tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/strategic-communication-11518/articlesStrategic communication – The Conversation2022-08-22T15:44:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888322022-08-22T15:44:23Z2022-08-22T15:44:23ZUhuru Kenyatta and Kenya’s media: a bitter-sweet affair that didn’t end happily<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479408/original/file-20220816-19-s6r1xw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kenya's journalists have had a tumultuous relationship with Uhuru Kenyatta's government. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime came into power in 2013. It was the first to implement most of the provisions of Kenya’s <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=Const2010">2010 constitution</a>. The media were eager to see how the government, led by Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, would adhere to <a href="https://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/200-34-freedom-of-the-media#:%7E:text=Freedom%20of%20the%20media,-Chapter%20Four%20%2D%20The&text=(1)%20Freedom%20and%20independence%20of,in%20Article%2033%20(2).&text=(b)%20penalise%20any%20person%20for,any%20broadcast%2C%20publication%20or%20dissemination">article 34</a> of the constitution, which deals with the freedom of the press. The two politicians had promised to expand media freedoms once in power. </p>
<p>The relationship between the media and Kenyatta’s regime went through six stages that defined the president’s nine years in office between 2013 and 2022.</p>
<p>It shifted from <em>“karibuni chai”</em> (welcome to tea) to <em>“nyinyi mzime hiyo mavitu yenu na muende”</em> (all of you switch off your thingies (cameras) and leave). </p>
<h2>1. Courting the media</h2>
<p>Uhuru Kenyatta took over from Mwai Kibaki to become the fourth president of Kenya on 9 April 2013. His relationship with the media started off well. The president warmly welcomed journalists to State House before he and Ruto hosted a <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktnnews/video/2000067681/-president-and-his-deputy-hold-media-breakfast-at-statehouse">breakfast with top editors</a> on 12 July 2013. It was the first time State House was hosting such an event. </p>
<p>Kenyatta called it an opportunity to build relations between the media and the state. Critics saw it as a way of arm-twisting the press to get it on the side of the government. </p>
<h2>2. Rebranding the presidential press</h2>
<p>The media breakfast was soon followed by another move touted as an effort to streamline the State House-media relationship. In July 2013, the Presidential Press Service, which mostly covered the head of state’s movements, was <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/uhuru-unveils-new-media-unit-assures-of-press-freedom-875244">rebranded</a> into the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit. Its mandate was expanded to communicating government policy and branding state events. </p>
<p>The rebrand implied that strategic communication – which is the purposeful use of communication to fulfil a set mission – would be prioritised. The presidential press unit would, therefore, be used to convey news from State House to journalists, and ensure the ruling party’s agenda was achieved. </p>
<h2>3. Divorcing the media</h2>
<p>The cordial start to the relationship between the media and Kenyatta’s regime didn’t last. Soon there were signs that the Jubilee government had taken a road it couldn’t walk comfortably. </p>
<p>Following the October 2013 terrorist attack at the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-29247163">Westgate mall</a>, journalists were thrown out of parliament on allegations of misrepresenting facts. This followed media reports that <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/12/22/westgate-questions-and-kenyas-misled-media">soldiers had looted shops</a> during the siege at the mall. In December, parliament <a href="https://cpj.org/2013/12/kenya-parliament-passes-draconian-media-laws/">passed a law</a> that imposed heavy penalties on journalists and media houses found guilty of code of ethics violations. These violations were to be determined by a state agency. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-kenyatta-has-gone-about-stifling-the-free-press-in-kenya-91335">How Kenyatta has gone about stifling the free press in Kenya</a>
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<p>In 2015, when the media became critical of Kenyatta’s relationship with his deputy Ruto, the president dismissed these reports <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE5CsBKEZKs">saying</a> <em>“gazeti ni ya kufunga nyama”</em> (newspapers are for wrapping meat). </p>
<p>And at a police service conference in February 2018, Kenyatta <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/news/article/2001268312/pack-up-and-go-kenyatta-matiangi-tell-off-journalists">told</a> journalists to switch off their cameras and leave. </p>
<p>A month earlier, David Mugonyi, the then deputy president’s spokesman, <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ureport/article/2001265277/dp-ruto-s-spokesman-threatening-message-to-nmg-journalist-over-story">threatened</a> a journalist, Justus Wanga, with dismissal from his job. This was provoked by Wanga’s newspaper article carried under the title “Cabinet seats that split Uhuru, Ruto”.</p>
<h2>4. Redirecting advertising revenue</h2>
<p>To the chagrin of the media, the government <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenya-bans-state-advertising-in-private-media-1362418">withdrew advertising revenue</a> from mainstream media in 2017. </p>
<p>The Kenyatta and Ruto regime established a state-run pullout and website, <a href="https://www.mygov.go.ke/index.php">MyGov</a>, which carried all advertising from government agencies. This was <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/counties/article/2000169804/new-agency-to-handle-all-state-media-advertising">coordinated</a> through a newly established body, the Government Advertising Agency. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-african-governments-use-advertising-as-a-weapon-against-media-freedom-75702">How African governments use advertising as a weapon against media freedom</a>
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<p>The government’s decision redirected about US$20 million in advertising that initially went directly to media houses annually. This accounted for an estimated 30% of total media advertising revenue. The formation of the agency coincided with rising tensions between the media and the government.</p>
<p>Though the move was <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2019-05-04-media-calls-for-a-rethink-on-state-advertising-agency/">initially criticised</a>, it challenged media houses to think of other ways of generating income. This included tapping into reader revenue and exploiting technology to support daily operations. This, ideally, would have helped free media houses from the government’s use of advertising as a weapon to manipulate coverage. </p>
<h2>5. Snubbing the 2017 presidential debate</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/12/kenya-elections-televised-presidential-debate">2013 presidential debate</a> was the first of its kind for Kenyan media. All presidential candidates were in attendance. It gave journalists an unprecedented opportunity to interrogate them on issues of national leadership. </p>
<p>However, in 2017, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/7/6/kenyas-uhuru-kenyatta-pulls-out-of-election-debates">Kenyatta snubbed</a> the presidential debate. This was <a href="https://www.voaafrica.com/a/odinga-snubs-kenya-presidential-debate/6675753.html">replicated</a> in 2022 when Raila Odinga, who contested the presidency under the Azimio coalition chaired by Kenyatta, disparaged the debate.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/political-debates-in-kenya-are-they-useful-or-empty-media-spectacles-183262">Political debates in Kenya: are they useful or empty media spectacles?</a>
