IMMANUEL Y.

GRANADA
Purposive Communication
Task 1.3.1. Effective Oral Communication

COMMENT ON PRES. DUTERTE’S SPEECH DURING THE PHIL-CHINA TRADE AND

INVESTMENT FORUM

President Rodrigo Duterte in his speech during the Philippine-China Trade and Investment
Forum in Beijing, China has failed to observe some principles of effective communication.

In order to have an effective communication, certain principles need to be observed. The speaker
must be: (1) clear with his purpose; (2) complete with the message he delivers; (3) concise; (4)
natural with the delivery; and (5) specific and timely with the feedback.

The President failed to execute the first three (3).

The President was not clear with his purpose. Initially, he gave comparisons between Oriental
and American values. He opined that the Orientals are shy and courteous, while the Americans
are loud and discourteous. He also introduced his bad experiences with the Americans. In 06:11,
he related his bad experience in Miami airport where, according to him, a black guy wearing a
black suit in black shoes with a black gun – “all black,” asked him of his Letter of Authority to
Enter which he averred to have been lost or has not been inserted back in his “diplomatic
passport” by one authority in Brazil. Said Letter of Authority to Enter, he said, is supposed to be
not a requirement in Miami for said Authority is needed only and is required solely in Brazil for
diplomatic purposes. He further expressed his compassion with certain poor Filipinos in Davao
City market who have “never tasted luxury in their lifetime,” his defense against Human Rights’
issue on extrajudicial killings, and finally, the announcement of his separation from the United
States. These and all those personal opinion, except perhaps with that of his compassion with the
poor, are, indubitably, irrelevant to the forum vis-a-vis trade and investment. For a speaker to be
clear with his purpose, he should know by heart his objective in communicating.

The President was not complete in his message. His allegations that the Americans are “loud,”
“discourteous,” “commanding,” and possessing an “idiotic arrogance” are based merely on his
personal bad experiences with the few of them. For a speaker to be complete in his message, he
should make sure that his claims are supported by facts and essential information.

The President was not concise. He was wordy. For instance, in 24:17, he talked about his two (2)
houses, his date with his girlfriend, and his routine, which are no longer necessary to the speech.
Another is in 26:38, where he advised the Chinese to not get offended when they will be called
“Intsik” because his grandfather on his mother’s side is also an “Intsik.” He further proceeded
with some good traits of a Chinese such as being faithful to the promises, which obviously are
irrelevant. For a speaker to be concise, he should abandon verbosity.

However, despite President Duterte’s failure to observe those first three (3) principles, he,
nevertheless, has executed correctly the last two (2).
The President is natural with his delivery. He punctuated important words with the appropriate
gestures and movements. In his announcement of his separation from the US, the President faced
the Chinese authority which was very appropriate as a sign of respect and allegiance. Further,
during the entire speech, the President showed a great degree of confidence.

The President is specific and timely with his feedback. In the year 2016, almost all countries
experienced financial distress including the Philippines. It is but consequential that, as President
of a financially distressed poor Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte should take his stand for the
economic welfare of his country.

In its entirety, the speech is good. The President tried to win first the Chinese’ confidence by
expressing a total dislike to American values and practices (the United States, being China’s
great economic and industrial competitor) and by building a relationship with the latter by
enumerating some commonalities and attributes so that in the latter end he may gain China’s
favor.

The President must, however, be direct in his objective. He must refrain from making any
unnecessary details – details which are somewhat very personal to him. He should also avoid
discussing matters which are not relevant to his objective anymore.