Early in life, we are told that fighting fire with fire will only make matters worse. But the fire of gratitude, diplomacy and goodness will squelch the fire of crudeness and rudeness, every time. Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift proved this useful lesson when she eloquently delivered her acceptance speech at the 2016 Grammy Awards. While the memory of Kanye West’s interruption …
Rubio’s Robotic Repeats
“It’s a good thing to stay on message until it’s not” wrote Forbes’ Magazine contributor, John Baldoni in response to Marco Rubio’s 4-time robotic repetition of the phrase ” Let’s dispel this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s trying to change America.” Every public speaker should get in touch with …
If you can’t say something intelligent…
If you can’t say something intelligent, don’t say anything at all. It’s crucial to think before you speak, especially when speaking to the media. The purpose of an interview should be to advance your product, company or cause. In short, to lead the interview in a direction that is advantageous. In a recent interview with the UK’s Evening Standard, Tinder CEO Sean Rad, …
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words
Model-turned-actress-turned sourpuss, Cara Delevingne, recently flunked an interview on”Good Day Sacramento,” as she promoted her new movie, Paper Towns. The interview had a rough start as one of the hosts introduced her as “Carla.” Her reaction was a scowl and she never fully recovered. At first, she tried to answer their questions with sarcastic humor, but as the interviewers pressed …
It’s Easy When You Know the Answers
There’s an old saying among trial lawyers: “Never ask a question (of a witness) to which you don’t already know the answer.” On the other hand, no one should face the court of public opinion via the media or audiences in person, without first asking and answering for yourself the obvious questions. Case, in point, Jeb Bush, presumptive Republican presidential …
Don’t Deflate Your Defense
In crisis media coaching as on the football field, the best defense is a good offense. Defending their team’s actions, however, the New England Patriots chose an unusual offense. This most recent case, dubbed ‘deflate-gate’ involves star quarterback Tom Brady whom the NFL has accused, along with two locker-room personnel, of intentionally deflating the game ball to gain a competitive …
Consistent Messaging Not a Slam Dunk
Consistent messaging is one of READY FOR MEDIA’s 12 C’s of communication, and one of the most important. If you cannot effectively communicate with members of your own team, how can you expect to communicate with the public? In a recent playoff game, the Cleveland Cavaliers undermined their own emphasis against domestic violence with a video broadcast depicting a woman …
Twitter: The 140-Character Soundbite
Social media has become every publicist’s nightmare. Rather than carefully formulating and crafting media responses through interviews, phone calls and media training, it is now possible for a moment of lapsed judgment to spiral into a media faux pas. Actor Alec Baldwin is the most recent example of this growing trend with a tweet from his car in New York …
Politically Incorrect
Scolding and shushing an interviewer is not the way to win the media game. Media coverage is a privilege and responsibility granted to those worthy of public interest. It requires effective communication, presentation skills and media training. Here, the Republican Junior Senator from Kentucky, Dr. Rand Paul, proved himself less than worthy. The potential 2016 presidential candidate patronized, accused, demeaned …
Hot Under the Collar
In this election year, should Governor Rick Scott have electrified his voter base with a seven-minute stand on a non-issue? And why? Before an October debate in Fort Lauderdale, incumbent Florida Governor Scott created a media disaster by delaying his appearance for seven minutes due to a cooling fan placed beneath the podium of his opponent, former Republican turned-Democrat gubernatorial …