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updated on
Reading 3 min.
in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical Psychologist)
As the American campaign for the Presidency is in full swing and France is still waiting for the nomination of a Prime Minister, Bill Jones, a professor and best-selling author, has tried to unravel the mysteries of influential politicians. How to shine, convince and persuade? Here is what he discovered.
Barack Obama, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy… Do you often wonder what makes them “good politicians”? A study seems to have found the answer.
Portrait of “good politicians”
For this investigation, Bill Jones, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at Liverpool Hope University and author of the best-selling book “‘Just Like Us’? : The Politics of Ministerial Promotion in UK Government“, scanned numerous biographies of former Prime Ministers, MPs and Speakers of the House of Representatives (Harold Wilson, Norman Tebbit, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair…).
His goal? To try to expose the strengths and weaknesses of the men and women who occupy positions of power. After many hours of investigation and interviews, Bill Jones has identified certain “inherent skills“to recognized and appreciated politicians.
Among these qualities – necessary for success – the professor noted: charm, optimism, academic skills, memory and the ability to make decisions. Humor would also be essential to survive – and shine – in the hostile environment that is politics.
“We forgive people who make us laugh a lot, and Boris Johnson could be said to have based his style largely on policy on his ability to entertain voters: by making them laugh, he avoided making politics as boring as most people think it is.” says Bill Jones.
Other important character traits: good physical condition.
It is a “essential quality often forgotten“, says the Professor, by those seeking leadership positions within the government. However, it is necessary to “an extremely robust constitution and the willingness to work long days until late at night”, to get there.
Finally, the last absolutely essential quality for breaking through: the perfect mastery of public speakingA good politician must indeed know how to convince and persuade, to captivate a large audience and gain popularity.
“I leave for last the most important quality of all – the mastery of speech – because without a high level of verbal skills, politics (in the UK) can never offer any career to its ambitious participants.”assures the professor.Since 1945, all our Prime Ministers have possessed a selection of key required skills, but the most important remains oratorical talent. Some ministers showed themselves to be not very brilliant in oral examinations, their mandates being of short duration”.
Men and women like us… or almost
Ultimately, the political world specialist asserts that even if politicians “may resemble us in many ways (…) they are very different in some important ways“.
He will point out that many of them “seem to have an almost interest narcissistic for themselves“, but are not necessarily “venal or selfish“.
They “truly believe they can make a difference“and that they will serve the”local or national community“.
“Success in politics, then, seems to be a mixture of ambition, narcissism, genuine idealism, with perhaps a touch of audacity and necessary ruthlessness.“, he concludes.
Feeling good in your body, feeling good in your head!
“Integrity, honesty and intellectual sincerity are essential to him”
Faced with this thorny subject, Amélie Boukhobza, psychologist, recognizes that a good politician is distinguished by several essential traits.
“He must obviously demonstrate empathy and a great capacity for listening in order to understand and best grasp the concerns of citizens,” she says. Then “Integrity, honesty and intellectual sincerity are essential to build a solid reputation and act according to ethical values. Having a clear vision, strong convictions and a leadership mobilizer helps to define a direction and gather the resources needed to achieve common goals”, notes the expert.
As for the qualities of “communicating” of these influential men and women, they are of absolutely capital importance.
“Strong communication skills are needed of course, to articulate ideas clearly and inspire others. Resilience and courage are also essential to deal with criticism and challenges,” emphasizes the practitioner.
“Finally, consistency is one of its fundamental qualities. Because securing, reassuring and being clearly positioned on its values is a guarantee of stability. Surrounding yourself with people who dare to criticize politics and question it is just as important,” recalls Amélie Boukhobza, in conclusion.
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