Crisis management best practice dictates that, if the worst happens, a company should, firstly, be open and honest with its customers, staff and other important parties, such as regulators. Secondly, it must also try to fix the problem as soon as possible. If it doesn’t follow this practice, crisis management case studies generally suggest its reputation could be fatally damaged and its bottom line affected.
So far it has survived numerous crises including a sexual harassment scandal, highly public fights with regulators, its own drivers and Apple and, perhaps most shockingly, acquiring the medical records of a rape victim without seemingly affecting the bottom line.
“Uber has entered that rarefied portion of the market, alongside companies like Ryanair and Sports Direct, where unpleasantness is now an assumed part of the brand. Sure, some people like the company. But many don’t, but also know it’s cheaper than the competition.”
The regulators, lawyers and investors in Uber may be the ones who will pass the final judgements but customers in the US affected by the data breach are apparently already lining up class action cases.
But for those companies that do still care about the affect a crisis could have on their reputation, remember the best practice golden rules of:
• Tell it all
• Tell it fast
• Tell it truthfully
Being as transparent as possible won’t make the crisis go away but at least your voice will be heard, you will be able to have some control over the timing and the messages and, therefore, the perception of your company.
Photo credit Pixabay
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/rsz_app-pixabay.jpg210300Catherine Crosshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngCatherine Cross2017-11-22 16:23:022020-09-14 08:06:01Crisis Management Uber style: keep quiet and cover it up
Theresa May stood up at the Lord Mayor’s banquet at London’s Guildhall on Monday evening and accused Russia of seeking to weaponise information: using fake stories and photo-shopped images to sow discord in the west. She added meddling in elections and hacking the Danish Ministry of Defence, the Bundestag and others to the list of inappropriate international activities. The full speech is here.
PR and the role of the enemy: case study
Theresa May pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2016. Now she accuses him of trying to destabilise western democracies.
Now, I have been going on, in private, about Russia’s likely meddling in both the Brexit referendum and the last UK general election for a considerable period of time. I am not close to power so I have no proof but there is enough evidence out there to make me deeply suspicious. But no one was talking about it: until now.
I was extremely thrilled last week when I saw the cover of that excellent round up of the week’s news The Week.
And I am pleased that the Prime Minister of the day is now raising the alarm about the likely, sinister action of Russia; using social media (and particularly social media bots), fake news and other tactics to destabilise western democracies.
But I am deeply suspicious about the timing of Mrs. May’s sudden apparent interest in this.
PM criticises Russia, but why now?
The information about suspected Russian meddling has been around for months if not more. It is true the press were writing more about it this month but there was no major new information. It seems Edward Lucas of the Times brought it into the mainstream (sadly this article is behind The Times paywall). I wonder if it just popped into his head or whether someone in Whitehall sowed the seed.
The question is, why is Mrs May speaking about this now?
Well as a cynic, I would answer that it is because the government needs an enemy to unite us. One that is not anything to do with our negotiating partners in the Brexit talks. And here we have it: President Putin and the threat to the international order. As a political or PR tactic it is as old as the hills. Here is an article in Psychology Today that explores this very issue.
Headlines about Russia’s meddling are ‘manna from heaven’ for an embattled Prime Minister who has on her hands rumbling sex scandals, the Paradise Papers, stalled Brexit talks and forced cabinet reshuffles due to amateur empire building by the former Minister for the Department of International Development. And that is before we get to the Boris and Gove double act. My guess is that the Russia section of the speech was suggested or developed by Robbie Gibb ( who I blogged about back in July) to give Mrs. May a few benign headlines. And it certainly worked.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/rsz_vladimir_putin_and_theresa_may_2016-09-04_03.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2017-11-14 16:29:132020-10-12 08:17:10PR and the role of the enemy
We at The Media Coach love LinkedIn. As a social media specialist, I keep across all the main channels and firmly believe that today – for the PR world – LinkedIn has huge potential but is often underused. It is widely known as a place to put your CV, or as the Facebook of the business world, but it’s so much more than that. As a PR professional if you are not really using this valuable social networking platform you are missing a trick.
Here’s why.
5 Reasons PR professionals should use LinkedIn
You can find crucial contacts and have an ‘in’, a reason to introduce yourself via your existing network of contacts who validate your experience.
One of the hardest things about the PR world is being able to find the right contacts. Top of the list for this is of course journalists. You can’t hope to have strong relationships with every journalist, especially when you start working with a new client or in a new sector. LinkedIn gives you the potential to ‘know someone that can’, to get introductions. It can also put you in front of potential clients and help you find the next job. It’s the best networking you can do from the comfort of your own chair.
