Don't Blame Bobby Jindal, Blame the Consultants

Yep, you read right. I said blame the consultants.

Much has been said about the content of Jindal’s rebuttal – sharp, ridiculous, Obama-bashing, ineffective, amateurish. The list goes on, but I didn’t even get far enough into the speech to make that kind of assessment the first time I attempted to watch. Why? There were several communication failures that served as road blocks throughout, making it very difficult to process the message he wanted to convey. 

Since my LinkedIn connections don’t dip into the inner circles of the Jindal camp, I will simply assume for the time being that he has several people working for him in this capacity. The first test of the year has just been graded and it’s already looking like they might need to sign up for summer school. 

Problem #1 His approach. The video below is clipped a bit, but Jindal somewhat awkwardly emerges from the deep and begins speaking like he is in a life insurance commercial. 

Solution: Do not walk in. Jindal should have been stationary throughout the speech.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAHRKlh7RQ&feature=related]

Problem #2 Location. I haven’t watched Jindal speak very much, and because of the way he entered, I am now very intrigued by where he is standing. A few questions come to mind: Where is that? What’s going on in the background? 

ALERT: Your viewer is now distracted. 

Solution: Deliver these types of speeches from familiar locales. Decent option: Seated in a living room. Best option: Seated in your office. Even if I have never seen this location, I will immediately recognize it, file it mentally and begin to focus on the new data being sent my way – the content of your speech. 

Problem #3 Gestures. In the first 25 seconds of the address, Jindal has already bobbed his right hand up and down 35 times. Before he’s fully finished the intro, I am focused on his hand. 

ALERT: Your viewer is now VERY distracted. 

I’ll admit that I need to work on gestures, but I help myself out when I can. Jindal has the benefit of the camera’s tight, close-up shot. He could have put both of his hands in his pocket, but there’s a better option. 

Solution: See solution #2. Deliver this address from your desk, clasp your hands and get it going.  

Problem #4 Awkward Tone. Jindal’s story about the government response to Katrina did not match his tone at all. There were even a few awkward laughs.  I know that these laughs were most likely from situational disbelief, but the point is that they just didn’t work well. At some point after 2:45, I got this eery feeling that I was watching a very awkward episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood….turns out that I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. 

I didn’t expect this speech to be perfect and/or match up to Obama, who has been described as Reagan-esque in his oratory skills, but if his consultants had given him the once over while he rehearsed, I’m confident they would have noticed and fixed the issues I picked up on. 

For this reason, Jindal gets a public speaking pass this time around.