皆さんこんにちは。
ILC国際語学センターです。

先月からスタートしたJohn先生のミニレッスン。
第2回目はアメリカ大統領選についてです。

11/8に行われた開票でトランプ氏の当選が確実という結果は、全世界に大きな衝撃を与えました。
時に暴言ともとれるような過激な発言が注目を集めていたトランプ氏ですが、
John先生も今回彼が選挙で勝利した理由は英語表現に理由があると考えているそうです。

それはいったいどんな理由なのでしょうか。
青い英単語がポイントとなっている箇所です。実際に読んでみましょう。

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Negative Language as Strategy
Disasters are the result of many factors, not just one. The recent presidential election in the United States was a good example of this for the Democratic Party led by Hillary Clinton. On the other side, the Republican Party led by Donald Trump, leapt to a surprising victory mostly because of the strategy by Trump to use negative language called vitriol, harsh and angry words, to its full impact, to his benefit, and to Clinton’s demise.
Trump used vitriol against his opponents to the shock and dismay of not only many Americans but to most people of the world who were following this, fully understanding the immense popularity he enjoyed as a media celebrity (personality) and not understanding other areas including international and economic policy.
Why did he do this? This language was not presidential. To most of the world, he was acting like a buffoon, a stupid or foolish person who tries to be funny, but to his target audience, the voters in America, he was echoing their pent-up outrage at the way their “American dream” was slipping away from them into the hands of the powerful rich. He was using the angry language of the increasing numbers of losers in America—vitriol. Trump was their surrogate, one that serves as a substitute, and he was very good at it, at being a buffoon. It takes one to know one, I guess.
He needed to do one more thing, however: attack the character of Clinton by relentlessly calling her crooked, corrupt and dishonest, because of the email server issue. She couldn`t avoid the perception of being characterized as a glad-handing politician reciprocating the influence of the powerful rich.
By using this vitriol, he successfully distracted her enough that she missed discussing the essential issue that would have brought him down—how her economic plan could benefit the many losers. Instead, she got caught up in the vitriolic language and was dragged down to his level of gutter politics, using scandal and lies against political opponents.
In negotiation, if you negate the other`s positive (Clinton's character), the deciding issue rests with your positive (Trump's celebrity personality). This subtle shift from character to personality, from truth to perception, without the necessary push back by Clinton to the critical issue, was an important factor in her loss and his victory, resulting from the use of negative language as strategy.
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次回は12月上旬に更新予定です。

※John先生が開発したグローバルリーダー向け英語プログラムは、様々なビジネスシチュエーションに特化した英語スキルに焦点をあて、論理性と説得力のある英語力を養成します。
詳細はこちらからお問い合わせください。

担当教師

John　Mukts　（ILC企業研修主任）

日本での英語教授歴20年以上、数々の企業にてビジネスパーソンやグローバルリーダー向け英語研修を担当。ILCの主任教師としてプレゼンテーション・ミーティングなどのビジネスに焦点をおいたGLLT（Global Leadership Language Training)コース開発やオリジナルテキスト開発に従事。