Electing a US president

The American election is a few weeks away. Their system is a bit complicated. Do you know how the whole process is? Listen to the following videos and answer the following questions.



1. What are the primaries and who wins them?
2. What is a "super Tuesday"?
3. When do national  elections take place?
4. What are "electors" and how many do the different states have?
5. "The winner takes it all". What does this sentence mean in electoral terms?
6. What is a "swing" state?
7. When can we say we have a new president in the country and when will he be invested?


When elections are held, we usually have some debates between candidates to show their opinions to the audience. They are a good chance to put candidates under the microscope. Everyone is watching for mistakes or any key moment in their speeches. 
  This week , for example, we have some debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The press has defined these debates as some of the worst ones in the US presidential history.
  Here you have some highlights from yesterday´s second programme between the official candidates. What do you think of it? What was the main topic? What do you think of the speakers´ reactions? 
Analyze the following statements. Do you find any similitaries with debates in your own country?

" I hate to say it  but if I win I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation"

"There has never been so many lies, so much deception. The people in this country are furious"

" You ought to be ashamed of yourself"





Public speaking and debates are a difficult art. They are used to persuade and rally audiences and change their point of view or at least try to influence them so they can be very powerful and they teach us how important words are!!
 What do you think of the video you have just seen, are Trump and Clinton good orators? What makes a good orator? Eye contact is very important when giving a speech. At the same time you have to know how to use your voice taking into account pace, rythm, pitch, volume and know how to make pauses. 

Listen to the following videos and learn a few tips about public speaking. Try to remember this when you have to do your oral presentations.