Leaders organize societies, lead their followers, gradually change the world by promoting justice and fighting for their ideas. However, it is hard to impose leaders’ beliefs since one may consider other ideas as fair or appropriate. Leaders use many tools to affect society and promote ideas, but communicational skills and language are the most significant. They use those skills to explain their point of view, to motivate and inspire people, attracting more followers to their side.
People do not pay much attention to communication and take it for granted, but language skills are essential to the struggle for ideas. According to Partington and Taylor, language is “vital to the process of transforming political will into social action” (1). Leaders’ speeches, publications, meetings, and other forms of communication with the audience are the first key actions to promote ideas and changes in society. Mooney and Evans state that “critical thinking about language can assist in resisting oppression, protecting the powerless and building a good society” (4). Hence, leaders struggle for their beliefs with the help of persuasive language, argumentative claims supported by solid reasoning, and different literary and rhetorical devices. Feldman claims that “the persuasiveness of rhetoric… depends on the nature and the style of the speech” (7). It implies that leaders’ language should be expressive, reasonable, inspiring, and clear to fight for beliefs effectively.
Nonetheless, communication and language skills are sometimes inefficient or insufficient tools to promote leaders’ ideas and beliefs. Speaking may not be enough to change the world and societies. Followers require witnessing role models and behaviors, and leaders have to take action and show readiness for challenges to fight for their ideas. It may imply event organization, monetary funds, money donations, or managing a protest movement. Moreover, “natural democratic persuasion through language does not reach half the population” due to illiteracy or poor education in certain societies (Partington and Taylor 14). Thus, communication should not be considered the best or the only tool in leaders’ struggle for ideas, other means of influence may be needed.
Language skills and the power of speech are essential means in leaders’ fight for ideas and beliefs. The ability to well-constructed speaking allows understanding and motivation in societies. Using factual claims, evidence, reasoning, appropriate diction with rhetorical devices frames leaders’ thoughts and ideas. Leaders, as great communicators, influence audiences and initiate social actions. However, specific ideas require much more than just reasonable and explicit language.
Works Cited
Feldman, Ofer, editor. The Rhetoric of Political Leadership: Logic and Emotion in Public Discourse. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020. Web.
Mooney, Annabelle, and Betsy Evans. Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. 5th ed., Routledge, 2019.
Partington, Alan and Charlotte Taylor. The Language of Persuasion in Politics: An Introduction. Routledge, 2018.