Communication Gestures

Last night, President Trump gave his third State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress. As I write this, rightfully so, much is being written and spoken about this speech. But putting aside the speech itself, one of my big takeaways from this event was all the communication gesturing that occurred by many of the attendees. Trump refusing to shake Nancy Pelosi hand. Congressmen walking out during the middle of the speech. Congressman leaping to their feet to applaud something the President just said while others remained glum-faced in their seats. Pelosi tearing up her copy of Trump's speech at its conclusion. And so it went. For me at least, not a dull moment.

While the President was obviously front and center as he was the only one doing all the talking and the only one at the microphone, a number of the others there communicated just as loudly by making use of other communication tools in their arsenals. For instance, I noticed a number of Congressmen smiling and waving at the President as if they were children thing to get their parents' attention. Opposite that, there were others who kept checking their watches as if they could not wait to get out of there. Still others would whisper to colleagues seated next to them while one or two attendees seemed to have nodded off to sleep much like I tend to do while watching television at night.

My point here is we all have ways of communicating our thoughts and feelings that be quite telling and powerful. The person at the microphone does not automatically have the greatest impact when it comes to communicating specific messages. Trump's speech was what it was. Collectively, the several hundred attendees gave their own speech and in many ways it was just as profound and notable. The main point of their "speech" was one of division and disharmony. Their "speech" revolved around the reality of a great divide in our nation that, it seems, should be addressed more than what the guy at the microphone had to say.