CHAPTER 3
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Back in 2004, the notion of a 2008 Obama quest for the U.S. presidency would have been termed improbable at best. Many Americans would have scoffed, “He’ll never get past his name!” The last name that sounds like “Osama;” that middle name, Hussein. Not to mention his race. Yet by 2008, Barack Obama was widely hailed as “a world-transforming, redemptive figure”1 with a strong bid for the White House, whose victory could help heal a world long split along white-black, North-South, and rich-poor divides. His 2008 presidential victory was indeed a milestone in U.S. history. How did Barack Obama manage to break down barriers that could have served as insurmountable obstacles for many other aspiring leaders? How did he manage to draw and unite millions of supporters from widely varying backgrounds during both his 2008 and 2012 presidential runs? What has allowed him to break down barriers and build bridges among leaders even in international arenas?
One of the answers lies in Obama’s distinguished ability to use communication to bring people together despite their differences and to establish common ground. The ability to unite people, build camaraderie, and promote a sense of shared goals is vital for every highly successful leader. Obama’s skill in this area is particularly deep, as manifested by the magnitude of his political achievements. His success in claiming the 2008 Democratic nomination for president ranks as exceptional by way of world history. In the U.S. context alone, it remains remarkable how Obama managed to unite during 2008 and 2012 such a highly diverse political coalition, which has included white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, students, academics, soccer moms, policy makers and entrepreneurs of all races and ages. Obama put forth the message many times that “this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white. It is about the past versus the future.”2 But how has he been able to cast aside divisions? This chapter explores the specific communication practices that have enabled Barack Obama to successfully tear down barriers and forge ties to many disparate groups.
ACHIEVING TRANSCENDENCE
Barack Obama’s highly effective communication practices have allowed him to achieve a high level of “transcendence.” Obama has alluded to this himself, as he has insisted on many occasions that once people get to know him, they usually “come around.” And how do people “get to know him”? Oration. Speeches. Public remarks. Because Obama’s communication is so highly effective, he has been able over the years to grow his support exponentially.
Several specific communication practices help account for Obama’s success in inspiring a diverse set of people to band together, focusing not on their differences but on their commonalities. There are valuable lessons to be learned as we examine how Obama acknowledges differences but focuses on shared values, dreams, histories, and experiences and the way he peppers his remarks with words that resonate, pulling from a powerful lexicon of political rhetoric, shared principles, biblical truths, and words of celebrated icons. These techniques have allowed him a pave many paths to success both in the United States and abroad. Below, we explore Obama’s effective communication techniques.
ACKNOWLEDGING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Barack Obama has achieved tremendous success in shattering conventional wisdom and breaking historic barriers. In a 2004 interview, Obama pointed to several sources of his success, explaining why many people considered him an attractive Democratic candidate and convention speaker. He noted the way he had won the Illinois U.S. Senate primary election months earlier. “We defied conventional wisdom about where votes come from because the assumption is, whites won’t vote for blacks, or suburban folks won’t vote for city people, or downstate won’t vote for upstate. … We were able to put together a coalition that said, you know, people are willing to give anybody a shot if they’re speaking to them in a way that makes sense.”3 Obama also reiterated subsequently that people “are more interested in the message than the color of the messenger.”4
But many leaders have failed in efforts to build such broad coalitions in the past. Obama’s success in such efforts involved more than good luck. He employs specific communication practices that have helped him to tear down obstacles and forge ties. One such practice: Obama openly acknowledges sources of potential discomfort early on. When he begins his public remarks, he often seems to act according to the principle, “If there’s an elephant in the room, acknowledge it.”
During his 2008 presidential bid, when many Americans were first learning about him, the elephants in the room often included his race, his “funny name,” and the fact that his father came from a developing part of the world and once lived in a hut. Given the history of race in the United States, this background might have presented an insurmountable obstacle for leaders less skilled than Obama.
Rather than ignoring such issues of potential discomfort, Obama is adept at acknowledging them head-on, often with touches of humor. For instance, when campaigning for the U.S. presidency, Obama joked that all too often people found his name confusing and accidentally called him by other, more familiar names like “Alabama” or “Yo mama.”5 Obama also referred to himself as “a skinny kid with a funny name.” As he acknowledged earlier at the 2004 convention, “Let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely.” Obama’s comfort in acknowledging the elephants in a room eases the comfort of those to whom he speaks. This, in turn, sets him free to redirect attention skillfully to areas of common ground.
