Political campaigns spend big bucks hiring consultants to craft persuasive messaging, but a new study coauthored by Yale political scientist Joshua L. Kalla demonstrates that political professionals perform no better than laypeople in predicting which messages will sway voters.
“What ails the bald truth is that it is mainly uncomfortable, and never caressing.”
“The two elements, of untruth and of beauty, are both important, and perhaps equally.”
“No normal human being wants to hear the truth … [Truth speakers] are hated for it while they live, and when they die they are swiftly forgotten.”
“The more simple-minded the individual, indeed, the greater his need of poetry [stories], and hence the more steady his demand for it.”
– Henry Louis Mencken
With respect to politicians, I think the successful ones tell good stories.