Robert Kennedy, Jr. may be fond of contrarian views but when we look at his narrative metrics he’s not arguing very powerfully. Why? Uncertainty is the enemy of narrative.
We now have Narrative Shouters, a Smirker, and a Wimp.
The singular narratives vs mixed messages
As we all know, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr is trying to do a makeover on American public health. But exactly which parts of it and exactly how much, tends to be unclear. Search his name with “mixed messages” and you’ll find stacks of articles with that in the title.
One of the fundamental requirements for powerful narrative structure is to know what is the story you’re seeking to tell. It’s not clear he’s always certain of that.
As a result, take a look at his Narrative Index. It’s a paltry 11.
He claims to have the singular message of MAHA (Make America Health Again) as stated in May in his first major report, but The Daily Beast and Washington Post quickly pointed out the report was riddled with inconsistencies and even fabricated material from A.I.
If you don’t know your story you’re not going to have strong metrics
While at the same time trying to argue against big government? Seems like he’s saying, “We need big government to get rid of big government.”
The result is a confused agenda, confused messaging, and thus weak narrative structure.
Who’s afraid of the big bad RJK, Jr.
The point is he’s not a good communicator. Yes, he has Kennedy instant visual appeal and even some heft, but once he opens his mouth, it’s not adding up.
RFK, Jr. with the weak narrative metrics
For RFK, Jr. we opted for only articles and speeches over 1,000 words for which we could only find 10 (but that’s plenty).