MEET RICH THAU:
Rich Thau is president of Presentation Testing, Inc., a cutting-edge communications company. Presentation Testing helps clients refine their presentations by gathering moment-by-moment feedback through audience-controlled, hand-held dials. Presentation Testing quantifies how well an audience understands, agrees with, or believes a presentation. They can determine if the audience finds the information useful, or whether the audience is even interested.
Now Presentation Testing is sponsoring MessageJury.com: moment-to-moment dial tests of voter reaction to all presidential primary season debates. MessageJury.com is a must see for anyone wanting to understand, track, or influence the 2008 Presidential candidates. At this site you can learn what voters really think about the Presidential candidates and how well the candidates address the issues occupying voters' minds.
Just before the June debate of the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates at Howard University, Heidi Neel Biggs caught up with Rich Thau to find out how audience reactions are helping shape the road to the Presidency
Interview
Neel Biggs: You published an anthology entitled Generations Apart that examines the financial and political conflicts between Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and Seniors. What trends surrounding the generational tensions are most notable?
Rich Thau: The most noticeable trend is in the fact that older Americans receive Social Security and Medicare benefits while younger workers pay for them. While burdensome now, this cost is going to skyrocket when the Boomers begin to retire. I don't want to predict a generational war, but there's some discomfort coming sooner than we'd like.
Neel Biggs: As president of Presentation Testing, Inc. you?ve spent countless hours monitoring and assessing the way people use certain words and phrases to create changes in policy. As we continue to watch the presidential debates, are there any lessons you can share?
Rich Thau: Yes. Note who constructs an effective answer in 60 seconds. For the Republicans it's consistently been Mike Huckabee and to a slightly lesser degree Mitt Romney. They frame the problem quickly and then discuss how they'd solve it. With the Democrats, Hillary Clinton is the most effective messenger, followed closely by Barack Obama. What's amazing is how many of these candidates have no idea how to answer a question in that span of time, so they drone on about their votes in Congress--and no one in the audience understands the context. To watch some snippets of our "dial tests" visit www.MessageJury.com.
Neel Biggs: Candidates are slow to discuss the enormous fiscal gap facing our government but quick to make expensive campaign promises. In your experience, are American audiences that easy to fleece?
Rich Thau: Yes, sadly, they are pretty easy to fleece. And it's for a reason that's somewhat paradoxical: Voters are so jaded and cynical that they've given up watching closely, thinking it's a waste of time. Politicians know this and act accordingly. The last election was an exception, but for the most part people just don't bother to look. They think "someone" should, but not them.
Neel Biggs: Based on your observations of the American people, is the future bleak or bright? It's hard to say.
Rich Thau: I think there's still more that unites us than divides us, but the media (both on the left and right) do all they can to tear us apart. It sells advertising, but does a lousy job of informing. And with all the information out there, voters remain woefully ignorant. And an ignorant electorate is a manipulable electorate.
Neel Biggs: Are there ways you try to impart what you?ve learned on the road to your young son?
Rich Thau: My son is only three, so I try to impart basic values such as persistence, curiosity, and truthfulness. If he can get those right, he and those around him will be better off.