Just as this served him well earlier in his political career, after assuming the office of U.S. president, this same approach helped Obama move toward designated goals. During his historic 2009 speech about U.S. relations with countries in the Middle East, for instance, Obama acknowledged candidly the grievances that plagued those relationships, yet he also set forth a challenge to open a new chapter in these relationships. The speech was well received throughout the Middle East. Obama shows that as a public speaker, it is useful to try to acknowledge sources of potential discomfort early on and in a forthright manner. Doing so can aid a quest to move beyond issues that divide in order to build ties and foster greater unity.
STRESSING COMMON DREAMS AND VALUES
As Obama adeptly recasts the dialogue to stress commonalities rather than differences, he focuses on key aspects such as shared dreams and values. Consider this example:
[I] finally took my first trip to his tiny village in Kenya and asked my grandmother if there was anything left from [my father]. She opened a trunk and took out a stack of letters, which she handed to me.
There were more than thirty of them, all handwritten by my father, all addressed to colleges and universities across America, all filled with the hope of a young man who dreamed of more for his life. And his prayer was answered when he was brought over to study in this country 6 [Emphases provided.]
In these remarks, Obama focuses our attention on the hope of a young man and the prayers that were answered—things to which average Americans can relate. The aspects of his father’s experience that would serve to separate Obama from many Americans—the hut and Kenya—fade in our mind as Obama steers our attention to the areas of commonality. Aspiring leaders can learn much from this. When preparing remarks, consider this: What common ground elements can you bring to the fore to establish strong ties to your audience? How can you skillfully direct attention to areas of common ground rather than keep the audience focused on elements that divide?
We can also learn much from Obama’s skill in establishing common ground among diverse sets of people as we observe how he focuses away from traditional societal divisions—class, race, ethnicity, region, and religion—and focuses toward shared values and dreams. On March 18, 2004, the New York Times quoted Obama as saying, “I have an unusual name and an exotic background, but my values are essentially American values.”7 Obama promotes this theme vigorously and uses shared values—such as strong work ethic, belief in the American dream, and desire for education—as the basis for relating to a broad array of the American public. Consider his remarks at the Associated Press annual luncheon in Washington, DC, in April 2008:
It doesn’t matter if they’re Democrats or Republicans; whether they’re from the smallest towns or the biggest cities; whether they hunt or they don’t; whether they go to church, or temple, or mosque, or not. We may come from different places and have different stories, but we share common hopes and one very American dream.
That is the dream I am running to help restore in this election. If I get the chance, that is what I’ll be talking about from now until November. That is the choice that I’ll offer the American people—four more years of what we had for the last eight, or fundamental change in Washington.
People may be bitter about their leaders and the state of our politics, but beneath that they are hopeful about what’s possible in America. That’s why they leave their homes on their day off, or their jobs after a long day of work, and travel—sometimes for miles, sometimes in the bitter cold—to attend a rally or a town hall meeting held by Senator Clinton, or Senator McCain, or myself. Because they believe that we can change things. Because they believe in that dream.
I know something about that dream. I wasn’t born into a lot of money. I was raised by a single mother with the help of my grandparents, who grew up in small-town Kansas, went to school on the GI Bill, and bought their home through an FHA loan. My mother had to use food stamps at one point, but she still made sure that, through scholarships, I got a chance to go to some of the best schools around, which helped me get into some of the best colleges around, which gave me loans that Michelle and I just finished paying not all that many years ago.
In other words, my story is a quintessentially American story. It’s the same story that has made this country a beacon for the world—a story of struggle and sacrifice on the part of my forebearers and a story of overcoming great odds. I carry that story with me each and every day. It’s why I wake up every day and do this, and it’s why I continue to hold such hope for the future of a country where the dreams of its people have always been possible.8
In his remarks above, Obama again joins himself firmly to the diverse audience he is addressing as he draws attention to their shared American dream. Similarly, in the example below, Obama solidifies his ties to a diverse set of Americans as he describes his family’s pursuit of the American dream and their commitment to commendable values—hard work and dedication:
This is the country that gave my grandfather a chance to go to college on the GI Bill when he came home from World War II; a country that gave him and my grandmother the chance to buy their first home with a loan from the government.
