Tsogwane rides the crest
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday September 11, 2023 06:00
When President Mokgweetsi Masisi used powers vested in him to choose Tsogwane as his VP in 2018 after taking over the reins of power from his predecessor, Ian Khama, Tsogwane was like a man thrown at the bitter end. He had started on the wrong footing often times with his tendency to stutter throughout when giving a speech. Tsogwane is a former educationist with the requisite qualifications, but the 63-year-old also seemingly suffered from bouts of stage fright.
It also raised doubts that he would effectively deliver on two key roles he has been assigned. Besides being the VP, the Rakops-born politician has another key role of party chairperson, which compels him amongst others to always feel the pulse of the ruling party across the 57 constituencies, with a flurry of its quandaries.
Tsogwane is a political survivor who in the 2019 national polls brushed off opposition threat in his marginalised constituency, Boteti West, by polling 7,006 votes followed by Sam Digwa of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) with 6,713 votes and Michael Molathiwa of the Alliance for Progressives polling a measly 344 votes.
The political story of numbers in Boteti West is, however, expected to change as dynamics continue to shift in the area.
With all these massive responsibilities, Tsogwane’s earlier struggle in properly reading speeches had dwarfed him and presented him as a man struggling to do his job, albeit endowed with the right credentials.
Whenever he made a speech, extracts from his address would be in circulation, all over social media, sometimes with people satirising him as a total flop.
But, from the weekend BDP activity, Tsogwane was in his element when he presented a moving speech with sheer distinction and clarity.
The demeanour, calmness, clear voice and energy that he exuded as he presented his speech last Sunday, spoke volumes about his composure and control.
The speech was well crafted, short and precise: And certainly captivating the mood and somehow meeting the expectations of the party diehards who had thronged the weekend event.
In speech reading, it certainly starts with speech composers and stops with the readers of the speeches.
The speechwriters are expected to work very hard to compose captivating speeches that will resonate with the listeners and its needs. Speech writing and reading is basically an art and there must be a connection between the speaker and delivery. In the case of Tsogwane, his speech reading was previously horrible and completely disconnected and spoiled by his stuttering.
In Palapye, it was also showing that the speechwriters are slowly mastering the character of the VP. Our observation when Tsogwane presented his speech in Palapye depicted him as a man who knew what he was doing and someone who had done his homework. He knew when to raise his voice and lower it.
Like a colleague scribe prefers to say, the speech deliverer should not behave like a newsreader on radio or television but should be mindful of the immediate audience in front of him.
And should be calm, relaxed and diametrically feel at home with eyes on the audience. It also helps to read the speech over and over again before presenting it for the purpose of familiarity, especially for a meeting of the weekend’s calibre.
Tsogwane’s speech was plain and to the point.
The issues he touched on were old BDP issues but packaged in a manner that they remained relevant and appealed to the targeted audience. He did not want to do what he could not handle well like accomplished speakers would do, combining plain speech with rhetoric, which requires anchoring on the power of strong language.
It is showing that the VP’s handlers have been working overtime to provide the requisite guidance to hide the ‘weaknesses’ of the second citizen.
Flexibility in speech delivery accorded the VP a chance to even choose or replace words without diluting the taste of his address.
“Speechwriting shouldn’t be taken lightly as it can make or break a person. And there has to be chemistry between the two - the writer and the deliverer. You may find the speech deliverer going astray and choosing to take a side issue as the main issue which can potentially mess up the presentation,” advised a local speechwriter.
His view is that punctuation is key in speechwriting, indicating that if not applied well, it can mess up the whole speech.
He added that a speech is a script looking for a performer or actor to simply deliver. But warned: “Sentence structure can confuse the speech deliverer if not well done. Equally, long sentences can kill the meaning of the message sometimes.” Speaking to the University of Botswana (UB) political commentator, Adam Mfundisi this week he indicated that, “the VP has gone through rebranding to sharpen his spoken and writing skills.
“Leaders need effective communication skills to drive their messages to ensure impact.” As for speechwriters and etiquette, he said people have worked hard to sharpen the VP’s communication skills at last. He encouraged Tsogwane’s handlers to help him stick at all times to the script to avoid waffling that derails the message.
He noted: “Change management is the pillar of effective change. The VP’s advisors must work hard on the emotional intelligence area, which is lacking in the second in command of the country.
Emotional intelligence competencies are essential to a leader to ensure intra and inter-personal relational effectiveness.”