Mr. Media Training

It’s that time again…for the five worst video media disasters of the month!

This month’s selections include the head of a news network, a former news anchor, a rape suspect, a Senate candidate charged with felony obscenity, and a Senate candidate who is not a witch. Let the games begin!

#5: Let’s say you’re the head of MSNBC. And let’s say you decide to promote your network’s new brand by shooting a video and uploading it to YouTube. You might want to check the television behind your head and make sure it’s not tuned to CNN. Just saying.

Related: November’s 5 Worst Video Media Disasters 

Last week, I had the honor of speaking to 100 burn survivors at the annual World Burn Congress.

Many of the survivors have horrific stories, their severe burn injuries caused by everything from war and plane crashes to house fires and domestic abuse. They have a story to tell and want to tell it, and I was there to teach them how to best write and deliver a compelling speech.

But since many of the burn survivors are disfigured – many with distorted facial features and others with missing arms, hands, and fingers – they have an additional challenge when speaking to general audiences.

Brad Phillips speaks at the World Burn Congress, October 21, 2010

Two interesting questions came up during the training – one from the audience, and one from me:

1. How Can I Put The Audience At Ease?

Several burn survivors were curious how to best put the audience at ease, given that their appearance may make the audience uneasy.

First, like any speaker, the burn survivors should demonstrate a comfort in their own skin. An easygoing persona transfers comfort to the audience.

Second, it helps to get the elephant out of the room quickly. Early in their speech, the burn survivor should let the audience know that all topics related to the burn are okay to ask about – until the audience feels safe, it will remain somewhat closed off to the speaker’s message.

Finally, many of the survivors said they used humor to put their audiences at ease. One person said he begins his speeches to children by saying, “I know I look funny, but it’s okay. I stopped burning years ago.” That may not work for all speakers, but those who can pull it off well disarm their audiences with a single quip.

2. How Should I Talk About Non-Verbal Communication?

Any public speaking coach discusses the importance of the non-verbal elements, such as eye contact, gestures, and posture. But how should I talk about those elements to burn survivors, some of whom are visually impaired, missing limbs, and wheelchair-bound? Would it be insensitive to dispense such advice?

I asked that question of a few attendees before my speech, all of whom advised me to say what I would normally say. They told me they would modify my advice based on their own limitations, but wanted to know what the best practices for public speaking were.

They were kind enough to answer my invasive questions, one of which was whether an audience member might be distracted by a speaker gesturing his arm with a missing hand? Maybe, they said, at least at first. But if the speaker remembered to put the audience at ease early in the speech, they said, it would be fine.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that a burn survivor has a more difficult task as a public speaker. But those challenges are also opportunities. Their stories are emotional to hear - and when told well, they can easily move an audience from inaction to action.

In many ways, they’re no different than the rest of us. Like every other speaker, they really only have to remember one thing: if they put the needs of their audience first, they have a great chance of speaking success.

Disclosure: Phillips Media Relations is a sponsor of the World Burn Congress.

This is the 11th article in a weekly series looking at possible 2012 presidential contenders. Click here to learn more about the series.

Since assuming office earlier this year, Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) has quickly become the darling of the Republican Party. In many ways, his quick political ascent is analogous to President Obama’s, who also became a party superstar almost immediately upon entering the political scene.

Gov. Christie is a tough-talking New Jersey politician whose no-nonsense style seems well-matched to difficult economic times.

His reign – which has focused on tightening the state budget and reforming education – earned him a 51 percent approval rating in a mid-October poll (37 percent disapproved).

Gov. Christie has many of the seven traits that all eight winning presidential candidates have had since the beginning of the 24/7 media age in 1980. He appears comfortable in his skin, uses everyday language that has the potential to resonate widely, and does a great job of articulating his message, as he does in the below clip:

“I think Republicans across the country need to get back to our brand…it’s why I became a Republican. Less government, lower taxes, less spending and common sense regulation that grows private sector jobs. So I think if my win tells anything, it means if we get back to basics as Republicans, then we speak to some of the concerns people have in New Jersey and around the country.”

I’ll review his communications flaws and grade his performance after the clip.