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<p>These decisions seemed to undermine the media’s relevance in Kenya. <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/michael-ndonye/article/2001447570/it-will-be-political-indiscipline-to-avoid-the-presidential-debate">In my opinion</a>, snubbing the debate was political indiscipline. It’s not just voters and the media who needed to hear from leaders, but all Kenyans. </p>
<h2>6. Unable to hide</h2>
<p>Despite the tense relationship he had with the media, Kenyatta still found it important to seek its help when he felt cornered. Twice, he sought out journalists to address his home turf, the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2022/08/12/kenyan-presidential-election-mount-kenya-voters-can-swing-the-outcome_5993373_124.html">important</a> central Kenya voting bloc.</p>
<p>Two days to the 9 August 2022 elections, Kenyatta spoke with journalists from vernacular media platforms, urging people from central Kenya to vote for Odinga. Ruto allies <a href="https://www.pd.co.ke/august-9/kenya-kwanza-protests-uhurus-kenya-143236/">protested</a> the move. During this interview at State House, Kenyatta appealed for the region’s vote for his preferred successor, Odinga.</p>
<p>The relationship between Kenyatta and the media has been bitter-sweet. However, the media and state are not expected to be bedfellows. It is journalists’ responsibility to hold those in power accountable. That is why it’s a red flag whenever regimes purport to work with the media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Ndonye does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The relationship between the state and media soured just months into the Kenyatta regime.Michael Ndonye, Senior Lecturer, HOD-Mass Communication, Kabarak UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488122020-11-02T14:50:27Z2020-11-02T14:50:27ZStudy sheds light on how South Africa can best tackle prejudice against migrants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366733/original/file-20201030-23-8sr9i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African civil society organisations march against xenophobia in Johannesburg in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Yeshiel Panchia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Xenophobia is a serious problem in South Africa. Cross-border migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the country face <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/human-rights-watch-widespread-xenophobic-violence-in-south-africa.html">harassment</a> and <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/analysis/friday-briefing-scapegoats-is-sa-prepared-for-next-wave-of-xenophobia-20201009">discrimination</a>. Hundreds of incidents of anti-immigrant hate crime have been <a href="http://www.xenowatch.ac.za/">reported</a> in the past decade alone. To address this, the government launched the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-action-plan-combat-racism-racial-discrimination-xenophobia-and-related-0">National Action Plan</a> to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in March 2019. </p>
<p>The plan recognises that without quality data the government will struggle to design effective policies to change public attitudes towards foreigners. Targeted communication campaigns can be very effective in expanding tolerance between groups in a society, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316161579.027">research</a> on <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-63489-0_4">reconciliation</a> in Central Africa has shown. To organise effective targeted campaigns, policymakers and civil society need to identify and map how people in South Africa think about immigrants. To build an effective communication campaign you need to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547001023002005?casa_token=jW9QK9kjmvUAAAAA:mb3PsMeAotTZsWmAaERgjkRvqeYYEEhbR6wE4fCcR_e2QDjYhQsc5rIRllYZnUHNNYAEBesKw74">know your audience</a>.</p>
<p>In a bid to close the gap, market research company <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/media-briefs/dces/anti-immigrant-sentiment-sa">Ipsos</a>, in collaboration with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), conducted a survey on anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa. The survey covered the four provinces where most refugees and cross-border migrants live – Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng. </p>
<p>Negative stereotypes about cross-border migrants and refugees were found to be common in many towns and villages, with people describing these groups as violent and dishonest. The research also sought to establish how South Africans who hold anti-migrant sentiments get most of their information about foreigners.</p>
<p>A population segmentation analysis method was employed to break down the population into distinct groups based on their views towards non-nationals. Other <a href="http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-016-9838-6">studies</a> have examined the depth of anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, but this is the first study to effectively segment the population in this way. </p>
<h2>The survey</h2>
<p>The researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with 2,004 people over the age of 18 between October and November 2019. Fieldworkers visited a representative sample, speaking to the old and young, the rich and the poor. The data was then weighted to ensure representativity at the provincial level. </p>
<p>Survey participants were asked where they got their information about refugees and migrants. They were also asked which people’s views they trusted about these groups, and their views about integrating them in local communities. </p>
<p>Using public attitudes on a range of issues, researchers were able to segment the population into four distinct groups: “liberal”, “careful”, “judgmental” and “ambivalent”. This segmentation provided a rich amalgamated picture of differences in opinions. </p>
<p>The liberal cluster (20%) comprises people who are more likely to have open-minded views about refugees and migrants, and are more positive about their socioeconomic impact. The careful cluster (23%) is composed of those who accept the rights of refugees to seek sanctuary, but are concerned about the impact of immigration. The ambivalent cluster (31%) is largely disengaged and does not have strong views about migrants and refugees. The judgmental segment (26%) has the most negative views and tends to view migrants and refugees as a danger.</p>
<p>There are substantial demographic differences in the composition of the different clusters. These could be useful when designing communication campaigns. </p>
<h2>Findings</h2>
<p>One of the most important factors driving the formation of attitudes (and hence behaviour) is information. The kind and quality of information an individual can access influences that person’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60318-4">attitudes</a>. </p>
<p>The media was found to be potentially highly influential in changing public opinion on immigration. In addition, the data suggested that immigrant integration programmes can assist in the fight against xenophobia. </p>
<h2>Trust in media</h2>
