| business beat |
| Words can always hurt you |
| Andrew Folks |
"I am many things. I am an animal. I am a convicted rapist, a hell-raiser, a loving father, a semi-good husband. You don't really know me."
-Mike Tyson at a news conference where he cursed, jumped on a table, stripped off his shirt, complained about medication hurting his sex life and threatened to put "a (expletive) bullet" through the head of Lennox Lewis.
He may not need it in the ring, but Mike Tyson has always needed preparation when he, well...gets behind a mic. In fact, everyone does.
Today's media asks questions of everyone. They talk to anyone and ask everything. It doesn't matter if you are a sports star or own a coffee shop. It doesn't matter if you are the governor or a member of your neighborhood group. The press is going to come for you if something newsworthy happens at your place of business. So you have to be ready with the right words to say. Saying something wrong can haunt you, and your organization, forever (For example, we laugh at Mr. Tyson's verbal quips almost weekly in this office). So if you are ready when you talk to the press, it will reduce your chances of saying something that could be damaging to your career or to your company.
How do you do this? Well, it is really not that hard. When the media does call, here is what you do:
- If you haven't already, figure out exactly what they are looking for and do that first.
- If you have time and know what they are seeking, think about exactly what you want to tell the media person. Think about what you need to say to clearly get the message across.
- If you have time, call in your coworkers, or better yet, a professional agency like Semaphore. They'll help you to anticipate questions and prepare responses that are consistent with the story that you want to tell.
It is not a sign of weakness to call in a pro DURING a crisis, whether it's a business fiasco or a natural disaster. That is when clear language is essential. For instance, when Hurricane Rita was heading for Galveston, a reporter asked the city's mayor why she was staying there during the evacuation. She responded (we paraphrase) that she had never left because of a hurricane. WRONG answer during an evacuation. The accurate and safe answer? "City leaders have decided to set up a safe command center and I will remain there to oversee operations." One PR consult (or a little more preparation) before she appeared on the "Today Show" may have kept residents from using that as an excuse to stay on the coast. There were lives at stake!
Of course we realize the media can catch you when you haven't had time to prepare. Here's what to do then:
- Keep your answer short
- Think about what the story you want to tell
- Realize that the reporter will ask it - but they are not your enemy. You can both get something out of the conversation.
With today's technology (internet blogs, e-mails) its easier than ever to spread information. What you say can be the difference between successful use of the media and your company or organization "fading into Bolivian" as our friend Mr. Tyson would say. We want it to be the former for you.
Part of this article is based on principals derived from: www.keeneypr.com
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