This is the country that made it possible for my mother—a single parent who had to go on food stamps at one point—to send my sister and me to the best schools in the country on scholarships.
This is the country that allowed my father-in-law—a city worker at a South Side water filtration plant—to provide for his wife and two children on a single salary. This is a man who was diagnosed at age thirty with multiple sclerosis—who relied on a walker to get himself to work. And yet, every day he went, and he labored, and he sent my wife and her brother to one of the best colleges in the nation. It was a job that didn’t just give him a paycheck, but a sense of dignity and self-worth. It was an America that didn’t just reward wealth, but the work and the workers who created it.9
As political commentator Jamal Simmons noted on June 3, 2008, Obama has succeeded in presenting his life story as a “uniquely American story. … Like Bill Clinton’s story, Ronald Reagan’s story, Harry Truman’s story. …”10 The New York Times concurred on July 28, 2004, indicating that Obama tells “a classic American story of immigration, hope, striving, and opportunity.” Given his excellent communication practices, Obama has portrayed his life’s tale as that of an American with humble beginnings making his way to extraordinary success. This has helped him connect with audiences; his life story is viewed as a classic story and it has endeared Obama to millions of Americans.
As U.S. president, during times of great importance or challenge when he has needed to reassure the American people, rally the American people, or mark an important moment in national history, Obama has made certain to stress the shared values and ideals of the American people. When issuing public comments in 2011 following the American military effort that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, for example, President Obama stated:
… today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.11
DRAWING ATTENTION TO SHARED HISTORY
When possible, Obama also stresses shared history as a way of relating to audiences. In his 2008 speech titled “A More Perfect Union,” for example, he stated:
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners—an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts—that out of many, we are truly one.12 [Emphases provided.]
While Obama acknowledges that his father was a Kenyan, he casts his father’s story as a typical American immigrant story characterized by great hope for a better future, education, hard work, and the attainment of the American dream. Obama’s references to shared history—the Depression, Patton’s army and World War II, and the bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth—help him do this convincingly. These familiar historical references help Obama establish himself as being “just like any other American.” He successfully directs the conversation away from his “funny” name and unorthodox upbringing to the many ties that bind. In doing so, Obama projects himself as firmly a part of the “we,” part of the same team as most Americans, striving for the same goals.
Consider another example, in which the specific details Obama provides help form connections with a diverse audience:
[W]hat I learned much later is that part of what made it possible for [my father to come to the United States] was an effort by the young senator from Massachusetts at the time, John F. Kennedy, and by a grant from the Kennedy Foundation to help Kenyan students pay for travel. So it is partly because of their generosity that my father came to this country, and because he did, I stand before you today—inspired by America’s past, filled with hope for America’s future, and determined to do my part in writing our next great chapter.13
In these comments, Obama uses an outstanding choice of detail to tie himself firmly to the American audience: He refers to one of the most famous American political families, taps into patriotic sentiments as he refers to the “generosity” of an American, and projects himself as “inspired by America’s past” while also representing its future.
Similarly, Obama drew attention to shared history as a means of building links to an audience at the Kennedy endorsement event in Washington, DC, in January 2008. He commented:
Today isn’t just about politics for me. It’s personal. I was too young to remember John Kennedy, and I was just a child when Robert Kennedy ran for president. But in the stories I heard growing up, I saw how my grandparents and mother spoke about them and about that period in our nation’s life—as a time of great hope and achievement. And I think my own sense of what’s possible in this country comes in part from what they said America was like in the days of John and Robert Kennedy.
I believe that’s true for millions of Americans. I’ve seen it in offices in this city where portraits of John and Robert hang on office walls or collections of their speeches sit on bookshelves. And I’ve seen it in my travels all across this country. Because no matter where I go or who I talk to, one thing I can say for certain is that the dream has never died.
The dream lives on in the older folks I meet who remember what America once was and know what America can be once again. It lives on in the young people who’ve only seen John or Robert Kennedy on TV, but are ready to answer their call.
It lives on in those Americans who refuse to be deterred by the scale of the challenges we face, who know, as President Kennedy said at this university, that “no problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
And it lives on in those Americans—young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian—who are tired of a politics that divide us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was president.