This is the best place to build credibility and make it visible. Shout about your news or share articles and people who don’t know you very well, feel that they do.
We always need to let people know about our successes. By posting yours or your clients’ stories on LinkedIn they can be shared with a lot of people. If you join targeted groups you can share to an even bigger number; without relying on the mainstream media it can reach thousands of professionals. This also gives you an opportunity, as an individual, to position yourself as an expert in your field of PR and an expert in the industry that your client is in. But remember to apply judgment; you don’t want to give away too much to the competition.
You can write as much as you like about yourself and in doing so make yourself a searchable commodity. This is way beyond posting a CV.
Unlike many other portals, LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to really elaborate on who you are and what you do. Most of the boxes on your profile give all the space you want. You can explain in detail what your expertise is and you can explain what type of clients you would like to work for. All of this detail is searchable, so LinkedIn helps to make you a saleable commodity that can be found by the search engines. Recommendations are visible and easy to find for anyone who wants to know more about you.
Keep up to date and learn new things.
We all suffer from information overload but this is a great source for learning more from experts and influencers in your field or that of your clients. Influencers are clearly signposted with the LinkedIn influencer badge and you can get noticed by joining in their conversations by adding and responding to comments on their articles. The LinkedIn news flow encourages short, sharp and succinct content that is easily digestible, so if you follow the right people and join the right groups you can stay up to date with the latest news and trends in your field.
Helps you find the next job, as long as your profile is up to date!
PRs work in a very transient industry. At some point you will be ready to move on. LinkedIn is one of the best ways to get that new post and develop your career path. We know that the best jobs often come via recommendation but LinkedIn’s searchable system helps you to effectively recommend yourself. If your profile ticks their boxes, people and companies will come to you. Some of my best and most lucrative jobs have come from LinkedIn. With the right references and the right connections companies and those desirable positions can easily start finding you.
There are more reasons why this is the best professional networking system for PR professionals but if these five reasons don’t get you started on your LinkedIn journey, nothing will.
LinkedIn downsides that you should be aware of
Just in case you think this is an advert for LinkedIn, there are some downsides.
First and foremost you have to understand the importance of searchable terms, this is the common sense bit of search engine optimization. Your profile needs to include phrases that potential employers or lucrative contacts are actually likely to search for. We are all having to learn to write this way and SEO applies to LinkedIn just as much as a blog.
Secondly, LinkedIn often changes its formatting. A constant complaint is that buttons move and functions have been hidden in a new place.
Thirdly, it has become a victim of its own success as a lot of the quality and informative posts are now being lost in the noise of low-value content. Just like Facebook’s ‘noise’ if you have a lot of connections you will have to wade through a lot of uninteresting posts before you get to the useful nuggets of information.
Finally, it can be a challenge to reach that one person you really want to reach without paying. You may be able to see them but not be able to message them. There are ways around it, the six degrees of separation principle of LinkedIn can work, as you may have a connection who can introduce you but otherwise you may have to pay to use InMail. This can be frustrating.
We provide bespoke social media training courses.
Overall, the free version of LinkedIn is a great tool. If you want to know more about how to use LinkedIn for your organisation we can build a training course around your particular needs. We provide very bespoke social media training around all aspects including Twitter and LinkedIn. Just book in a call with us.
Photo one supplied by Pixabay
Photo two supplied by Flickr
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/rsz_29443419161_6db0cc6eb8_b_flickr.jpg210300Michelle Brownhttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngMichelle Brown2017-11-06 11:16:212020-10-12 08:17:395 reasons why LinkedIn is a ‘must’ for PR people
It is so easy to misspeak in public, especially if you are trying to be funny.
Last weekend, it was Michael Gove who caused widespread offence by joking about the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
Michael Gove MP has apologised for his gaffe
Wrong time to trivialise allegations against Weinstein
In a BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, he likened being interviewed by John Humphrys as going into Harvey Weinstein’s bedroom – “you just hope you emerge with your dignity intact”.
First I have to say I am not offended by Michael Gove’s joke. It was meant as a joke and tells you nothing about his attitude to women. I could easily join the #MeToo campaign. Others’ experience of this may be in the film or music business, mine was in the grubby hotel kitchens in Great Yarmouth. My experience is that chefs are just as bad as movie moguls.
But while I am not offended, I do recognise it was a daft thing to say and absolutely bound to cause an uproar.
Off-the-cuff remarks can be bad news
When it comes to off-the-cuff remarks in public, it is very easy to get it wrong. Being a little bit risqué will often get a laugh but can also easily offend. And when others are trying to move the dial on what is acceptable behaviour they are going to be quick to condemn those who can be criticised for not getting with the programme.
