Summary:
“This article delves into the insights gained from analyzing Donald Trump’s tweets through psycholinguistics, comparing his personality traits with other influential business figures. Researchers observe Trump’s ‘Schumpeterian’ personality, characterized by creativity, change-orientation, and competitiveness, aligning with successful entrepreneurs. The analysis underscores the power of language in shaping personal brand and leadership perception. Additionally, it highlights Trump’s neurotic tendencies and their implications on leadership. The study prompts reflection on the intersection of personality traits and effective governance.”
Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name…” but as it turns out, that’s not quite true–at least when it comes to Twitter. The words you use to craft your messages speak volumes about your personality.
The power of your words.
As a branding and marketing strategist, I am continually nagging my clients about the power of words. Especially those that are etched in perpetuity on the Web. In particular how the words they use – even unconsciously – convey their emotional, social and thinking styles.
In fact, there are researchers out there whose whole area of expertise is dedicated to the field of psycholinguistics.These word warriors have a whole arsenal of tools at their disposal, but for us ordinary folk, here’s a fun one that can give you a quick analysis of your personality –all courtesy of your most recent tweets: http://analyzewords.com.
So how do your tweets compare to typical titans of industry and even, a President of the Untied States?
Two researchers, Martin Obschonka (Queensland University of Technology) and Christian Fisch (Trier University in Germany) wanted to know what Trump’s tweets say about his personality. So they paired up to analyze the tweets of Donald J. Trump and compare his personality traits with those of other influential businesspeople, none of whom are politicians–at least not yet. The leaders they compared Trump’s tweets to included:
- Eric Schmidt (Google)
- Meg Whitman (HP)
- Tim Cook (Apple)
- Elon Musk (Tesla)
- Michael Dell (Dell)
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
A Schumpeterian personality.
The researchers employed specific software to assess the language Trump used in 3,200 tweets issued by October 2016 (prior to his becoming president). Their results indicate that Trump shows strong tendencies toward a “Schumpeterian” personality, a personality the researchers say is common in successful entrepreneurs. The nomenclature stems from Joseph Schumpeter, who in the 1930s described this business type as:
- very creative
- change-orientated
- competitive
- rule-breaking
Critical qualities in a CEO, business owner entrepreneur, or even a President of the United States.
Using words on Twitter that convey these ideas, can help to craft your brand. For example using words such as inventive, original, stimulating and leading-edge, convey creativity.
Want to be seen as competitive in your Twitter feed? Incorporate words such as ambitious, rival and street wise.
Further analysis of the the Donald’s tweets indicated that Trump also has certain neurotic tendencies and experiences underlying low well-being. Obschonka and Fisch wrote about their research in an article titled “Entrepreneurial Personalities in Political Leadership” for the journal Small Business Economics. The two expounded on their findings to ScienceDaily.
“These traits are rather untypical for entrepreneurs since working as an entrepreneur may not only require emotional stability and optimism but also be able to increase happiness due to procedural utility,” explains Obschonka. Obschonka and Fisch caution that leading a company is distinctly different from leading a country. The jury is still out as to whether a president (or any political leader, for that matter) with such an enormous entrepreneurial bent can translate that style into the successful leadership of government.
So take a few moments and check out your tweets. the language you use might just tell you whether you’ve got the stuff (or not) to be the next commander in chief.
This article originally appeared on Inc.com.
