Details in Ron Paul's way of speaking

[Stefan]

I know that most of the people that hang out here have listened to an immense number of Ron Paul's speeches as well as debates in which he has participated. So I'm wondering if any of you have found any interesting details in the way Ron Paul speaks that differentiates him from the other candidates.

The reason why I ask this is that I'm thinking about writing an essay for my university on Ron Paul's way of speaking (possibly in comparison with other candidates) and I was given very short time for picking a topic.

Thanks in advance!
Stefan Andersson

[Richandler]

Truth appealing to liberty and the self. He is by no means charasmatic, but he is knows what he's saying is true.

[Elijah]

Yes, very simply, he means what he says and it shows. Doesn't hurt that it makes sense either :).

[Stefan]

Truth appealing to liberty and the self. He is by no means charasmatic, but he is knows what he's saying is true.

Perhaps by knowing that his message of liberty is strong in itself he would opt to deliver his message more straight forward than candidates that rely more on charisma. So that would probably mean that he would use less adjective and adverbial phrases and use more verb phrases and noun phrases. Would you say that I'm on the right track here?

[ronpaulyourmom]

I think a very obvious one is that he tends not to pause, at least for any noticeable period of time. This relates to the other people here who said he believes what he says, which is another way of saying he's speaking off the cusp. I guess that's sort of easy to do if you've been speaking about the same things for 30 years or whatever :)

[The Plan]

I think Ron's way of speaking is very easy to pin down. He just answers the question......

I don't think i'v ever seen him dodge a question. That is the main thing that seperates him from the rest. Ron talks with confidence because he knows his own stance so well that he has learned to defend his position from attacks on every angle. The other guys might try to dodge a question because they are unsure of their own stance or are too lazy to do the reseach needed to form their own unique opinion on an issue.

He also never seems to fall for tricks the press tries to put out there to pull him into a battle by name with another candidate. He does the smart thing and attcks the group as a whole instead of needing to cheaply attack just a single person. He is infinatly smarter than he lets on, the guy is just dangerous out there to the opposition if he speaks his mind, the man is a political samurai. It's really a pleasure to watch :)

[ronpaulyourmom]

Perhaps by knowing that his message of liberty is strong in itself he would opt to deliver his message more straight forward than candidates that rely more on charisma. So that would probably mean that he would use less adjective and adverbial phrases and use more verb phrases and noun phrases. Would you say that I'm on the right track here?

Perhaps, you'd have to actually count some words there and compare. Assuming you found a difference though, you'll have to ask whether or not this has to do with the reason you mentioned, or the fact that he's advocating a lot of changes which would in turn be correlated with actions to implement those changes. A status quo candidate would by contrast use adjectives to prop up himself and the country (Demagoguery?)

[Stefan]

I think Ron's way of speaking is very easy to pin down. He just answers the question......

I don't think i'v ever seen him dodge a question. That is the main thing that seperates him from the rest. Ron talks with confidence because he knows his own stance so well that he has learned to defend his position from attacks on every angle. The other guys might try to dodge a question because they are unsure of their own stance or are too lazy to do the reseach needed to form their own unique opinion on an issue.

Someone who is trying to say nothing would typically speak slower and/or use more adjectives and adverbials than someone who has a lot to say and little time to get it all said, so looking at pace of speaking and the usage of adjectives/adverbials might be intresting...

[RonPaulCult]

The crazy thing about Ron Paul is that he seems to not use notes during his speeches. How does he do that?!?!?!

I've noticed he's started to say some things over and over again but all of his speeches are different. Just a man that knows what he believes and says it from the heart.

[Stefan]

I think a very obvious one is that he tends not to pause, at least for any noticeable period of time. This relates to the other people here who said he believes what he says, which is another way of saying he's speaking off the cusp. I guess that's sort of easy to do if you've been speaking about the same things for 30 years or whatever :)

In what I have seen I think I remember seeing him pause a couple of times, but he tends to fill his pauses with "paus sounds" (I don't know if this is the proper English word for it but I mean the sounds that one can make during his/her pauses, such as "ummm", "ehmmm" and "eeeh". Perhaps if this proves to be true it could make him come across as less of a "polished politician" and more like a regular person saying what he believes.

[Stefan]

Thank you all for the help I've gotten. I'm off to the university now, so I'll soon find out whether I'll be allowed to write about this.

Thank you!

[BillyDkid]

I know that most of the people that hang out here have listened to an immense number of Ron Paul's speeches as well as debates in which he has participated. So I'm wondering if any of you have found any interesting details in the way Ron Paul speaks that differentiates him from the other candidates.

The reason why I ask this is that I'm thinking about writing an essay for my university on Ron Paul's way of speaking (possibly in comparison with other candidates) and I was given very short time for picking a topic.

Thanks in advance!
Stefan AnderssonSome things are so obvious - Ron doesn't use speech writers because he doesn't need anybody to tell him what he is supposed to say - fairly easy if you stick to the truth. And I don't think I've ever even seen him use notes. He is never stumped on a question because he isn't worried about what his position is supposed to be. He just tells the truth.