<p>Respondents were asked to indicate which sources provided the best or most honest information on refugees and cross-border migrants. More traditional media platforms – radio, television, newspapers – were found to be more trusted than other sources, such as social media or community leaders. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366366/original/file-20201029-13-e8mipc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>This is similar to what a recent <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-outputs/ktree-doc/22262">public opinion study</a> on xenophobia by the HSRC found. </p>
<p>Given limited resources, communication efforts should target those media platforms that are the prime sources of information on immigration. </p>
<p>The table shows that the broadcast media, especially radio and television, were influential for the careful and ambivalent attitudinal clusters. People with the most prejudicial attitudes (the judgemental cluster) were also more likely to list radio and newspapers as trusted sources of information.</p>
<p>The results seem to suggest that, notwithstanding <a href="https://www.defenceweb.co.za/security/human-security/uct-cyber-analysts-uncover-campaign-to-promote-xenophobia-on-twitter/">concerns</a> about the role of the internet in promoting hate speech, anti-xenophobia campaigns should focus most of their energies on radio and television programmes (such as those hosted by the public broadcaster, the SABC). Here communication specialists need to look at successful media campaigns in other parts of the <a href="https://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/294">African continent</a>.</p>
<h2>Good leadership</h2>
<p>The survey suggests that government communication campaigns can benefit from the cooperation of prominent leaders who are trusted by the general population. Political leaders (like South African president <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-11-the-calculus-of-trust-diminished-public-confidence-in-the-presidents-performance/">Cyril Ramaphosa</a>) who command the respect of the populace need to speak out against xenophobia. But politicians are not the only ones that can help.</p>
<p>Religious leaders may be well placed to change hearts and minds on this issue. South Africans are deeply <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/review/hsrc-review-march-2020/spirit-level">religious</a>, and faith plays an important role in how people understand the world around them. We found that people in the liberal cluster were motivated to adopt a compassionate stance towards immigration because of their faith. </p>
<p>Christian leaders, in particular, can exert a great influence on dispelling anti-immigrant sentiments in their congregations. A majority of the careful and ambivalent clusters were members of Protestant churches. Many people in the judgemental group belonged to the Zionist Christian Church, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-the-enigmatic-man-who-founded-southern-africas-largest-church-109599">largest and most visible</a> religious body in the country. </p>
<h2>The power of integration</h2>
<p>Survey respondents were asked if they had contact with cross-border migrants. Few members of the judgemental and ambivalent clusters reported having had positive contact. People in the liberal cluster had greater levels of positive contact.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14662043.2015.1013296">Past research</a> has showed that positive contact between locals and migrants reduced anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa. One of the most positive interventions that could assist foreigners in the country is integration programmes that promote coexistence with host communities. </p>
<p>Changing hearts and minds on immigration and combating xenophobia in South Africa can seem like a daunting task. But it’s not insurmountable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Gordon receives funding from by the Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is affiliated with the Human Sciences Research Council and the University of Johannesburg. </span></em></p>Radio and television were found to be potentially highly influential in promoting positive public attitudes towards immigrants.Steven Gordon, Senior research specialist, Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402202020-08-07T12:35:12Z2020-08-07T12:35:12ZBrag and name drop: How to project credibility as workplace meetings move online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348651/original/file-20200721-27-6knjfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=140%2C150%2C6438%2C4134&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amid the global work-from-home phenomenon, what a presenter says carries more weight than ever.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-in-front-of-a-device-screen-in-video-royalty-free-image/1218569498?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has altered nearly every aspect of American life, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2020/06/03/3-ways-covid-19-will-permanently-change-the-future-of-work/#701a716e65b1">including the workplace</a>. For millions of Americans, the kitchen or the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/14/21211789/coronavirus-office-space-work-from-home-design-architecture-real-estate">living room now doubles as the office and conference room</a>. </p>
<p>This workspace shift, likely to last <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/29/how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-will-impact-the-future-of-work.html">long past the pandemic</a>, offers some conveniences, of course, but it also teems with potential pitfalls. </p>
<p>Traditional tactics for achieving credibility in presentations – <a href="https://www.skillset.co.nz/blog/michael-brown-blog/26-presentation-skills/26-presentation-skills-how-to-engage-your-audience-immediately">audience interaction</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2018/08/26/5-ways-body-language-impacts-leadership-results/#760fefb5536a">engaging body language</a>, for example – are not accessible when you appear on a laptop or smartphone screen.</p>
<p>Suddenly, what you say carries more weight than ever. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/people/lisa-leopold">English language studies professor</a>, I wanted to understand how presenters build credibility, so I analyzed the transcripts of 30 panel discussions at the Brookings Institution in 2019 to glean the verbal strategies used by foreign affairs experts. While I have carefully dissected these strategies as a <a href="https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/article/view/1236">specialist in public speaking skills</a>, they boil down to a simple message for anyone delivering a presentation via a digital screen: Brag and name drop.</p>
<h2>11 strategies for building credibility</h2>
<p>Here are specific examples of the many techniques I detected.</p>
<p>1.
<strong>Prestigious affiliation</strong>: Establishes ties to a prestigious organization. Kathleen Hicks, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, does that here: “…<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-future-of-u-s-extended-deterrence/">the conclusion of the commission on which I serve</a>, the National Defense Strategy Commission, and certainly the work I do in my job at CSIS…” </p>
<p>2.
<strong>Prestigious title</strong>: Names impressive position titles. Yael Tamir, a professor at the University of Oxford, stated, “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/democracy-nationalism-and-populism-the-u-s-israel-and-beyond/">I was a minister of immigration</a> (in Israel) about 12 years ago…” </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Suzanne Maloney testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/brookings-institution-senior-fellow-suzanne-maloney-news-photo/88667011?adppopup=true">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>3.
