Welcome to my first Blog! I am to IT what Graham Norton is to Rugby League, I don’t even know the difference between a Blog and a Tweet, so I’m tempted to call this my first Bleet!

As the Election Campaign grinds on, the consensus seems to be that the public don’t trust any of the three main party leaders.

As a communication trainer, I can think of one reason, amongst many, to explain this distrust/disconnect. 

One of the most important elements of effective communication is to listen.

If you asked David Cameron the time he would reply: “We must stick to the plan that’s working and not go back to square one with the economic chaos of the Labour party.”

If you asked Ed Milliband the time he would reply: “The economic recovery isn’t working for ordinary working families, the Conservative party only works for the richest in society.”

If you asked Nick Clegg the time he would reply: “Only the Liberal Democratic party will balance the books and balance them fairly.”

If communication is about telling a story, the story all three leaders are telling is that they’re all so scared of being exposed, or telling the truth, that they have all learnt one stock phrase or key message and they will repeat it verbatim and ad nauseam, whatever the question might be.

We’re left thinking, “we only asked you the time, we just want to know what the time is!”

Good luck to all of us on May 7th! Let’s just hope whoever wins the election  is better at running the country than they are at listening and answering the question.