{"id":24685,"date":"2024-04-18T12:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=24685&post_type=story"},"modified":"2024-04-18T12:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:25:00","slug":"understanding-political-speak","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Political Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every fourth year is said to be the most important one in the history of America. We know this because the politicians tell us. They also tell us, \u201cThe American people deserve [fill in the blank]!\u201d and \u201cI can promise you this: [Fill in a longer blank]!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie Wheeler is not an easy sell when it comes to political verbiage, whether it comes from a candidate, the media or friends. The director of writing and rhetoric programs at UCF<\/a> believes we can too easily bite on any phrases that follow \u201cMark my words!\u201d (\u201cTake our country back!\u201d \u201cWar on the middle class!\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should all be aware not only of what politicians are saying, but of what they\u2019re not saying,\u201d says Wheeler, who trained her ear on spoken words as a 9-year-old baseball fan listening to sports talk in northeast Ohio.<\/p>\n

Each political party crafts a few catchphrases to help its candidate stay on track with messaging during the pressure of speeches and debates. Those phrases are specifically designed to make quick emotional connections with an audience and to make it easy for listeners to repeat to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cClever lines are red flags to me,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cThe purpose is to make us believe the candidate can help us gain a complete understanding of a complex issue in a few words. But most people don\u2019t understand where those words come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aubrey Jewett knows. Political discourse is a second language for UCF\u2019s assistant director of politics<\/a>, security and international affairs<\/a>. He was raised within the beltway of the nation\u2019s capital and later worked as a legislative analyst for the influential Florida Chamber of Commerce and as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experiences allowed me to see how political communication is framed<\/a> by people around a candidate \u2014 speechwriters, lobbyists, campaign leaders \u2014 to sell us on an issue and to motivate voters,\u201d Jewett says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe most politicians are sincere about their positions, but they need someone to package them to make them memorable. That\u2019s where polls of voters and communication specialists shape the wording. On the topic of healthcare, for example, one party uses the word \u2018access\u2019 and the other party uses \u2018socialized medicine.\u2019 It\u2019s strategic in hopes of mobilizing voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

If words and phrases created behind the scenes can lead to victory, then does it even matter which candidate says them? Wheeler\u2019s Basics of Rhetorical Traditions<\/em> class teaches students to be relatable and authentic.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor each party it\u2019s crucial to match specific messages with the candidate\u2019s personality,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cOne candidate might sound more genuine by telling stories while another candidate is better at working a crowd. Their respective strengths will dictate the words they\u2019re told to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, words alone are not enough. Success on election day essentially comes down to what Wheeler and Jewett call the all-important X factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have \u2018it,\u2019 then voters will overlook a lot,\u201d Jewett says, meaning voters often pay attention to everything but words. \u201cThe 1960 presidential debate is the classic example of how the nonverbal can make or break an election.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that debate, most viewers who saw the tan, pleasant John F. Kennedy on TV favored him to the pale, sweaty Richard Nixon, who was recovering from the flu. But most people who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon won.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians can use all kinds of methods to connect with voters,\u201d Jewett says. \u201cSometimes carefully crafted words work, and sometimes they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wheeler urges all of us to focus after hearing a politician say, \u201cLet me make myself clear!\u201d Then perhaps we can decipher what she gleans with her trained ears. \u201cThe message might be meaningful,\u201d she says, \u201cor it might mean nothing at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":24867,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[1669,341,287,1703,1701,1702,1670],"class_list":["post-24685","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aubrey-jewett","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-department-of-writing-and-rhetoric","tag-school-of-politics","tag-security-and-international-affairs","tag-stephanie-wheeler","issues-spring-2024"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-FB-1200x630-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeakTW-1600x900-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/\",\"name\":\"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-18T12:25:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"A torn up image of hands shaking, representing the importance of connections during a political campaign.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Understanding Political Speak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of University of Central Florida\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"University of Central Florida\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?","description":"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?","og_description":"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-FB-1200x630-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?","twitter_description":"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeakTW-1600x900-1.jpg","twitter_site":"@UCF","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/","name":"Why Do Politicians Speak the Way They Do?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-04-18T12:25:00+00:00","description":"UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use, which is especially important to know in an election year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"A torn up image of hands shaking, representing the importance of connections during a political campaign."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding Political Speak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of University of Central Florida","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/understanding-political-speak\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"University of Central Florida"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"Two UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use.","story_description":"Two UCF experts in rhetoric and politics take us behind the words candidates use.","story_thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2024\/04\/Pegasus-Spr24-PoliticalSpeak-1200x800-1-263x175.jpg","width":263,"height":175},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/24685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/24685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24989,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/24685\/revisions\/24989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}