<strong>Disciplinary expertise</strong>: Highlights area of professional expertise. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of foreign policy at Brookings, said, “From my perspective, as <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/constraining-irans-nuclear-and-missile-capabilities/">someone who works on Iranian internal politics and economics</a>, and on the U.S.-Iran relationship…”</p>
<p>4.
<strong>Professional identity</strong>: Claims affiliation with a professional community. Tamir, the Oxford professor, stated, “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/democracy-nationalism-and-populism-the-u-s-israel-and-beyond/">It all starts with the definition as we know</a>, as we political theorists know…”</p>
<p>5.
<strong>Professional experience</strong>: Underscores the breadth or impact of professional experience. Jeannine Scott, of the nonprofit Constituency for Africa, emphasized a résumé few have: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/women-of-diversity-in-national-security/">If you’ve engaged with the Continent as I have</a> for over 30 years now…”</p>
<p>6.
<strong>Professional accomplishments</strong>: Highlights career achievements, as Lynn Rusten, a vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, did: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-end-of-an-era-the-inf-treaty-new-start-and-the-future-of-strategic-stability/">What’s interesting is the original START Treaty</a>, which I also helped negotiate…”</p>
<p>7.
<strong>Educational experience:</strong> Mentions educational institution attended, area studied or degree earned. Adam La Reau, a Navy veteran, said the following: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/a-legacy-of-service-9-11-veterans-continuing-the-tradition-of-george-h-w-bush-and-john-mccain/">I went to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy</a>…”</p>
<p>8.
<strong>Self-citation</strong>: Cites one’s own public comments. Brett McGurk, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-counter-isis-coalition-diplomacy-and-security-in-action/">I was on record in 2013</a> about this rising threat and I testified…” </p>
<p>9.
<strong>Prominent connections</strong>: Mentions interactions with prominent individuals, as McGurk did: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-counter-isis-coalition-diplomacy-and-security-in-action/">And walking into a meeting with President Obama</a> and the national security team, I got a phone call from a very senior Iraqi official who said…”</p>
<p>10.
<strong>Professional reputation</strong>: Shows that others seek their expertise, like Jung Pak, a senior fellow at the Center for East Asia Policy Studies: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/women-of-diversity-in-national-security/">During</a> the Fire and Fury days (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/world/asia/north-korea-un-sanctions-nuclear-missile-united-nations.html">President Trump’s threat against North Korea</a> in 2017), I got lots of phone calls from friends from New York, to the Midwest, to L.A. wondering about whether they should go on their business trip…”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shadi Hamid speaks at the TRT World Forum 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 22, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/senior-fellow-at-the-brookings-institution-and-a-news-photo/1177526863?adppopup=true">Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>11.
<strong>Personal background</strong>: Discloses religion, nationality, ethnicity or other personal characteristics. Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at Brookings, said: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-impact-of-militias-on-local-governance-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/">This was a very minoritarian take on Islam</a>, and in my view as a Muslim myself, a perverted one.”</p>
<h2>Using the strategies</h2>
<p>These strategies were typically used as additional information within a sentence. For example, if Maloney, the senior fellow at Brookings, were to cut her disciplinary expertise in the following sentence – the phrase within the commas – it would still make rational sense: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/constraining-irans-nuclear-and-missile-capabilities/">From my perspective</a>, as someone who works on Iranian internal politics and economics and on the U.S.-Iran relationship, we are coming at the end of a long period of limbo.”</p>
<p>Maloney avoids sounding arrogant by not featuring her disciplinary expertise in a separate sentence, an important point for those who wish to build credibility – but not sound pretentious. </p>
<h2>Creating community: ‘We see’</h2>
<p>Speakers often used the expression “we see” to deepen affiliation with an expert community and make nonbiased observations. In this excerpt, Bilyana Petkova, a fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, illustrates her insider information about the data privacy field: “So, in the data privacy field, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/digital-technology-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence-a-comparative-perspective/">we see how this dynamic has played out</a> a role in the E.U., where the first data privacy statute was adopted in the German locality of Hassan…”</p>
<p>Using “we” rather than “I” helps speakers relate their observations to those of experts and reduce perceptions that they are sharing a biased view.</p>
<h2>Elevating stature: ‘If you’</h2>
<p>Speakers often emphasized exclusive knowledge or professional experience by using the phrase “if you.”</p>
<p>Dennis Wilder, managing director of the U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, said: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/us-china-diplomacy-40-years-of-whats-worked-and-what-hasnt/">One of the things to understand if you</a> haven’t been involved in a presidential visit to a place like Beijing…” With this phrase, he builds his stature by pointing to his prestigious experience.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Panelists drew this expert-novice distinction in other ways, too. They emphasized familiarity with current events, for example, with phrases such as “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-u-s-china-technology-relationship-in-flux/">If you look at what the intelligence community</a> and the Department of Defense have been saying” and “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-end-of-an-era-the-inf-treaty-new-start-and-the-future-of-strategic-stability/">If you look at the U.S. and Russian statements</a>… this week.” </p>
<p>It’s not just the knowledge we hold that builds credibility – how we communicate that knowledge is also imperative. </p>
<p>With companies like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/technology/facebook-remote-work-coronavirus.html">Facebook paving the way for permanent remote work</a>, Americans will be forced to rethink how we achieve credibility in workplace presentations. Amid the uncertainty created by the pandemic, what’s certain is that verbal communication strategies will become even more critical to our perceived competence and success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Leopold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As workplace meetings move from offices to living rooms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, what people say – absent nonverbal communication – is more important than ever.Lisa Leopold, Associate Professor of English Language Studies, The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, MiddleburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1111472019-04-16T10:46:25Z2019-04-16T10:46:25ZWhat it means to ‘know your audience’ when communicating about science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267853/original/file-20190405-180036-19aamqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1625%2C745%2C4365%2C3206&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You have a lot of work to do before you step up to the mic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/microphone-voice-speaker-seminar-classroom-lecture-534042616">Chinnapong/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Communication experts love to tell people to know their audience, but it is not always clear what they’re meant to know.</p>
