Episode 1 – “I’m just like you” – The techniques politicians use to try and get us to like them.
In this pilot episode, Professor Stephen Coleman considers four different kinds of appeal that politicians try to make and how difficult it is to balance them.
Stephen’s guest is Ric Bailey, former editor of the BBC Question Time programme, and now chief political adviser to the BBC.
Episode 2 – It’s the way that they say it! How politicians express themselves.
In this episode Professor Stephen Coleman gets to grips with the elusive concept of vocal tone. This gets to the core of how people express themselves rather than simply focusing upon what they say.
Stephen’s guest is the renowned scholar of rhetoric, Roderick Hart who holds the Allan Shivers Centennial Chair in Communication at The University of Texas in Austin.
Episode 3 – The politician and their voice. Being judged by the way you sound.
In this episode Professor Stephen Coleman examines how we make judgments about voices. Are there certain tones of voice that are more attractive, persuasive or annoying than others?
Stephen’s guest is Tom Wright, Reader in Rhetoric at the University of Sussex and Principal Investigator on the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Speaking Citizens project.
Episode 4 – How do contemporary politicians convey a sense of authority?
In this episode Professor Stephen Coleman looks at changing styles of sounding authoritative. As old bombastic forms of address have come to seem arrogant and even foolish, how do contemporary politicians convey a sense of authority?
Stephen’s guest is Professor Deborah Cameron, Emeritus Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford.
Episode 5 – Storytelling in politics! Why do some stories resonate and others don’t?
In this episode we take a look at the role of politicians as storytellers. We listen to some moving examples of political narrative in action, asking what it is that makes some stories resonate while others just sound strategic.
And Stephen’s joined by Alan Finlayson, Professor of Political and Social Theory.
Episode 6 – “They’re useless” … Why are politicians viewed so negatively?
In this episode Professor Stephen Coleman hears from people in the street talking about what they think of their political representatives. Why is it that most (but not all) people’s first response to the sound of politicians’ voices is negative? He’s also joined by James Johnson, who worked for former Prime Minister Theresa May, and who is now a leading pollster in the UK and U.S.
*Please note this episode has the odd use of bad language.
The Sound of Politics 