A long, long time ago my fried Andy Wake asked me to take part in the New Wave PR meme naming my three most inspirational communicators, to help identify speakers and promote Don’t Panic’s New Wave PR conference. I failed miserably, even when Tom Murphy (who was also very late) tagged me to continue the meme. So finally here are my three inspirational communicators:
Cicero is considered by many to one of history’s greatest ever orators. He was a statesman, lawyer, politician and philosopher.
Sam Seaborn – Sam is the Deputy Communications Director in President Jed Bartlett’s White House team. What I admire is Sam’s uncompromising idealism, coupled with his human ability to make mistakes, yet get back up to learn and improve every time. It doesn’t matter at all that Sam is a fictional character in The West Wing.
Peter Mandelson, love him or loathe him, is a great communicator who quite rightly is credited with helping Labour to win its decisive 1997 victory. Curiously (or perhaps not) for someone who is such a good organisational, political and strategic communicator, Peter isn’t the greatest personal communicator. Perhaps because he is notoriously frank in his relationships and not very good at hiding the fact he doesn’t like people! He’s also the great survivor having just returned to the cabinet for a third time (lucky?).
Unfortunately for Don’t Panic I don’t think we’re likely to get any of these three at the New Wave PR conference (well Peter maybe).
Only catch with Sam Seaborn: his failure ever to communicate exactly what happened after he left the series. Even upon his return in the final moments of the series, there was no substantive explanation.
I'd have said CJ myself. 🙂
As a fellow West Wing fan (my blog name is the giveaway) my wife and I are so sad we named our dog Sam after said Mr Seaborn. However he isn't quite as good at communicating unless it is to ask for walks and snacks 🙂
And I agree with Simon that CJ would run him close.
That's the problem with The West Wing – there are just too many good characters. Whenever I'm dealing with a crisis scenario I stop and ask myself "What would Leo do?".