What We Can Learn From Hulk Hogan

After four days of RNC Convention speeches, one thing is true—professional wrestling has produced some of the most dynamic speakers in the country. Hulk Hogan gave one of the more memorable speeches of the evening, and not just because he ripped his clothes off to reveal a Trump/Vance ’24 t-shirt underneath. (DMG does not recommend the average person mimic The Hulk and tear their clothes off on stage, but we now can’t say it’s not ever a good move…)

With so much content from four RNC convention days and a news cycle that feels like whiplash, DMG is focused on the two main speakers—Trump and Vance—to help you in your upcoming communication scenarios.

Here are the takeaways from their headliner speeches that you can implement:

#1 — Know and Respect the Audience. Donald Trump’s speech clocked in at 93 minutes. If you scrolled X (formerly known as Twitter), the majority opinion was that he spoke for too long. While the former President is known to give lengthy speeches at rallies, he was speaking to a different audience. He was trying to connect not just with the people in the room, but his real audience at home — the American voter. Depending on your time zone, he made some choose between watching his speech or getting enough sleep. Pro Tip: Don’t mess with peoples’ sleep. No one can achieve the American Dream without it. The main takeaway is respect people, especially their time.

#2 — Craft a Speech With a Story Arc. The big announcement of the week was the VP selection of Senator J.D. Vance. For many Americans, his speech was the first time they had heard him speak. The stakes were high. And though he had good moments, including talking about his Mamaw, the copy of the speech and the way it was delivered was clunky. It went back-and-forth from family story to policy to family story to policy. This left Vance switching from a serious tone to a lighthearted tone, and he didn’t do it with ease. Do yourself a favor and realize that storytelling should have an arc. He should have started with some family stories, focused on policy for the body of his speech, and then come back to family at the end to neatly tie it up. This would have helped his delivery as well and made the best parts of his speech at the beginning and the end, which is when the audience is most likely to listen. Think about your speech as a whole…the best speech writers do.

#3 — Match the Tone to the Moment. If you looked at headlines today, you’d see a theme–“The Softer Side of Trump.” The speech he delivered last night had a different tone than the “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT” we heard right after surviving an assassination attempt. His raised fist and rallying cry beautifully matched the horror of the moment and displayed unbelievable courage. His softer delivery last night, his inclusive wording that he wants to be the President for ALL Americans, was punctuated by a slower pace and a quieter voice. It was measured, and it was a delivery that people who are undecided about Trump could attach themselves to. His style has been a hurdle for some Americans, and last night he gave them a reason to say, “Okay, I can jive with that.” Remember, when trying to persuade an audience, you have to be someone they can align themselves with. Tone matters.