The European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO) completed the 9th Training Course on Fundamentals of Debate with presentations by Jorge Santiago Barnes, an accredited doctor in Political Communication and Political Analyst with a strong international background.
Barnés, offered academics and professionals a true roadmap on communication, research, and persuasion. Under the premise “from research to perception,” the expert argued that the difficult thing today is not finding data, but knowing how to organize it, interpret it and turn it into solid arguments capable of influencing others.
During his speech he insisted that information is power: “The more information you have, the more power you will have.” However, he nuanced that quantity does not equal quality. In communication, less is more. Not by much talk the message improves; on the contrary, it may lose strength. Hence the importance of applying the three C rule: clear, concise, and correct. “If you complicate the message, it doesn’t arrive,” he said, stressing that before speaking one must ask what is meant and how it will be said, as well as having a clear direction: what is the goal and what is the objective.
Jorge Barnés emphasized that communication is not recitation, but sharing. To connect ideas or arguments, you must first have them well constructed and be sure of what is being defended. Every intervention is an opportunity, and to seize it is essential to plan, simulate situations and organize information and questions.
Also addressed highlighted the importance of storytelling and the Johari Window with its four quadrants – open, blind, hidden and unknown – as a tool for understanding how information is perceived and shared among people. He emphasized that uncertainty is one of the biggest enemies in communication and that generating expectations can be a powerful strategy for capturing attention.
In the field of professional growth, he defended the need to conduct a SWOT analysis to know where one is and apply the CAME method – correct weaknesses, face threats, maintain strengths and exploit opportunities – to define what to do. Only from realism, he asserted, can one grow.
With his speeches, Barnés marks the end of the 9th edition of the course of public speaking offered by UNEATLANTICO prior to its traditional debate league, which starts on Wednesday, February 18 and will answer the question “Does unrestricted immigration strengthen or weaken the country?”