<p>Knowing someone’s age, education and gender is nice. So too is knowing context about economic, educational, cultural and ideological background. These are typically what the two of us hear when <a href="http://strategicsciencecommunication.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Landscape-Overview-Website-Discussion-Final.pdf">we’ve asked science communication trainers</a> what they think the expression means. </p>
<p>Knowing such things are helpful, but there’s a lot more a strategic communicator might want to know.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0ssM57wAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Our own</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WHQF1CUAAAAJ&hl=en">ongoing research</a> on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662517728478">strategic science communication objectives</a> suggests some more targeted pieces of information that could help communicators – whether scientists or anyone else – effectively share their message.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266172/original/file-20190327-139356-a7cv19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Choosing to take part in a particular event suggests certain things about attendees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcs_south_dakota/8267472111">USDA NRCS South Dakota/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Know your audience by picking your audience</h2>
<p>To start, if you’re being strategic, you should know something about your audience because you should have picked who you’re communicating with based on your goals.</p>
<p>In general, the hope is that experts like the scientists we study would have shifted valuable time or resources from their regular work to communication because there’s some sort of behavior they want to see in some specific group or groups. The behavior could be individual – things such as drinking less, buying greener products, choosing a science career – or civic – behaviors such as supporting, opposing or disregarding an issue.</p>
<p>No communicator – including scientists – should spend limited time, money and opportunity on audiences that aren’t a priority given their goals. It will rarely make sense to spend resources trying to get an arch-liberal to donate to the National Rifle Association or a diehard lover of science to embrace science even more.</p>
<p>Once you know what you want to accomplish and who you want to accomplish it with, you’re a lot closer to figuring out what you need to know about your audience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267855/original/file-20190405-180036-1xvklaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Audiences aren’t obligated to hang on your every word.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/microphone-voice-speaker-seminar-classroom-lecture-534042616">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does your audience think and feel?</h2>
<p>The next step is figuring something out about the target audience’s beliefs, feelings or way of framing a topic. It is these beliefs, feelings and frames that can change and it is these changes that will increase the odds an audience will meaningfully consider your hoped-for behavior.</p>
<p>The most common types of beliefs that the scientists we study like to share are those related to the knowledge they’re creating through their research. This might be something about new evidence connecting how rising greenhouse gases are changing the climate, a lack of connection between vaccines and risk, or any other new finding. This preference seems to stem from scientists’ belief that their audience has a crucial gap in its knowledge or way of thinking.</p>
<p>Increasing basic knowledge sometimes gets dismissed in science communication circles; there’s little evidence that <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/23595/chapter/1">information-focused initiatives</a> work very well. More and more facts rarely produce substantial behavioral changes. Worse, although researchers haven’t carefully tested it, anyone who’s sat through a boring lecture can probably attest to the fact that sharing too much technical detail can turn an audience off.</p>
<p>On the other hand, most audiences probably expect to hear about experts’ work and so experts likely need to share some information about what they’re finding or they risk failing to meet people’s expectations.</p>
<p>Just as importantly, there are many other facts beyond those associated with technical knowledge that communicators could ethically want people to come to believe.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266175/original/file-20190327-139349-p135i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Expressing shared values can help build trust and connection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/5447684077">DVIDSHUB/Spc. Tobey White/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the topics we study, it might be helpful to really know, for example, if an audience believes the research team is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119206422.ch21">competent, honest, caring</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2015.1118149">open</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/0272-4332.216173">similar to them</a> when it comes to values. If this is not how the scientists are perceived, it’s important to know so the communicator can make communication choices that give the audience a chance to learn a bit more about the team – assuming they do embody these characteristics.</p>
<p>This might mean sharing a bit about their credentials and the sophisticated effort that went into the pertinent research, the motives that drive the team or what they do to make sure they’re always listening to others’ views.</p>
<p>These trust-related communication objectives may be particularly important for making it more likely that someone <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1952-5_10">will pay attention and think about what you have to say</a>. For example, audience members may lack the motivation to truly listen to someone that they believe is dishonest or incompetent.</p>
<p>Similarly, if the goal is to promote behaviors, it helps to know what the audience thinks about those behaviors. Do they believe in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2016.01.003">risks or benefits</a> of what the research suggests? Which do they think about most? And what do they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.11.012">think their family and friends think and do</a> – what social psychologists call subjective and descriptive norms? Do they think they even have the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662515595348">ability to do what’s being suggested</a> or believe that doing so will make a difference?</p>
<p>It may also be important to know <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2005.04.006">how the audience feels</a>, what <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13282">emotions are driving behavior</a> and how they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3200/ENVT.51.2.12-23">mentally frame the issue</a>.</p>
<h2>You can’t know everything about your audience</h2>
<p>Of course it’s impossible to know everything about your audience. You can make educated bets – and you can also ask for help from a communication expert or longtime leader in your organization or a group you belong to. In our area of study, these might be the public information officers at universities or scientific societies. They want to help and the good ones are constantly tracking stakeholder views on various issues you might want to address.</p>
