of public resources for selfish interests by
those we have entrusted to manage them.
We are not turning back because we are
determined to gift our children a better
Kenya than the one we inherited.”
And as is the norm, all our colored pundits
and governance specialists were all over
our media spaces lacing their points with
“and if you heard the President correctly,
he was categorical that there’s no turning
back on corruption.” What I’m I trying
to say? With the pundits’ repetitions,
the key message in this aspect was to
accomplish one key role; promote recall
and consistency. More than that, the
repetition of the key message during
delivery was also about emphasis. It was
employed effectively to dispel doubt and
speak commitment to the citizens. It was
a re-assuring voice that sought to build
trust; basically what every Kenyan truly
wanted to hear then.
Moreover, the key message, more-so
the more natural sounding one as was
the President’s choice brought about
conciseness to the whole piece, was brief
and to the point and most importantly
A cardinal rule in communication is
that the messaging should always car-
ry a key message. The key message
is an adept way of not only ensuring
consistency in the messaging but also
helps in audience comprehension and
message recall.
was over and above a quick and effective
way to convey his message across. On this
count, the verdict is out and the speech
scores a solid 9.
Know Your Audience
Not sure even whether this needs much
of an explanation. Think about it, when
you are talking to your peers about your
upcoming Ruracio’, will you talk to them
the same way you talk to your “to-be” in
laws? My point is; different messages,
different approaches, and different delivery
styles to different audiences so as to realize
best impact and positive outcomes.
So how was the boss’s score? Well,
judging by the sentiments of not only the
politicians from both divides but most
importantly going by the voices of the
Mwananchi then, the President struck
a good balance for all the audiences. He
was well aware of their expectations and
clearly spoke to them.
Obviously, there were those who expected
some form of firing of CSs as the
best expression of seriousness against
corruption but an even greater thing
happened, the reassurance that all was
being done within the law and being done
by the legally empowered institutions
so that when the hammer falls, every
man or woman would carry their own
cross. Kenyans love showy spectacles but
emboldening our institutions guarantees
institutional democracy and that, is for
posterity.
So again, a solid 8 from the jury on this
one.
Focus
People’s attention spans are quite short.
So, this marries with the KISS (Keep It
Short & Simple) rule. So as not to lose
your audience, the speech should avoid
niceties (or at least too many of them)
and stick to script. Time is valuable and
audiences usually switch-off over time so
it’s critical that the primary intention is
prioritized.
The address wasn’t the shortest of speeches
but then again, a solid judgment is one
that puts everything in context. Imagine
yourself being told to give your year-long
life story in 1 hour? Not too easy a task I
guess. So just to show that there’s room for
improvement, I scored the president a 6.
42 MAL33/19 ISSUE