That is the dream we hold in our hearts. That is the kind of leadership we need in this country. And that is the kind of leadership I intend to offer as president.14 [Emphases provided.]
In Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, when underscoring his belief that the United States could strengthen its position as a world leader, he employed references to history to connect with listeners. He said:
Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t even there yet. NASA didn’t exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.
This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.15
Obama drew attention to shared history very effectively once again during his 2012 State of the Union address. He remarked:
Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton’s Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.
The two of them shared the optimism of a nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share—the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.
The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive….
These familiar themes have enabled Obama to break down barriers and nurture bonds. He casts aside traditional divisions and lays in their places other bases for uniting—shared values and shared history.
Notably, since assuming the role of U.S. president, Obama has succeeded in using this technique in international arenas. When seeking to help establish a new era in U.S. relations with Middle Eastern countries in 2009, President Obama helped cultivate fertile ground by drawing attention to Muslim contributions to America and how the histories of Muslims and Americans have been intertwined. He stated:
… That is what I will try to do today—to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I’m a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the Azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam….
I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco…. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they’ve excelled in our sports arenas, they’ve won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers—Thomas Jefferson—kept in his personal library.16
Obama used references to history equally effectively when he spoke before the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament in 2010. He underscored a sense of shared history as he noted:
For me and Michelle, this visit has, therefore, held special meaning. See, throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I’ve always found inspiration in the life of [Gandhi] and his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young preacher named Martin Luther King. After making his pilgrimage to India a half-century ago, Dr. King called Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance “the only logical and moral approach” in the struggle for justice and progress.17
ILLUMINATING SHARED EXPERIENCES
Another important lesson of Obama’s outstanding communication style is how he leverages shared experiences to build rapport and a strong sense of camaraderie. As we have seen, when addressing an audience, Obama searches out the common ground and deliberately directs attention to this. At times, this common ground may be limited to tangential experiences. But Obama manages to leverage even tangential experiences, using them to forge a foundation upon which to relate to an audience. Consider the example below, when Obama spoke before a group of working women. Clearly, Obama is not a working woman! But he took time to consider how he could relate to the group. The relevant questions he seemed to consider beforehand included: What is the basis of our common experiences? How can I elaborate on those common experiences—even if they are only tangential—in establishing a firm connection to the audience? Obama creates a firm connection magnificently as he uses his experience as the son of a working woman and as the husband of a working woman to illuminate common ground. He remarked:
It’s great to be back in New Mexico and to have this opportunity to discuss some of the challenges that working women are facing. Because I would not be standing before you today as a candidate for president of the United States if it weren’t for working women.
I am here because of my mother, a single mom who put herself through school, followed her passion for helping others, and raised my sister and me to believe that in America there are no barriers to success if you’re willing to work for it.
I am here because of my grandmother, who helped raised me. She worked during World War II on a bomber assembly line—she was Rosie the Riveter. Then, even though she never got more than a high school diploma, she worked her way up from her start as a secretary at a bank and ended up being the financial rock for our entire family when I was growing up.
And I am here because of my wife, Michelle, the rock of the Obama family, who worked her way up from modest roots on the South Side of Chicago, and who has juggled jobs and parenting with more skill and grace than anyone I know. Now Michelle and I want our two daughters to grow up in an America where they have the freedom and opportunity to live their dreams and raise their own families.18
In another example, Obama gave a speech before a metropolitan group in Florida. He calculated again how he could relate to the audience. What sorts of experiences or histories did he and the audience members share? How could he elaborate in a way that would create a lucid picture of himself as a candidate who understood their situations, challenges, and needs? Although the group was based in Miami, Florida, Obama pulled effectively from his prior experience as an organizer in Chicago, Illinois, establishing common ground:
This is something of a homecoming for me. Because while I stand here today as a candidate for president of the United States, I will never forget that the most important experience in my life came when I was doing what you do each day—working at the local level to bring about change in our communities.
As some of you may know, after college I went to work with a group of churches as a community organizer in Chicago so I could help lift up neighborhoods that were struggling after the local steel plants closed. And it taught me a fundamental truth that I carry with me to this day—that in this country, change comes not from the top down, but from the bottom up.19
For leaders aspiring to diminish perceived areas of division and to expand common ground, Obama’s successes demonstrate the value of taking time to identify the many bases that might serve as common ground areas. Do your listeners share common histories? Common values? Common experiences? Common goals? Shine a light on the areas of commonalities in order to build bridges and unite disparate groups of people.