As the below clip shows, Gov. Christie isn’t afraid of confrontation, in this case with a teacher who is having a tough time making ends meet. But although many of his constituents appreciate his brash style, it isn’t likely to play well with women voters nationally, who have favored the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992.

If Gov. Christie decides to run, he should keep in mind that the more optimistic candidate has won every presidential election since 1980. I’m not convinced his brash style, which works well in New Jersey, will translate well to the national stage. A little prickliness can work well; too much, and he risks looking like an angry candidate a la Bob Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008.

Overall, his prospects look good. If he’s careful not to engage in too many of the confrontations he seems to relish, he’d have a real shot at unseating President Obama.

GRADE: B+

To see the other candidates I’ve reviewed so far, click on their names: John Thune, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Gary Johnson, Jim DeMint, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama

Wikileaks, an international organization that publishes leaks of classified information, has been in the news over the past week for its release of nearly 400,000 pages of documents related to the Iraq war.

The organization’s founder, Julian Assange, was being interviewed by CNN’s Atika Shubert last Friday about its latest release of documents. But when Shubert changed topics to ask Assange about the rape charges he’s facing in Sweden, he walked out of the interview.

Mr. Assange tried to position his interview walk off as a principled stand, saying:

“I’m going to walk if you’re going to contaminate us revealing the deaths of 104,000 people with attacks against my person.”

Since Mr. Assange walked away in a controlled, calm manner, many viewers may think he adjudicated himself well.

But here’s the problem: by walking away from the interview, Mr. Assange unnecessarily made the story  much, much bigger. The video of his walk-off went viral, increasing the focus on the very topic – his rape charge – that he wanted to avoid.

Years ago, I worked with a public official who walked off because the journalist broke the rules they had agreed to prior to the interview. The journalist had agreed not to ask about a specific topic – an emotional one for the official, who had lost a couple of subordinates in the line of duty – but asked about it anyway.

But when he walked off, the journalist had a terrific clip – one her station showed repeatedly, unfairly making the public official look guilty.

Both Mr. Assange and the public official could have avoided that fate by remaining seated and answering the questions repeatedly. Mr. Assange would have been better served by repeating his message – that he was not going to contaminate the memory of 104,000 lives by speaking about his personal issues – until he exhausted the reporter. It wouldn’t have made him look great, but it would have been a whole lot better than delivering a classic television walk off perfect for scandal-hungry journalists.

Last week, NPR Analyst Juan Williams made comments about Muslims that led to his dismissal from the radio network. In an appearance on the Fox News Channel, Mr. Williams said:

“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

Mr. Williams joins a long line of journalists who have been fired over the past year due for making comments perceived as insensitive, including CNN’s Rick Sanchez and Octavia Nasr, and Hearst’s Helen Thomas. 

But unlike those cases, Williams is winning the PR war against his former employer. Conservatives are predictably blasting the left-leaning network, but even liberal commentators such as PBS’s Mark Shields and CNN’s Eliot Spitzer say NPR made a bad call in dismissing Williams.

Mr. Williams is understandably angry about the manner in which his long-time employer fired him (NPR refused to meet with him in-person and canned him by phone). A gratuitous comment made by NPR CEO Vivian Schiller that he should see a psychiatrist rubbed further salt into a fresh wound.

As you’ll see in the below clip, Mr. Williams is furious, his nostrils even flaring at one point:

My advice to Mr. Williams is to cool down. He’s already winning the PR war – all he has to do now is let NPR take the heat. He should display grace instead of anger during this especially difficult moment in his career. By doing so, he can make NPR look even more unreasonable while using the crisis to enhance his own reputation. He should look to the example set by Conan O’Brien, whose grace under pressure after his own dismissal widened his fan base while making NBC executives look callous.

NPR has a tougher PR battle ahead. Congressional conservatives are already introducing legislation to strip NPR of public financing, and few think they handled the firing well.

Whether or not Williams’ firing was justified is debatable. What’s not debatable is that NPR handed its conservative opponents – who have come to appreciate Williams’ work on the Fox News Channel – buckets of ammunition by treating Williams so badly.

NPR should begin by immediately issuing an unqualified apology to Mr. Williams about mangling his firing and admitting the network’s editorial rules that led to his dismissal have been unevenly enforced.

