Republicans want to chop up Social Security and Medicare. One presumes that this is because their anti-government doctrine requires them to oppose entitlements. All the same, their voting  base is elderly, stuffing the Republicans into a self-created quandary. Reacting, they neither took a coherent position nor did they defend their ideas. Instead, they heckled. Now, effective heckling needs to be witty and intelligent. The Republican’s heckling was neither. I very much fear that the Republican Party has become so enamored of its own dogmatic talking points that they are no longer either willing or able to conduct even the simplest policy analysis. Lindsey Graham’s careless interview expressed a tiny bit of truth. If, indeed, the United States wants to balance the federal budget entirely by making cuts, Medicare and Social Security need to be on the table.

That begs two important questions. First, is balancing the federal budget an important policy goal? Although politicians act as if it is, knowledgeable economists, liberal and conservative alike, do not see this as a simple issue. Second, why is taxing billionaires such a terrible idea? There are no easy answers in economics. We fall into the abyss if we pretend otherwise.

Do Republicans still want to cut Social Security and Medicare?

What a silly question. Will they give up just because Biden bludgeoned them at the State of the Union? Of course they aren’t giving up. Biden humiliated them and temporarily shut them down and will now win the debt limit fight, but that doesn’t mean that Republicans have finished.

Remarkably, even after the Republican debacle at the State of the Union speech, Jim Geraghty, writing for the National Review Online, which is the closest that we have to a responsible conservative publication, responded that Democrats and Republicans alike were in “collective denial” about the need to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. Geraghty cited official figures that Medicare and Social Security would eventually be unable to pay full benefits.

Just as promptly, in the same publication, Philip Klein explained that what he called fiscal responsibility required cutting Social Security and Medicare. Klein complained about the “grotesque bipartisan moment.” Horrified, not by the boorish heckling, but by the way Republicans caved, Klein said: 

“There were plenty of things to dislike in President Biden’s State of the Union speech, but the most grotesque moment actually was one of the most bipartisan: when both Republicans and Democrats stood with Biden to applaud the idea of not touching Social Security and Medicare, which both desperately need to be pared if there is any hope of the United States escaping a fiscal crisis.” [italics added] 

Before I get back to public speaking issues, let’s remember two obvious math points:

First, one way to make sure that Social Security and Medicare will be funded in the future is to cut benefits. That obviously continues to be the conservative agenda.

Second, increased revenue accomplishes the same goal. Could we tax the billionaires, for example, as Biden advocated in his speech?


Conclusion

So, the Republicans’ heckling failed, not only because they were rude, not just because they were not witty, but also because they failed to inform themselves. Not only were they uninformed about basic economics, but, worse, they also did not even know their own public policy positions.

In contrast, Biden’s anti-heckling offered basic facts. He cited the Republicans’ own bargaining position. Once the Republicans heckled themselves into a corner, Biden tightened the issue down with force. He said, not once, not twice, but over and over, that he was glad the two sides had reached unanimity. He literally tricked the Republicans into bipartisanship! In the face of the Republicans' heckling, Biden remained upbeat, positive, and complimentary of his opponents. 

The United States still faces a debt limit squabble, but the Republicans’ negotiators now face a big problem, a deep, self-inflicted wound that incapacitates their position. They hurt themselves because they did not know how to heckle (or, in this case, when not to heckle). If they had just zipped up their mouths, they could have continued with their policy goals. Biden in contrast, demonstrated extraordinary anti-heckling technique.

“I enjoy conversation,” Biden said. All communication entails interaction. Politicians forget this basic rule at their peril. 

________________

P.S.: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy had warned his caucus to behave themselves during Biden's speech. It didn’t help.

Images: White House webpage, US Department of the Treasury