<p>There are also many things you probably can’t change about your audience through communication – like an individual’s core values – although these can affect how what you communicate gets interpreted. And that’s why you have to prioritize by being clear on your goals and starting with an understanding of your audience. Communication theory and formative research are meant to <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/public-communication-campaigns/book234975">help with such strategizing</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John C. Besley receives or has received funding from the National Science Foundation (AISL 1421214-1421723), the United States Department of Agriculture (MICL02468), the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Kavli Foundation for research related to this article. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Dudo receives funding or has received funding from the National Science Foundation (AISL 1421214-1421723), the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Kavli Foundation for research related to this article. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations. </span></em></p>Connecting with an audience in a productive way can mean first figuring out what they think, feel and believe before you start sharing your message.John C. Besley, Ellis N. Brandt Professor of Public Relations, Michigan State UniversityAnthony Dudo, Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/682102017-04-21T00:24:52Z2017-04-21T00:24:52ZDefending science: How the art of rhetoric can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166154/original/file-20170420-21495-11l33w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=417%2C0%2C2944%2C2335&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rhetoric can teach scientists how to effectively communicate what's going on in the lab to the rest of us.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wackybadger/4355775792">Joshua Mayer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Science seems to be under attack in America, so much so that scientists and their supporters are <a href="https://www.marchforscience.com/">marching in the streets</a>. </p>
<p>President Donald Trump has publicly called climate change a <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/timeline-every-ridiculous-thing-trump-has-said-about-climate-change-576238">Chinese hoax</a> abetted by greedy scientists. He has linked <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/449525268529815552">vaccines to autism</a> despite overwhelming scientific consensus against these claims. Vice President Mike Pence has <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaenamontanari/2016/11/10/vp-elect-mike-pence-does-not-accept-evolution-heres-why-that-matters/#24cc746915a7">denied evolutionary science</a>, the very foundation of modern biology. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget, has questioned the fully established link between Zika virus and microcephaly and wondered whether “<a href="http://www.snopes.com/trumps-budget-director-pick-asked-really-need-government-funded-research/">we really need government-funded research at all</a>.”</p>
<p>In response, scientists are taking a stand. They are defending their work against what appears to be a new, more aggressive assault in the so-called “<a href="http://www.parlorpress.com/pdf/lookingforafight.pdf">Republican war on science</a>,” as the president threatens <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/trumps-first-budget-analysis-and-reaction">deep cuts</a> to federal funding of scientific research. </p>
<p>When they march for science, they will do well to consider insights from the field of study known as the “rhetoric of science.”</p>
<h2>Studying scientists’ communication</h2>
<p>Before dismissing this recommendation as a perverse appeal to slink into the mud or take up the corrupted weapons of the enemy, keep in mind that in academia, “rhetoric” does not mean rank falsehoods, or mere words over substance. </p>
<p>Rhetoric is one of the original seven liberal arts. Aristotle defined it as “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LNr9CwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=aristotle%20the%20rhetoric&pg=PT18#v=onepage&q&f=false">the faculty of observing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion</a>.” Scholars like me who study the rhetoric of science analyze and evaluate the persuasive communication of scientists.</p>
<p>Although it draws from an ancient tradition, rhetoric of science is a relatively young field of study. It was born in the late 20th century, after historian of science Thomas Kuhn introduced the idea that science develops not through the steady accumulation of facts, but in revolutionary moments. With a paradigm change, the heliocentric model of Copernicus replaces the geocentric model of Ptolemy, Darwin’s natural selection overturns natural theology, plate tectonics wins over the theory of a stable Earth.</p>
<p>Kuhn’s call for a study of “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3eP5Y_OOuzwC&lpg=PP1&dq=kuhn%20structure%20of%20scientific%20revolutions&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false">the techniques of persuasive argumentation</a>” within scientific communities that settle conflicts between paradigms introduced the “<a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100418551">rhetorical turn</a>” in science studies. Rhetoricians enthusiastically took up the call to look at the way that language and culture help to shape knowledge.</p>
<p>At first, this kind of scholarship seemed hostile to scientists. </p>
<p>In the age of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/seeking-truth-among-alternative-facts-72733">alternative facts</a>,” it is worth remembering that for most of the 20th century, the <a href="http://msupress.org/books/book/?id=50-1D0-3EFD#.WPPjnVKZPdc">image of the scientist as American cultural hero</a> was ascendant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166162/original/file-20170420-20057-hhkh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lone hero male scientists were long the stereotype.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tobanblack/3237634613">Toban B.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists have long presented themselves in public as the inheritors of an American pioneering ethos, the very embodiment of the American spirit of exploration, innovation, hard work and success. You see it in influential engineer Vannevar Bush’s <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nsf50/vbush1945.htm">“Science: The Endless Frontier</a>,” the report that spurred the formation of the National Science Foundation. <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/exploring-the-frontiers-of-life/">Geneticist Francis Collins frequently drew an analogy</a> between the Human Genome Project and Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery. This characterization was so powerful that even George W. Bush, a Republican president widely critiqued for his administration’s <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/rsi_final_fullreport_1.pdf">misuse of science</a>, found it necessary to praise scientists as modern-day American “<a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=73682">pioneers</a>.”</p>
<p>In the latter part of the 20th century, when scholars began pointing out that the most effective scientists were those who were also the most effective rhetors, the validity of scientific theories and the institution of science itself seemed to be under attack. Rhetoricians got caught up in the “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/11/phony-science-wars/377882/">science wars</a>” between postmodern deconstructionists and natural scientists. They were viewed with distrust by defenders of science. </p>
<h2>Next phase for rhetoric of science</h2>