Back in August, I wrote about three subjects to avoid if you want to stay out of the headlines and any overtly sexist views was one of them. Gove was using Weinstein as an analogy rather than in any way endorsing his right to any sort of behaviour and the line “leave with your dignity intact” is elegant and funny. The problem is that Gove appears to be trivializing what Weinstein and perhaps others have done. If he had thought about it, crafted it, rehearsed it he would definitely have dropped the line. But it was almost certainly an off-the-cuff comment.
But it does beautifully illustrate why spokespeople need training and they also need to rehearse. My Mum has often been heard to say, “I don’t understand why these clever, important people need you to advise them what to say”. And the truth is my one of my key roles is to ensure that my clients ‘risk assess’ the thoughts, arguments and comments they are likely to deploy in the public arena – thereby avoiding embarrassment or damage to the share price.
So many clever people initially find it extraordinary that PR people want to know what they are going to say, how they are going to say it and want to check how the argument is going to land. The smarter ones realise very quickly that an hour or two of preparation, scrutiny and rehearsal can allow everyone to breathe more easily.
If you would like our help in preparing for some external communication – whether it is in the media or somewhere else, please do give us a call to discuss. Join the group of senior leaders who would never be without us.
Photo used under Wikimedia Commons licence
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/rsz_close_up_of_michael_gove_at_policy_exchange_delivering_his_keynote_speech.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2017-10-30 15:25:042020-10-12 08:17:55So easy to misspeak: case study from Michael Gove
Being misrepresented in the media is very frustrating. During media training sessions, we often hear that people are reluctant to speak to the media because they have previously had “a bad experience”. “I was misquoted” or “the headline completely misrepresented the story” are two of the most common complaints.
And while the first reaction might be to blame the journalist, two recent controversies reveal that they aren’t always happy with the final version either – and sometimes it’s due to circumstances beyond their control.
And earlier this month, interviewer Ginny Dougray became involved in a row with Saga Magazine and Clare Balding over changes made to an article she had submitted. Ms Dougray was furious that the magazine seemed to have offered Clare Balding ‘copy approval’ and demanded that her name be removed from the article. Saga Magazine later clarified that its editorial team had made the changes themselves.
Saga clarified that its editorial team made changes to the article and stated that it did not give interviewees ‘copy approval’.
What these examples illustrate is that after the journalist finishes an interview, there is a more complicated process getting a report published or broadcast than many interviewees realise.
In most large news organisations, the journalist’s work is reviewed by a sub-editor, to check for typos and grammatical mistakes. They also make sure it is as short or long as needed (leading to another common complaint from interviewees; that they gave the journalist lots of information but very little of it appeared in the final version.) If an article is longer than needed, the sub-editor tends to just cut information from the end, without referring back to the original writer. However, they can if they choose completely rewrite it.
The article then goes to a headline writer. Their job is to come up with something which will grab a reader’s attention and interest them enough to read the rest of the story. It is designed to be eye-catching and, in one short sentence, cannot be a balanced representation of the whole story.
So if an article (and your contribution to it) doesn’t end up as you had hoped, it may not always be the journalist’s fault.
Avoid misrepresentation in the media, take control
From the interviewee’s point of view, there are some simple steps you can take to give yourself the best chance of your story being covered as you would hope.
Be realistic: accept that being interviewed is taking part in an editorial process, it is NOT advertising. Mainstream news organisations rarely offer copy approval – even to the most famous. Asking for it just creates ill-feeling.
Take control of your own contribution. Do your homework, and prepare content, messages and proof points which meet your objective while also meeting the needs of the journalist. You must be interesting and quotable.
During the interview, use control techniques such as ‘bridging’ (and if you don’t know what that is, you should attend a Media Coach training course) to steer the conversation round to your agenda.
While the journalist may not have complete control of the whole process, the preparation will give the interviewee the best possible chance of winning interesting, accurate and favourable coverage: a win-win situation for all.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/rsz_newsbeat-.jpg210300Catherine Crosshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngCatherine Cross2017-10-24 08:30:132020-10-12 08:18:31Misrepresented in the media? Why it may not be the journalist’s fault
Dull presentationsthat bore the audience and damage people’s careers are to be found, it seems, in every industry and sector. At The Media Coach, we have seen a lot of prize specimens.
Established practice is often bad practice, riddled with overly long bullet points, statements of the blindingly obvious mixed in with obtuse arguments barely understood and rarely remembered. And there are the branding departments who insist on colour schemes, headers, footers etc.
