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Marco Rubio's Meltdown Moment: Don't Let It Happen To You

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This article is more than 8 years old.

It’s a good thing to stay on message until it’s not.

That’s the lesson we can draw from Senator Marco Rubio’s performance in the last Republican presidential debate before the New Hampshire primary. Rubio has long been praised for his message discipline; coupled with his backstory, youth and energy he has propelled himself into as a leading contender for the Republican nomination.

While pundits have noted that Rubio does say the same thing over and over again – as all politicians do – it has not cost him much until now. Governor Chris Christie took on Rubio with all the vigor of a pugnacious prosecutor (which he used to be) and pummeled Rubio. So rattled was Rubio that he repeated the same anti-Obama rhetoric four times in succession.

The irony is that Christie’s reversion to bully was not a surprise; he had promised to do it the preceding week taunting Rubio as the “boy in the bubble” who while likeable is handled by others and cannot think and do for himself. And Saturday night Rubio showed – at least for the first part of the debate – that when challenged he does not know how to improvise. He sought to fight back but ended up sticking to the same old talking points over and over and over again.

In fairness Rubio did recover his poise for the remainder of the debate. But as many cable television pundits have noted, whenever Rubio speaks henceforth, he will be tarred with the image of being a pre-programmed speaker not an authentic leader.

Unfair, sure, but when you repeat yourself so egregiously on national television you do yourself and your campaign no favors. Voters will decide Rubio’s fate as it should be. The rest of us can use his meltdown as an exercise in how not to speak.

Every leader – whether running for the highest office in the land, or managing a three person team – needs to have a core set of beliefs in what he or she can accomplish. Such beliefs are communicated most by daily example. As the saying goes, words are cheap; actions are what you pay for.

When a leader goes public – that is, steps outside his own sphere of influence – she needs to be able express a point of view. There is no shame, and in fact, it is good practice to develop a set of talking points to organize your thoughts clearly and coherently. You may memorize them, too, if it helps. While Rubio is a master of doing this kind of speech prep, he sometimes forgets the next step. Speak like you mean it, not as if you simply memorized it.

Ronald Reagan was a master of staying on message because he didn’t recite them; he communicated them with warmth and humor. Very importantly Reagan added stories from others to embellish his points. His speeches – which he so often crafted together with his speechwriters – reflected his worldview. While Reagan reiterated the same points frequently, he never sounded programmed; he sounded sincere.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,” said poet Maya Angelou. “But people will never forget how you made them feel.” Therefore, when you deliver your messages, craft your message with reason and intention but let your heart communicate how you feel. Not everyone will agree with you – nor should they – but you won’t sound like a robot.

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