The more subtle reasons that Jeremy Corbyn is winning support

I’ve been watching and listening to footage of Jeremy Corbyn over the past week or so and – quite aside from his policies – I think I’ve identified other reasons for his apparently-surprise popularity among grass-roots voters.

His age
At 66, Corbyn has decades of experience and the gravitas he offers stands out.

Consider Ken Livingstone’s similar appeal which swept him into the London Mayoralty and the popularity of a similar-aged Alan Johnson.

There are times when relative youth just don’t cut it.

Age is much-maligned in today’s society and yet Jeremy Corbyn stands out in a way that Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Andy Burnham do not.

His voice
Jeremy Corbyn has a rather pleasant, deep, sonorous voice and research has shown that leaders with deep voices tend to do better.

He chooses his words carefully and pronounces them equally well.

In fact, the general impression his voice leaves is one of calm and control.

His emotion
As clicheed as it is, I refer to Maya Angelou for this one.

She famously said:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And here is where Corbyn’s passion works well. He stirs up emotion that the other hopefuls fail to do.

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Of course, Corbyn’s policies are popular but the less-visible, emotional and psychological impact he makes should not be discounted.