<p>But times changed. In the early years of the 21st century, the two cultures of the humanities and the sciences found themselves united against forces that would <a href="https://theconversation.com/public-universities-are-under-threat-not-just-by-outside-reformers-65705">starve higher education of funding</a>. Many rhetoricians began to see their mission not as taking scientists down a peg or two, but as helping scientists improve their public communication.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://comm.uga.edu/people/individuals/140">Celeste Condit</a> draws from the rhetorical tradition to help medical geneticists appreciate the importance of understanding their audience. Scientists should be careful not to underestimate the public, which “<a href="http://www.hhmi.org/sites/default/files/Bulletin/2003/September/sept2003_fulltext_0.pdf">knows a fair amount about the basics of heredity</a>.” But neither should they neglect how certain terms affect the public mind. When telling individuals they have a genetic predisposition to cancer, for example, “version of a gene” is a less scary use of words than “mutation,” which evokes horror movie monsters.</p>
<p>Condit’s students, <a href="https://www.eiu.edu/commstudies/faculty.php?id=mgronnvoll">Marita Gronnvoll</a> and <a href="http://www.keene.edu/academics/programs/comm/faculty/290/">Jamie Landau</a>, explore the problems and potentials of the most frequent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897184/">metaphors used by the public to discuss genes</a>, such as ticking time bombs and Russian roulette. They recommend that scientists introduce new, more accurate and less alarming metaphors that call to mind the choreography or orchestration of a gene/environment interaction.</p>
<p>Rhetoricians have advice for climate scientists too. <a href="http://college.wfu.edu/communication/faculty-and-staff/ronald-von-burg">Ron Von Burg</a> introduces the rhetorical concept of <a href="http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/L/litotes.htm">litotes</a> as a way for scientists to respond to inaccurate but emotive imagery. Litotes is a figure of speech that works as an understatement by stating the negation of its opposite; imagine a friend hinting that an invitation to visit would “not be unwelcome.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166165/original/file-20170420-20050-p3dbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While the scenarios in the movie won’t happen the day after tomorrow, scientists signaled that the message ‘wasn’t untrue.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xw9QwBPTL._SX940_.jpg">Twentieth Century Fox</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Von Burg <a href="https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/decades-away-or-day-after-tomorrow">points to scientists</a> who used this strategy effectively when responding to critiques of climate disaster movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319262/">“The Day After Tomorrow</a>.” Climate skeptics denounced the blockbuster as hyperbolic. Climate scientists agreed that its story line about instant climatic shift was absurd. But they also argued that the overall message that climate change requires our attention was “not untrue.” “The film is not scientifically invalid” insofar as the events it depicts – melting ice sheets, powerful hurricanes – are likely to occur, but just over a longer time frame. </p>
<p><a href="http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Persuasive%20Appeals/Ethos.htm">Ethos</a>, or the speaker’s development of a trustworthy character, is another important concept that rhetoricians share with scientists engaged in public debates. <a href="https://communication.chass.ncsu.edu/faculty_staff/jegoodwi">Jean Goodwin</a> has studied how scientists can reach out to skeptical listeners with appeals that signal their vulnerability rather than their superiority. Observing climate scientists speaking to skeptical audiences, she has found that one must <a href="https://jeangoodwin.net/2013/12/03/earning-trust-in-climate-change-debates/">give trust</a> in order to receive it in return. </p>
<p>Some of my own research focuses on how to counter a <a href="https://scienceprogress.org/2008/04/manufactroversy/">manufactroversy</a>: when the public has been told there’s a dispute within the scientific community when there is actually a wide consensus. In these cases, those who would manipulate the public set argumentative traps. One way for scientists to avoid these traps is to point to the history of scientific debate that resulted in the consensus of experts. Sharing such rhetorical strategies is my way of helping climate scientists, as well as experts responding to those who deny the safety of vaccines, or the link between a virus and a disease. </p>
<p>When scientists gather to march for science, I want them to know about this body of research. In addition to carrying signs, they can take up the toolbox of effective communication known as the rhetorical tradition. Rhetoricians will be marching by their side, allies in the battle to protect science from politically motivated attacks on one of the greatest treasures of the nation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Ceccarelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you’ve only ever paired the idea of ‘rhetoric’ with ‘empty,’ think again. Rhetoricians of science have concrete techniques to share with researchers to help them communicate their scientific work.Leah Ceccarelli, Professor of Communication, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/290802014-07-17T04:18:48Z2014-07-17T04:18:48ZCultural intelligence key to future of Australia-Indonesia relationship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53880/original/krsxrtxh-1405410485.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tony Abbott’s responses to Indonesian concerns about spying suggested a weak understanding of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s different cultural milieu.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Tanaya Pramudita </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The official result in Indonesia’s presidential election contest between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto is still some days away, with both <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/09/jokowi-prabowo-both-claim-victory-indonesian-election">claiming victory</a>. But no matter who the next president is, there is little reason to suggest that Australian prime minister Tony Abbott will find navigating the Australia-Indonesia relationship any easier than before.</p>
<p>Since coming to office in 2013, Abbott’s <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/09/18/coalition-launches-operation-sovereign-borders">public utterances</a> on <a href="http://www.customs.gov.au/site/operation-sovereign-borders.asp">Operation Sovereign Borders</a> and his <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/abbott-calls-for-cool-heads-no-apology/5102330">lack of apology</a> to incumbent Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/spy-standoff">spying scandal</a> have caused consternation in Indonesia. Diagnosing what may have been the problem with Abbott’s statements from a strategic communication perspective brings the issue of cultural intelligence to the fore.</p>
<p>Cultural intelligence is just one of the “multiple intelligences”. The idea of multiple intelligences, popularised by developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, has been around for two decades and is <a href="http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol6/iss1/4/">described</a> as including the various abilities necessary for being an engaged citizen and a complete person. Cultural intelligence is <a href="http://www.linnvandyne.com/morecqinfo.html">seen</a> as a specific form of intelligence:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… focused on an individual’s ability to grasp and reason correctly in situations characterised by cultural diversity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A person’s level of cultural intelligence is seen as playing an important role in organisational and leadership performance. Leaders with high cultural intelligence are more likely to be able to communicate in a culturally sensitive manner. They are also more likely to show appropriate behavioural responses with different stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds, thus reducing conflict.</p>
