No no no no no no no no no no no. Before you start throwing bags of flaming dog crap at me, it’s not what you think.
I’ve been saying for a while now that I get it. I don’t agree with the content, but I get it. Trump talks in a way that reaches everyone. He’s not a politician talking down to the regular everyday person. I couldn’t describe it beyond that. I couldn’t give you the why or how it works. However, Nerdwriter has explained it further.
One of the interesting points of the video is the Flesch Reading Ease test. The Boston Globe did a study in which they put all 2016 presidential candidate speeches through the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Test which gives you the grade level of something you’re reading. For instance, this article is considered easy to read when put through the test.
Guess who was at the bottom with a speech that fourth graders should easily understand? Yep. Trump. Carson’s speech was at about a sixth-grade reading level. Isn’t it interesting that Carson was #2 in the polls a while back?
There’s more to it than that. Trump uses simple sentences. He doesn’t use complex sentences. He uses the second person and addresses the viewer with commands. His supporters believe Pres. Obama is a weak man. So, someone issuing simple yet forceful commands would be appealing as the commander in chief, right? According to Nerdwriter, Trump is:
“…really good at framing negative response as an overreaction that was subsequently realized as such.”
Most importantly, he ends his sentences with words such as harm, dead, die, injured, bedlam, point, problem, you. These are the words people’s ears and brains pick up on and remember. Nerdwriter explained:
“A lot of times he will rearrange the beginning of a sentence awkwardly so he can end strong.”
Here’s the example they use.
This is the more natural version.
“…you know, you can’t solve a problem until you find out what the root cause is.”
How Trump says it:
“…you know, you can’t solve a problem until you find out what’s the root cause.”
Go to your mirror. Say both. Report back. What did you find?
Basically, he keeps it simple. He repeats the same things a lot. Advertisers use this in television commercials, radio commercials, ads on the Internet, etc. Go to a speech and count how many times he says the word tremendous.
So, great. He’s good at constructing sentences and getting people’s attention. So, why does it work so well? He’s playing on the frustrations of Republicans.
Nerdwriter:
“You can’t call him smart or well informed. The best salesman could sell you a TV without knowing anything about it because the TV isn’t what matters. What matters is you. And if you are an American citizen who for years has listened to politicians sound sophisticated while accomplishing nothing you might just be primed for something that is everything they are not. But the next time you feel like Donald Trump has a point, do yourself a favor and look at his words.”
Check out the full video below!
Featured image by Ninian Reid via Flickr under CC 2.0.