EMPLOYING WORDS THAT RESONATE: THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL LEXICON
We have seen above how Obama skillfully creates a sense of “we-ness,” making himself and the audience a part of the “we” as he elaborates on common values, dreams, histories, and experiences. Buttressing this, Obama peppers his remarks with words that resonate with his audiences. Sometimes when addressing American audiences, he pulls those appropriate words from relevant political lexicons, drawing on cherished sociopolitical values. Sometimes when speaking in countries abroad, he draws on language with significance in those settings. At times, he draws on valued principles, biblical truths, and proverbial wisdom. At other times, he refers to the words of iconic figures in order to underscore his message.
Consider this example from his March 18, 2008, “A More Perfect Union” speech, when Obama responded to fiery and divisive comments of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, which threatened to undercut Obama’s assertions that he stood for a united America. Obama chose to draw on America’s rich history of political rhetoric, using words from the Declaration of Independence that resonated with the audience. Referring to the Declaration of Independence was akin to pouring buckets full of water on a fire, quenching its flames. In the single opening sentence below, Obama affirmed his patriotism and communicated his unwavering support of the ideals of unity:
“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”
Two hundred and twenty-one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars, statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution—a constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part—through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk—to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign—to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring, and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together—unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction—towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. [Emphases added.]
In this speech, Obama rooted himself firmly as a part of the “we.” He directed attention to treasured historic principles that have guided the United States in the past and affirmed his desire to help ensure that these same principles would lead the United States into a secure future. The success of speeches like this helped build his winning momentum.
When speaking abroad, Obama has shown great skill in using words that resonate with specific foreign audiences, even down to the smallest of phrases. During his historic 2009 “On a New Beginning” speech in Cairo, Egypt, for example, he began with a simple greeting that went far in creating a positive atmosphere. He said:
I’m grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I’m also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum. [Applause.]20
A simple gesture—his use of these indigenous words—resonated excellently, were received as a sign of great respect and created goodwill.
USING WORDS THAT RESONATE—BIBLICAL TRUTHS
Another practice that allows Obama to shatter barriers and construct ties effectively is his practice of referencing biblical wisdom. Obama, a Christian whose faith is dear to him, often sprinkles his public remarks with words that evoke positive feelings among other Christians: faith in things not seen; I am my brother’s keeper. Many people cherish these biblical truths and principles. The verses are familiar to their ears and resonate in their hearts. In many settings, therefore, Obama’s choice to refer to biblical verses helps him to build bridges and to establish a high level of connectedness. Just consider this excerpt from Obama’s 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address:
For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga.
A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the South Side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper—that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.21 [Emphases provided.]
Similarly, in his seminal “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia in March 2008, Obama’s biblical references served him well:
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more and nothing less than what all the world’s great religions demand—that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.”22 [Emphases provided.]
During his inaugural address in 2009, President Obama also used biblical truth to set a positive tone and connect with the American audience. He stated:
We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. [Applause.]
LEVERAGING OTHER PEOPLE’S WORDS
Drawing on the words of lauded icons has also helped Obama establish linkages to audiences. The icons he chooses are often well known to audiences, and their words are sometimes familiar. Referring to the words of carefully chosen icons or leaders helps establish an emotional connection to the audience. Here is an excerpt from Obama’s January 2008 speech:
[O]n the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:
“Unity is the great need of the hour” is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.
What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Unity is the great need of the hour—the great need of this hour.23
The poetry of King’s words, along with his iconic stature, helps to bring an emotional impact among many listeners. By drawing on such words, Obama has on many occasions related to audiences with greater effectiveness. In another example, Obama references, with great effect, Martin Luther King Jr.’s eloquent words, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice”:
Through his faith, courage, and wisdom, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., moved an entire nation. He preached the gospel of brotherhood; of equality and justice. That’s the cause for which he lived—and for which he died forty years ago today …
[I] think it’s worth reflecting on what Dr. King was doing in Memphis, when he stepped onto that motel balcony on his way out for dinner….