NPR might even offer Williams his job back. Mr. Williams is unlikely to accept (he’s accepted a contract with Fox News worth $2 million over three years), but it would likely take some of the air out of the effort to eliminate NPR’s public financing.

Whatever you do, don’t just read these articles!

This seven-part series, “How to Create the Perfect Message,” is the most comprehensive free media message development tool available on-line. Take advantage of it. Open a new Microsoft Word document and begin crafting your messages as you learn how to create the perfect media message.

When you’re finished, you’ll have three messages and numerous message supports (stories, stats, and sound bites) you can begin using in your media interviews immediately.

So here we go. And if you need an extra push or quick tip, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Contact-at-MrMediaTraining.com.

1. Part One: Why Have a Message?
2. Part Two: Creating Your Messages
3. Part Three: Aligning Your Messages With Your Audience
4. Part Four: Telling Powerful Stories
5. Part Five: Don’t Use Numbers – Use Social Statistics
6. Part Six: Preparing Sizzling Sound Bites
7. Part Seven: Preparing For The Interview

Earlier this month, I wrote that Christine O’Donnell’s “I Am Not a Witch” ad was a disaster.

Many high-profile pundits disagreed with me, saying the ad was a smart move. But at the time, I wrote:

“Does her [“I Am Not a Witch”] denial sound familiar? It should:
• “I am not a crook.” – Richard Nixon
• “I am not gay.” – Sen. Larry Craig
• “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” – Bill Clinton

Spokespersons should almost never use the language of denial, and should turn their statements into positive ones instead.

Imagine, for example, that Richard Nixon had applied that technique, saying, “I have always complied with the laws of the United States.” The line would likely not have become iconic – and more importantly, he wouldn’t have placed the words “I” and “crook” within three words of one another.

The public has witnessed far too many spokespersons issuing flat denials which turn out later to be untrue. Does that mean Christine O’Donnell is a witch? Of course not. But she did herself no favors by adopting the syntax of notoriously false denials.”

Now, more than two weeks later, Ms. O’Donnell has finally conceded the obvious – that her ad backfired.

On this morning’s Good Morning America, Ms. O’Donnell said:

“I haven’t publicly stated this, and I don’t know if I’ll get in trouble for saying that, but our intention was to kill it, and that’s not what happened,” she said in the interview.”

Well, duh. Instead of killing the story, the denial ad predictably fueled it, culminating in a spot-on parody on Saturday Night Live.

Avoiding the language of denial is Media Training 101. I have no idea what her advisors were thinking, but this negative outcome should have been obvious to any experienced strategist.

This is the final installment in a seven-part series that will teach you how to create effective and memorable media messages.

Over the past few weeks, you’ve learned how to create three audience-centered messages, as well as message supports (stories, social statistics and sound bites).

Now it’s time to put them all together in preparation for your future media interviews. First, take out three 5” x 7” file cards. On the first one, write your first message. Beneath the first message, create five bullets. For the first two, write your two stories; for the next two, write your social statistics; for your final bullet, write your sound bite.

Odds are, you have a clutter of text. So take out another file card, and reduce your words to just a word or two for each bullet to serve as a memory trigger.

For example, you might write:

MESSAGE: “If we don’t pass this bill, thousands of pregnant Pennsylvania women will have to drive more than 100 miles to find a doctor to deliver their baby.”

• STORIES: Amber Peterson, Dr. Paul Reno
• STATS: Doc Sued 2-3x , Family Pays $3,400
• SOUND BITE: “Lawyers only winners”

When you’re finished with message one, do the same for messages two and three. A few final points:

1. 1. Feel free to bring your note cards to any phone interview, in-person print or radio interview (internalize a few of the main points for a television interview).
2. 2. Yes, coming up with good messaging is a lot of work. But now that you’ve completed this exercise, your messages should last for months…or even years.
3. 3. This system is flexible. If you hear a great story or statistic tomorrow that reinforces your message, bump out an old one and insert the new one.

I’ll reiterate my original offer here: I’ll review the messages you come up with for free. If interested, send your completed messages and message supports to Contact-at-MrMediaTraining.com. (Limited to the first five e-mailers only.)

And congratulations – you’re now ready for any media interview!