Mr. Media Training

A few times a month, I meet new clients who tell me that a previous media trainer advised them to ignore reporters’ questions and just state their messages instead.

That advice is downright reckless, and I’m always stunned to hear that some media trainers still spout that nonsense. I know many of our media training competitors, and none of them recommend that approach. So where, exactly, is this coming from? (That’s an honest question – I really don’t know who is still selling that advice).

Perhaps it’s the lingering remnants of outdated media training advice from the 1970s and 1980s. Regardless of its source, it’s a still too-prevalent view that needs to be mercilessly stomped out of existence.

On this past Sunday’s Meet the Press, Michele Bachmann offered a perfect case study for why it’s a bad idea to ignore the questions.

Ms. Bachmann clearly came into the interview with this message: That President Obama “deceptively put” $105 billion dollars into his health care legislation and needs to give it back to the American people.

But she repeated that message eight times in five minutes, not even making the slightest pretense to answer the host’s questions:

David Gregory: “Are you willing to vote to shut down the government over some of these add-ons to these spending bills, to defund funding for the health care legislation, for Planned Parenthood, for the EPA?”

Michele Bachmann: “I think this deception that the President and Pelosi and Reid put forward with appropriating over $105 billion dollars needs to be given back to the people…”

Mr. Gregory: “Congresswoman, my question is a very direct one. Will you vote to shut down the government over those riders?” 

Ms. Bachmann: “I think that President Obama needs to give back that $105 billion that they already appropriated.”

Ms. Bachmann could have very easily answered the question in a word or two before transitioning back to her message. And instead of simply parroting the same words eight times, she could have used different words to express the same idea. She lacked the deft touch required to remain on message without appearing evasive.

It’s unfortunate that Ms. Bachmann took this approach, because she did a perfectly good job of answering Mr. Gregory’s questions when she didn’t use that technique.

Most of the media trainers I know would agree with this advice: Don’t pull a Bachmann. Answer the question, but quickly and in a manner that does no harm. Then – and only then – transition to your message.

Related: Be On Message. But Not Like This Guy.

Related: Michele Bachmann’s Odd Tea Party Response

You’ve been invited to go on Meet the Press, and you’ve labored for days with your communications team to develop the right message.

If you’re Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), your message is about the economy – specifically, his view that the Obama Administration has not successfully navigated the country through the recession.

Mr. McConnell, like any spokesperson with a message, wants to articulate it as often as possible.

And David Gregory, like any good journalist, wants to “make news” by steering the spokesperson off message.

So when Mr. Gregory asked Mr. McConnell for his views on President Obama’s faith, McConnell used the word “faith” as his keyword and employed the “keyword bridge” to steer the conversation back to his message.

MR. GREGORY:  Let me move on to something that seems to be related to this and has gotten a lot of attention this week, and this is the poll about the president’s own faith from the Pew Research Center.  Eighteen percent of those polled believe that the president is a Muslim.  Among Republicans, this is striking, 31 percent believe he’s a Muslim.  Of course, he’s not.  Why do you think these views prevail?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, look, I think the faith that most Americans are questioning is the president’s faith in the government to generate jobs. We’ve had an 18-month effort here on the part of this administration to prime the pump, borrow money, spend money hiring new federal government employees, sending money down to states so they don’t have to lay off state employees. People are looking around and saying, “Where’s the job?”

By answering the question in such a manner, he was able to remain firmly anchored to his economic message without wading into the topic of the President’s religion.

At this point, you might be wondering if the keyword bridge is a bit too slick – a dodge that doesn’t truly answer the question. In fact, David Gregory began his follow-up by telling Mr. McConnell that his answer was “certainly a side step to this particular question.”

But despite its obvious flaws, the keyword bridge is a nice tool to put in your media arsenal. Employed sparingly by a deft spokesperson with a friendly interviewer, the keyword bridge allows you to remain on message without wading into unnecessary distractions.

Note: Immediately after the answer excerpted above, Mr. McConnell stoked a major controversy when he said he takes the President “at his word” that he’s not a Muslim instead of stating unequivocally that he personally believes the President is a Christian. This article doesn’t deal with that  portion of the interview; rather, it is intended to focus solely on the passage above, which highlights his use of the keyword bridge.

As seen on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire

This past Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner was a guest on NBC’s Meet the Press.

He made some news on the program, saying it was “worth considering” changing the section of the 14th Amendment that guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the United States.

But many people didn’t hear his words. They were distracted by what could only be described as Rep. Boehner’s “Oompa Loompa” orange hue.

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe the next morning, the hosts mercilessly mocked Mr. Boehner – but also made an important point about distracting the audience.

I know an article about Rep. Boehner’s tan may seem superficial, but it underscores a vital truth about communications: Audiences take more meaning from a spokesperson’s vocal tone and body language than they do from words alone.

That doesn’t mean words don’t matter – they do. But if the audience is distracted by something in an interview – whether it’s a monotone delivery, a few dozen “uhhhs” or “ummms,” or an overly-tanned face – they are not going to hear what you have to say.

Related: Do you know the seven winning traits every successful presidential candidate has had since the beginning of the 24/7 media age in 1980? Click here to see our 2012 election series.