And what he was doing was standing up for struggling sanitation workers. For years, these workers had served their city without complaint, picking up other people’s trash for little pay and even less respect. Passersby would call them “walking buzzards,” and, in the segregated South, most were forced to use separate drinking fountains and bathrooms.
… [O]n the eve of his death, Dr. King gave a sermon in Memphis about what the movement there meant to him and to America. And in tones that would prove eerily prophetic, Dr. King said that despite the threats he’d received, he didn’t fear any man, because he had been there when Birmingham aroused the conscience of this nation. And he’d been there to see the students stand up for freedom by sitting in at lunch counters. And he’d been there in Memphis when it was dark enough to see the stars, to see the community coming together around a common purpose. So Dr. King had been to the mountaintop. He had seen the Promised Land. And while he knew somewhere deep in his bones that he would not get there with us, he knew that we would get there.
He knew it because he had seen that Americans have “the capacity,” as he said that night, “to project the ‘I’ into the ‘thou.’” To recognize that no matter what the color of our skin, no matter what faith we practice, no matter how much money we have, no matter whether we are sanitation workers or United States senators, we all have a stake in one another, we are our brother’s keeper, we are our sister’s keeper, and “either we go up together, or we go down together.”
And when he was killed the following day, it left a wound on the soul of our nation that has yet to fully heal…. That is why the great need of this hour is much the same as it was when Dr. King delivered his sermon in Memphis. We have to recognize that while we each have a different past, we all share the same hopes for the future—that we’ll be able to find a job that pays a decent wage, that there will be affordable health care when we get sick, that we’ll be able to send our kids to college, and that after a lifetime of hard work we’ll be able to retire with security. They’re common hopes, modest dreams. And they’re at the heart of the struggle for freedom, dignity, and humanity that Dr. King began and that it is our task to complete.
You know, Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but that it bends toward justice. But what he also knew was that it doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because each of us puts our hands on that arc and bends it in the direction of justice.
So on this day of all days let’s each do our part to bend that arc.
Let’s bend that arc toward justice.
Let’s bend that arc toward opportunity.
Let’s bend that arc toward prosperity for all.
And if we can do that and march together—as one nation and one people—then we won’t just be keeping faith with what Dr. King lived and died for. We’ll be making real the words of Amos that he invoked so often and “let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”24 [Emphases provided.]
In his 2008 acceptance speech following his election as U.S. president, Obama drew upon the statements of President Lincoln to reach out with powerful words to those who had not voted for him, pledging to work as U.S. president on their behalf also. He remarked:
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends … though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn—I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President, too.
In his 2011 State of the Union address, Obama was able to connect more deeply with listeners as he employed the words of Robert Kennedy. He stated:
The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.
And now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future.25
For leaders aspiring to steer attention away from factors that divide listeners toward factors that unite them, Obama demonstrates that employing words that resonate—reflecting common values, principles, beliefs, tradition, and history—can be used to build a greater sense of unity.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED—PRACTICES FOR BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Leaders have much to learn from the way Barack Obama breaks down barriers and establishes common ground among diverse sets of people. Obama has shown he can transcend traditional divisions of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, and region. He is adept at uniting disparate people, building camaraderie, and establishing a sense of shared goals. To do this, we have seen the importance of acknowledging “elephants in the room.” Acknowledging potential issues of discomfort helps to ease tensions and enables leaders to refocus attention on areas of common ground. Leaders should seek to be forthright in acknowledging areas of potential discomfort early on and should proceed to focus away from sources of division and toward commonalities. They should steer attention in ways that promote a sense that listeners are on the same team, striving for the same aims.
When illuminating common ground, it is helpful to reference common histories, values, and experiences. It is also a best practice to employ words that resonate—well-chosen words reflecting time-tested principles, sociopolitical values, biblical truth, or words from a cherished lexicon. Effective use of “other people’s words” can also play a role. Leaders can focus when needed on iconic figures, those we all admire, incorporating references to their words wisely and using those references to create a connection, a sense of “we-ness.” In establishing common ground, referring to details about shared experiences can also prove useful. When preparing remarks, effective leaders should assess the basis of their shared experiences with their audiences, identifying ways to guide attention to those commonalities in order to enhance the power of their words.