Guildford: In the UK, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are talking to members of the Conservative Party about what they plan to do if elected as party leader and UK Prime Minister. Topics of discussion, so far, from taxes to energy prices, are well established.
But, at a deeper level, the way and tone of both speak potentially reveals a lot of the kind of leaders they will become.
Jean Sadler-Smith, professor of organizational behaviour, University of Surrey, says the words people use when talking can be an “honest sign” that provides insight into their underlying psychological processes and possible behaviours, according to The Conversation.
And since these linguistic choices are subtle, speakers themselves may not be aware of them. Also, it is difficult to hide them.
I used computerized text analysis to analyze the speeches made by Sunak and Truss during an election in Eastbourne on August 5 and compared their scores with each other and with overall averages on three major language criteria: “authenticity”, “emotional tone” and “analytical thinking”.
The findings were unexpected and in some ways not consistent with the respective reputations of the candidates. The suns turned out to be more authentic and emotional while the trusses were more analytical. But, worryingly, both were below average for analytical thinking.
Sunak was more authentic than truss
Sunak is often criticised for his clever PR campaign and is accused of being out of touch. But the analysis showed that his speech was more authentic than his opponent’s.
Those speakers are considered more authentic when they reveal themselves in an honest way through more personal, polite and sensitive language. Words indicating authenticity and self-awareness include a greater use of the first-person singular “I” relative to the first-person plural “we.”