<h2>Abbott and Yudhoyono</h2>
<p>It is <a href="http://amle.aom.org/content/12/1/32">thought</a> that one’s cultural intelligence is acquired from educational background, personal experiences and exposure to other cultures. In Yudhoyono, the makings of someone with a high level of cultural intelligence are evident. He graduated from the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy and has a masters degree in management from Webster University in the US.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53949/original/w2vjk9p3-1405474549.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As a young man, Yudhoyono spent time studying and working overseas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Library of Indonesia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yudhoyono also studied in Panama and Germany as part of his military education. And in 1995, he was deployed as chief military observer with the United Nation peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. </p>
<p>This contrasts with Abbott, who was born in London, completed his undergraduate degree in Sydney and his masters degree at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. After finishing his study, he briefly trained to be a Catholic priest before working as a journalist for The Australian newspaper. </p>
<p>However, during his political career, Abbott has no record working outside Australia. He represents the federal electorate of Warringah on Sydney’s northern beaches. As of the 2011 Census, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2013/guide/warr/">Warringah</a> has Australia’s tenth and NSW’s highest proportion of residents born in the United Kingdom or Ireland (10.9%). It has Australia’s third-highest proportion of high-income households (55.9%).</p>
<p>This indicates Abbott could be categorised as someone who should exhibit a high level of cultural intelligence within his own culture. This is in contrast to Yudhoyono, who may be seen as having a high level of cultural intelligence both within his own and other cultures.</p>
<h2>Cultural intelligence and the spy standoff</h2>
<p>Abbott’s cultural intelligence includes communicating with people from western or Anglo-Saxon backgrounds in both his local area and in the international arena. While his level of cultural intelligence has never been specifically measured (as far as we know), several factors indicate that it may be quite low when communicating within southeast Asian cultures such as Indonesia.</p>
<p>Abbott’s responses to Indonesian concerns about asylum seekers and spying suggested a weak understanding of Yudhoyono’s different cultural milieu. For Yudhoyono and Indonesians, maintaining both <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/indonesia-downgrade-relations-australia-over-alleged-spying-055228157--business.html">personal</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/indonesia-voices-concerns-about-coalitions-boats-policy-loud-and-clear-20130925-2ucuz.html">national</a> dignity would be paramount. </p>
<p>Following the spying scandal, Abbott’s refusal to apologise or promptly give a detailed explanation could be regarded as an indicator of low cultural intelligence. This is particularly in relation to reading verbal and non-verbal signals sent by Yudhoyono in press conferences and <a href="http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2013/11/19/0534522/Lewat.Twitter.Presiden.SBY.Sikapi.Penyadapan.oleh.Australia">on Twitter</a>. </p>
<p>Yudhoyono released a series of strong personal statements on his Twitter account, @SBYudhoyono, translated from Bahasa Indonesian into English:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I also regret that statement Australian Prime Minister that belittled this tapping matter in Indonesia without any remorse. –SBY</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, another explanation might stem from Abbott’s apparently high level of cultural intelligence in relation to mainstream Australia. He may have been willing to sacrifice key aspects of the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship to win further favour with his voters. Many Australian voters reportedly supported tougher stances on issues such as asylum seekers before and after the federal election last September. </p>
<p>Such issues were having a negative impact on the bilateral relationship back then, and continue to do so. Approval of the government’s handling of asylum seekers <a href="http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/07/08/essential-approval-rises-for-asylum-seeker-policy/">remains high</a>.</p>
<p>Abbott may have chosen to <a href="https://theconversation.com/stretching-the-friendship-australia-indonesia-and-the-good-friend-narrative-20063#comment_253936">appear tough</a> in relation to Indonesia up to this point. There is <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8DtDAQAAIAAJ&q=Words+of+conflict,+words+of+war.&dq=Words+of+conflict,+words+of+war.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ILrEU7G9LYfOkwWImIHQAg&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA">research</a> that supports such a positioning strategy. It says that the more extreme the language used against another is, the more likely it is that the internal support for the speaker is strengthened. </p>
<p>The Indonesian government has previously <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/indonesias-marty-natalegawa-issues-loud-and-clear-message-to-julia-bishop-on-boats/story-e6frfkp9-1226726716271">suspected</a> an Abbott-led government of jeopardising the bilateral relationship to shore up domestic political support.</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53950/original/vtdss6kc-1405474934.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Presidential candidate Joko Widodo has limited experience outside Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Mast Irham</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It could be argued that the high level of cultural intelligence shown in Abbott’s dealings with his domestic base underpins his public communication responses to the Indonesian government thus far. The question remains how the next Indonesian president will respond to Abbott continuing down such a path. </p>
<p>It is worth noting that many considered Yudhoyono to be a good friend of Australia. However, even under his watch there were <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-02/indonesia-scales-back-cattle-imports-for-second-quarter/5490514">negative repercussions</a> as a result of Abbott’s response to the spying scandal. These included a halt to co-operation between Indonesia-Australia military and police departments on people smuggling and counter-terrorism.</p>
<p>The stance that the new Indonesian president will take towards Australia and the bilateral relationship, no matter who wins, is still <a href="https://theconversation.com/addressing-mistrust-and-phobias-in-oz-indo-relations-28389">largely unknown</a>. Jokowi has had little international experience. Prabowo has some <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-indonesia-prabowo-idUSBRE8701LS20120801">international experience</a>, including a period of “self-exile” in Jordan. </p>
<p>There is also another unknown in this equation. The degree to which Abbott can exercise appropriate levels of cultural intelligence towards Indonesia is unclear. If Indonesia’s new president is less tolerant of what Indonesians could construe as cultural insensitivity in Australia’s leader, it might be a rocky path ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The official result in Indonesia’s presidential election contest between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto is still some days away, with both claiming victory. But no matter who the next president is, there…Melanie James, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Public Relations, University of NewcastleMaulina Pia Wulandari, Senior Lecturer, School of Communication Science – Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas BrawijayaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.