Thread by @shaunjlawson

What do the following electorally successful leaders - left, centre, right - have in common?

- Biden
- Obama
- Ardern
- Sturgeon
- Reagan
- Clinton
- Johnson
- Blair

The answer lies in how they communicate(d) their message: selling a vision by telling a story.

Storytelling is absolutely integral to my methodology as an English teacher. I think we all communicate through stories in many ways - and my aim with students is to get them to build their own stories via videos, images and their own imagination, creativity & critical thinking.

Notice how all eight of the individuals I've listed above define(d) themselves much more by what they were *for* than what they were against. Notice, too, how few - if any - of them ever got that angry at their opponents.

Left wing rage? It doesn't work.

Overt right wing nastiness? That doesn't work either.

Think about what happened to Theresa May. Who was seen as being both hard headed AND hard hearted - a disastrous combination - and couldn't communicate any message to save her life.

Mostly because she was so palpably uncomfortable in her own skin. Which was also true of Brown, Miliband, Corbyn (at times) and is quite horribly true of Starmer. A rabbit in the headlights. A baby shark that just burped.

Self-confidence and self-assuredness are so so vital.

Heck, they're vital to success in most aspects of life, let alone politics: which is the art of communicating big ideas in a simple, easy to relate to way.

Starmer failed pretty badly in telling a story about the Tories' negligence over Covid - and hasn't even tried to tell the slightest story about what Labour has to offer.

So naturally, the public doesn't think Labour offers anything.

Corbyn came very close to getting it absolutely spot on in 2017... but on set-piece occasions in Parliament or on TV, he too would freeze. Repeatedly.

And at PMQs, at times, he droned on and on so damn much he was like some answer to my tweets.

Miliband was never himself until AFTER he resigned the leadership.

Brown was gaffe prone in a really awkward way - if only he'd laughed at himself (in a way I'm sure he does now: he's a changed and great man), things might've been very different.

Laughing at yourself, being funny... that's maybe the most vital thing of all.

People will forgive almost anything if you make them laugh, don't lecture them and sell a positive vision to them in an engaging way.

In public, how often were Corbyn, Miliband, May or Brown truly funny? Almost never. Major wasn't either. By contrast, Thatcher *was*... very often, never more so than at the despatch box or in conference speeches.

Starmer? A lettuce leaf appears to have more personality.

All of this stuff matters, hugely. The "would you go for a pint with them?" test - a test which, unhappily, Johnson has always passed with flying colours.

I used to do public speaking and debating at school and at uni. And I had a LOT to learn.

The first time I spoke in front of an audience, my whole body was visibly shaking. The second time, I completely ballsed up the summing up; think stand-up comedian who suddenly forgets every word in the English language.

It was like an anxiety dream played out in public.

But with practice and experience, I got better. I'll always remember the day I knew I'd 'cracked it' - that I wasn't scared any more.

And from then on, I just concentrated on being myself. I developed an unusually conversational speaking style.

This was full of jokes at my own expense - I never took myself too seriously - and with engaging with the audience in a soft, gentle way. Not speaking AT them at all.

It amazes me that more politicians, especially on the left, don't cultivate that sort of style.

Don't get me wrong. If I'd ended up in politics, I'm the sort of guy who'd have fallen down the steps of a plane or got photographed getting my lunch down my shirt or got caught short during a speech.

Only a certain kind of person can *do* politics effectively.

But the individuals I mentioned at the start all got it. *Really* got it. And when we talk of how the left must, repeat must, tap into people's emotions and stop talking in such detail about everything, what it comes down to is simple:

Storytelling and comedy.

Comedy, in fact, is by far the best way of dealing with those you disagree with on here.

That's why @MarinaHyde or @JohnJCrace are both national treasures, they're so brilliant... and also why @JimMFelton is the best tweeter on here by a million miles.

It's simple in many ways.

But so, so hard to perfect.

Of course, it's not ALL about being funny. William Hague was absolutely hilarious... but his message was narrow and negative, so the public rejected it. And his opponent towered over him in every way.

But if you can be naturally funny, positive and engaging, it goes a long way.