[MozoVote]

Look at his 1988 interviews. It's the same topics and same speaking style. He needs no notes.. only has to remember what points to hit.

[ZenX]

He definitely uses more concrete than abstract words, and more ethos and logos instead of pathos. The problem is, this is incredibly more noble and what we need, but a far stretch from what usual politicians spout at the 'pulpit.' I showed my wife the clip where Huckabee supposedly schools Ron Paul to my wife, and asked her to examine the word choice used. Huckabee uses metaphor in the analogy that we 'broke it so we should buy it' and claims we would lose 'honor' if we left the war. Paul responds with the number of troops we have lost. This is why I respect Paul, but unfortunately, it's the pathos-driven speeches that usually stir up a crowd (hence the Huckabee applauce).

[AdoubleR]

He speaks... HONESTLY!

[PRIEST]

Speaks like the articulate, principled genius he is.

[Corydoras]

One thing I have always found very appealing, but which I think turns off a lot of ordinary voters, is how little he brings himself into what he says. With other candidates, it's about them: I, me, my. The worst offender is Rudy "I was there on 9/11" Giuliani, but the others do it, too. Ron Paul always sticks to the issues.

[trispear]

He says the truth. I think it's a very stark contrast to the other candidates and you take notice.

Most other candidates shovel the BS in a manner similiar to that of car salesman, lawyers, TV pastors, and the like (my apologizes to the honest people of those trades).

[ladyliberty]

Ron Paul speaks as if he has absolutely nothing to lose and everything to win, so he can speak a lot more openly and freely than the other candidates. He has the "well if I am going to lose, I might as well say what is REALLY on my mind!" quality to his speeches!

This campaign reminds me very much of the movie Head of State with Chris Rock and his "That ain't right!" speeches. If you have not seen that movie, you ought to watch it - very funny and poignant scenes about politics.

I also like My Fellow Americans - and how the two former presidents are surving assination attempt after assination attempt. Spoof of George Sr. and Clinton.

Brewsters Millions makes me laugh when Richard Pryor tries to spend 30 million dollars on a polical campaign, running as "None of the Above" and actually wins! (30 million aint nothing nowadays!)

[jrich4rpaul]

He speaks in almost essay form when answering a question.

Thesis statement
History, supporting facts
Conclusion

[Mithridates]

I've noticed when he gives speeches at rallies he seems to try to get as much information as possible in between cheers. He could keep the cheers going by just spouting lines like 'get out of Iraq' and 'get rid of the IRS' and the crowd is always ready to start cheering when they hear lines like that and are always quite excited, but RP always tries to fit in as much as possible in between the main points.

So far I think my favourite speech of his was this one near the end of October in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as it was right around when the campaign was really starting to gather steam but still a smaller crowd so there was a nice mix of energy and intimacy to the whole thing.

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=hKVvgyIEqbQ

I don't know what other politicians are like but I've found it interesting that as soon as he finishes his speech he just leaves the stage. I don't think I've seen him stand around with arms up for applause after a speech yet, though there would be nothing wrong with that of course.

[specsaregood]

He speaks in almost essay form when answering a question.

Thesis statement
History, supporting facts
Conclusion

And we have a winner!

[krott5333]

sometimes he thinks faster than he talks, so some words come out very fast and slightly slurred.

[kotetu]

Truth appealing to liberty and the self. He is by no means charasmatic, but he is knows what he's saying is true.

I find him very charismatic, in an elderly grandfather way. He's someone who is very easy to listen to, and honesty just seeps from him.

[Matt Collins]

I don't know what other politicians are like but I've found it interesting that as soon as he finishes his speech he just leaves the stage. I don't think I've seen him stand around with arms up for applause after a speech yet, though there would be nothing wrong with that of course.

Yeah - I've noticed that too. He should stand around for at least 30 seconds to a full minute to let the crowd have a brief Ron-gasm (looks good for the cameras and pumps up the crowd).

[constituent]

...

[work2win]

I've been thinking about this recently as well. I think it is pretty simple. The other candidates are masters of saying nothing. Ron Paul is the master of substance.

[MadOdorMachine]

Well, one thing that was obvious to me immediately the first time I saw him talk was that he answers questions directly. He doesn't dance around issues and he always stays on topic. Even if the question is a two part question, he stays on topic and nine times out of ten answers both parts. Basically he stays on topic and doesn't use fallacies, red-herrings, hyperboles, or other speech rhetoric. He is an excellent public speaker, and when he elaborates on issues, is often charismatic.

[0zzy]

John McCain has a planned out speech, all the time, and sometimes restates words because it's like he's reading a script in his head.

Ron Paul always freely talks. He never has a script, never panders to specific audience really, if someone asks him a question he answers it. He's just real.

[MyKillK]

What sets Ron apart for me is the fact that he assumes his listener has intelligence and at least a general understanding of the issues he's talking about.

The other candidates talk as if they are addressing a crowd of middle school students.

[leipo]

Truth appealing to liberty and the self. He is by no means charasmatic, but he is knows what he's saying is true.

I guess this differs per person, but i find him to be very charasmatic.