Hearts & Minds: Triumph of the BLOCK CAPITALS communicator

Donald Trump speaks to people in a way other politicians do not. He connects with them in a manner that others can’t.

That is the secret of his success as a communicator. He uses block capitals. He speaks in short sentences, often repeating his simple message over and over. He exaggerates his key words, often drawing them out slowly. Those listening understand and remember what’s he said.

He’s not afraid to show emotion, how he is feeling. He feeds off his crowd, picking someone out like a good stand-up, making them laugh. His stance is open and confident. He swaggers. He makes gestures with his hands, displaying energy and passion. He tells easily grasped stories about himself.

There is much more. Not all of it is good – he can be rude and crude and contemptuous, abusive and bullying. But that’s how people are, they can forgive him and relate to him for that.

He is a non-politician who doesn’t do what politicians do. And that’s why he is loved, how he wins. He stands out because he is different, because he offers something that the political class don’t.

In this election, he did not do the traditional set-piece interview, he avoided the major networks. Instead, he chose to talk to Joe Rogan on his podcast. He knows the media that folk are getting – the fact that Rogan has more followers than CBS News. They focus on winning over the quality newspapers, liking their convoluted op-eds; he uses X.

Celebrities endorsed his opponents. No matter, they operate in an unworldly, glittering space, privileged and distant from normal lives.

There is much to learn from Trump. The liberal, college-educated establishment may sneer and disagree, of course. To which his response would be ‘there you go’. That’s his point. He tells it how it is, how he sees it, without qualification, minus the apologetic sub-clause.

In the UK, only Tony Blair in recent years displayed the same ability to relate. He was coming from a different place; his background was different. He did not have the same directness forged in the cauldron of negotiating deals in Manhattan real estate. But like Trump, Blair was also relatively new to politics. His skills were honed during a short stint as a barrister, appealing to a court. Blair’s ability to express, to say ‘Queen of hearts’ on the death of Princess Diana when the rest were stymied by custom and protocol, put him streets ahead.

That’s why Blair won three elections in a row, that’s why Trump has triumphed in two.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.