How to Use Political Debate to Write Dialogue That Sings

by Jeff Elkins

If you live in the United States, there is a good chance your television was tuned in to the presidential debate on Sunday night.

Regardless of your politics, the conversation likely brought a cocktail of anxiety and frustration mixed with joy and elation. At one second you felt the warmth brought by the anticipation of victory and then, suddenly, the dull pain of possible defeat.

As writers, these are the emotions we want readers to experience when they engage with our stories. We want them to become as emotionally invested as they do in a political debate.

Today, rather than focusing on who won or lost the actual debate, let’s use what we watched as inspiration for our writing.

4 Debate Tricks That Reveal Character

The setting of a political debate provides a wonderful opportunity for us to practice our dialogue writing. Without having to build a setting or provide backstory to characters, we reveal aspects of our characters’ personalities and who they are through their words and body language.

The debate stage is an opportunity for us to create contrasting characters and then place a spotlight on their differing features. A debate is a moment for our honest and compassionate characters to shine while our insincere and shady characters show their true colors.

Part of what makes a debate such a rich scene is that the character revelations go beyond the words. It isn’t just the content of what the candidates say that reveals their true feelings: the way they play the game gives us insight into who they are.

When real-life correspondents analyze a debate, they look at the whole package the candidate brought to the event: the facial expressions, the tone of voice, the preparedness or lack thereof. And candidates know this, so they use tricks to manipulate us relate into relating to and empathizing with them.

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A debate is an opportunity to reveal character through dialogue and body language—no setting or backstory needed.

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Here are four tricks commonly used in debates that we should let our characters use in dialogue:

1. Compliment the Question

Complimenting the moderator’s question is a common trick used for multiple reasons.

First, for the audience it builds a sense of rapport between the moderator and the candidate. The candidate appears appreciative of the moderator’s hard work in forming and providing the questions.

It also makes the candidate appear confident. It doesn’t matter how difficult the question is—by complimenting it the candidate appears unruffled and in total control.

Finally, complimenting the question is a stall tactic that allows the candidate to gather their thoughts before speaking.

When we knowing this trope is a common part of political discourse, we can play with it in humorous ways, providing levity to the dialogue and potential insight into our characters. For example:

“Candidate Clovis,” the moderator said into the microphone. The gravity of his voice brought a knowing hush over the crowd as the audience anticipated the bomb of a question that was about to be unleashed. “Some have said,” the moderator continued, “that you are ill-equipped to be our mayor as you have never held political office, only have a high school level education, and, in fact, have spent the last five years working as a birthday party clown. Is that true, sir?”

“Mr. Moderator,” Clovis said with a charming smile. “I am so happy you asked that question. And you know, it is true that I’ve never served in political office. But as you point out, I’m used to dealing with clowns, which I believe makes me the perfect fit for city hall.”

2. Talk Around the Question

Anyone who’s watched a debate knows this trick. Regardless of what the moderator asks, the candidate will reference the question in a general way and then answer the question they wished they’d asked.

Through this trick, we learn what is important to our characters. Readers will see where the character wants the conversation to go, which reveals something about the character’s intentions.

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Characters reveal what’s truly important to them when they talk around questions instead of answering.

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Skillful debaters wrap us so deeply in their redirecting stories that, by the time they are done, we’ve forgotten what the original question was.

“Please tell us, Candidate Clovis, how you feel about the price of tomatoes,” the moderator asked.

“Well, Mr. Moderator, I’m so glad you asked,” Clovis said, pausing to take a drink of water. “You see, tomatoes are important to me. In fact, all fruit is important to me. Did you know that I grew up on a fruit farm? And it was on that farm that I learned the value of hard work. Hard work and discipline. Let me tell you my granddad taught me about hard work and discipline. My grandfather said that . . .”

3. Provide a Random Example from Everyday Life

This is a technique I feel is used more with each debate I watch. It occurs when a candidate references a private conversation they’ve had with an everyday citizen.

It’s intended to make the audience feel like the candidate understands and empathizes with the problems of ordinary people.

“Mr. Clovis, would you mind explaining to us how you would bring relief to the current downturn in wages?”

“That is a fantastic question, Mr. Moderator,” Clovis said, loosing his tie. “Why, just yesterday I was in the diner on 3^rd street, where I had coffee with a sweet, elderly lady named Mrs. Cershaw. Now Mrs. Cershaw has worked in the diner for twenty-four years, every day taking care of her customers with a smile. And you know what she told me? She told me all about how she couldn’t afford her favorite cookies anymore because the prices in her grocery store are skyrocketing up beyond what the small tips she receives every day can bear.”

4. Use a Folksy Metaphor

Having grown up in the South, this is one of my favorite techniques to write. The sillier and more absurd the metaphor, the more fun I find it to read.

“You know, Mr. Moderator, you can’t catch a coon in the rain when your dog has a cold,” Clovis said, flashing a grin to the camera.

“While I appreciate my opponent’s attempt to explain this complicated issue,” Clovis laughed, “it doesn’t matter how much red paint you slop on a barn; it still just looks red.”

Clovis wagged his finger at his opponent as he said, “That strategy is like a pickup truck with bucket seats where the bed should be. Not only does it look weird, but it ain’t going to haul any apples and the orchard’s going to rot.”

Telling Strategies Beyond the Debate Stage

Use the setting of a debate and play with rhetorical tricks to write fun scenes with vibrant characters. These tricks will also stretch far beyond the debate stage—try applying them to your characters’ everyday conversations for some entertaining interactions and telling displays of personality.

Have I missed anything? What other tricks have you noticed debaters using? Let me know in the comments.

PRACTICE

Take fifteen minutes to write a debate between two characters running for office.

Don’t worry about the scenery or the audience; focus instead on the questions asked and how your characters answer. Describe their body language and tone of voice. Reveal to us who your characters are by their tricks and words and the choices they make.

When your time is up, post your practice in the comments, and leave some feedback for your fellow writers!

The post How to Use Political Debate to Write Dialogue That Sings appeared first on The Write Practice.

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