Book Talk, Mayor Erik Arroyo visit Selby Library

When you hear “the seven deadly sins,” they start to immediately come to mind: sloth, greed, et cetera. But on Feb. 2, those weren’t the sins in question at the Selby Library’s Book Talk event. Peter Wish, a nonpartisan author and psychologist, discussed his book, “The Candidate’s Seven Deadly Sins,” and what modern political candidates can do to avoid them. 

Wish got his start working on the Mitt Romney presidential campaign and watched as the candidate made what he called blunder after blunder, talking about his wife’s Cadillacs, casually saying he’d bet $10,000 on a cavalier statement, taking pictures on a Jet-Ski rather than with his grandkids. He noticed that he wasn’t a relatable person to most of America. 

“As I observed him on the campaign trail, I made several recommendations to the campaign as to how to humanize him, because, as I say, in my book, he looks like an eight by 10 glossy photo, not a hair out of place,” Wish said. “He’s a nice looking guy, nice guy, rich guy, and all right temperament, but I didn't think he was a good candidate.”

He spent the next years developing the deadly sins sure to sink any modern politician and figuring out ways to turn them into virtues. Voting is an emotional reaction, Wish said, and you have to play into emotions and how to relate to people. He included turning pessimism into optimism, tentativeness into decisiveness, reactions into deliberation, canned speeches into authentic ones, a cerebral air into an empathic state and arrogance to humility. He spent about three years writing and distilling neuroscience, brain imaging, research on how people vote, historical case studies and political studies into his book, which he’s given out to Floridian candidates like Marco Rubio.

“The best weapon any politician can have is storytelling,” Wish said. “Stories make up 65% of our communication, and a good story will connect with the voters’ feelings, and that's where you want to be.”

Sarasota Mayor Erik Arroyo used the book in his campaign too, and spoke to the Book Talk group about what he said was a “life-changing” strategy. It taught him to emphasize the importance of being an authentic person and connecting his political stances back to the community that made him, he said. He is Sarasota’s youngest mayor and grew up with a single mom. He was born in the Dominican Republic and his family found their footing in Sarasota. 

“During the campaign trail, I never said that I don't make mistakes … it was a level of connection,” Arroyo said. “I felt connected to the voters because they saw the real me … I'm so not the guy that knows everything or has all the money or has all the endorsements, but I'm the person that will listen, and that's what I said. And it worked.”

Wish said Arroyo’s strategy tied in well with his emphasis on storytelling. He showed the voters an image of just another guy in the community, and that’s what resonated with them. His story of coming to America and making his own American dream happen made an impact. 

“You have to identify who you are, what you believe in and what you do to help people,” Wish said. 

Book Talk is a monthly event put on by the Friends of the Selby Public Library, and it’s back after a long time away due to the pandemic. The Friends board gathers up authors they can bring in, have them put on a discussion and answer any questions from the audience. The next one will be March 16.