Joe Biden’s natural speaking style reminds me of Jimmy Carter. A huge flurry of very sensible words, rapidly delivered, that, if printed out, demonstrate a magisterial intelligence. But are hard to digest because the speaker speaks too many words too quickly too quietly, with poor enunciation.
This last week I have been hugely impressed by Kamala Harris’s speaking style and if she will speak convincingly on all the important topics, proving she has plausible solutions to the full range of problems perceived as important, she will be an immense boost to the campaign, greatly improving chances of victory. She has a voice that is quite loud but not too loud, with a nice ringing quality, a declarative tone, lots of pauses, no hesitations, relatively few words delivered at an easily digested speed. She needs to work on content on more topics and rely less on platitudes, but she speaks beautifully. We are all too aware she is a heartbeat away from the presidency, and she had better convince us that she has persuasive policies on important issues.
Mr. Biden needs to talk more loudly and use fewer words and be more concise. There is technology to amplify his voice and he should use it. He needs to talk more slowly and not blurt out words at high speed.