So how can you lift your presentation above the crowd? Below are some of the basics of best practice and some common mistakes made by dull presenters.
Aim to lift your presentation above the crowd. Remember established practice is often bad practice.
Dull presentations can be avoided
The basics:
• Plan on paper. It will make your structure clearer.
• Have a clear take away message.
• Write for your specific audience – typically, the more tailored the presentation, the better.
Be picture or data led, keep text to a minimum
• Be picture or data led – limit text and bullet points. No one can read and listen at the same time and if you have lots of words on the screen you will be tempted to turn your back on the audience to read them. For a guide watch how little text appears on television graphics. It can be a revelation.
• If it is a long presentation divide it into clear chapters, and tell the audience when you move from one chapter to the other. If you know how to use the message house (anyone trained by us will know what this means) this is a very good basis for a presentation, although clearly not the only template possible.
• Don’t be scared to introduce or summarise an argument in a few words on an otherwise empty slide. It can really help to signpost your presentation in this way. Just don’t leave it up too long.
• Rehearse aloud.
• Face the audience and not the screen for at least 80% of the time.
• Speak slowly with energy.
Boring your audience should not be acceptable. If you think your presentation is destined to be dull, send an email instead.
Dull presentations. Consider just sending an email
We think presentations should not be just about informing an audience. It should be entertaining and inspiring. As my fellow trainer Eric Dixon would say, if just passing on information is your goal send an email; you will save yourself a lot of effort and both you and the audience a lot of time. Presentations should leave people with something new to think about, inspired and galvanized depending on the circumstances.
Dull presenters are often guilty of these common mistakes
• Copy and pasting an old presentation and then fiddling with it to save time. Whilst there is nothing wrong with reusing old slides it is often simpler and better to start with a clear plan and then fill in with some old and some new slides.
• Writing presentation notes on the slide. As mentioned above you want as few words as possible on the slide. There is a special place for presenters’ notes – use it. You will give a better presentation this way.
• Putting a tiny picture on the slide and a lot of words. I am a huge fan of Garr Reynolds who uses full frame photos and limited text. In this case the image becomes a prompt for each element of the argument. I highly recommend his book Presentation Zen. It will transform your presentations.
• Always using the company template. I know sometimes you are told to do this and you have to suck it up, but ask yourself does every single slide have to be branded? Isn’t there some possibility to break it up with a different style, a visual surprise? How about using the branding only on the chapter headings?
Dull presentations will be lifted by a story or example
More common mistakes:
• No stories, examples or anecdotes. We say it at every possible opportunity but here it is again: tell stories, use examples, and raid your personal life experience or someone else’s to make a point. The scientific evidence is overwhelming – people may be impressed by facts and numbers in the moment but overwhelmingly they remember stories over data. Any stories are good but learning to tell stories properly will improve all your communications.
• No media inserted. In this day and age there is little excuse for not using sound or video in your presentation. Above all remember to keep this short. Just 20-30 seconds of something relevant will lift your presentation from the pedestrian to the entertaining.
• Not rehearsing. Polish comes with rehearsal. 20 minutes rehearsal is ten times more use than 20 minutes chit-chat about what the presentation might cover. Rehearse, revise and rehearse again.
• Over-running your speaking slot. Time yourself in a run-through and then add another 20% – it always takes longer in reality than in rehearsal.
Our trainers aim to inspire. We tell lots of stories and we rehearse.
Take every opportunity to practise in front of an audience, your loved one, critical children etc. It’s all valuable.
And of course, if you need help with either a particular presentation, or improving your personal style, the Media Coach team would be delighted to oblige. Just give us a call to discuss on +44 (0)20 7099 2212.
First two pictures used under cc licence from Pixaby
Third picture owned by The Media Coach
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/rsz_conference-2705706_1920.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2017-10-03 09:06:042020-10-12 08:18:56Dull presentations are endemic but can be avoided
Crisis management is stressful but not usually difficult. When it comes to what not to do in a crisis, the airline industry has recently been a pretty rich source of case studies (read our view on United Airlines recent problems here). Ryanair’s handling of its recent mass plane cancellations provides yet another example of not following crisis management best practice.
If it were any other company, the list of sins could be fatal to its reputation. But Ryanair has never sold itself on customer service (in fact CEO Michael O’Leary has often appeared to enjoy antagonising passengers and his critics) and its management seems to feel that the cheap ticket prices and the destinations it flies to means that most customers will just hold their noses and keep using it no matter what.
But for companies that are not so lucky – and do fear the old adage that a reputation can take a lifetime to build and five minutes to lose – there are some simple rules of crisis management best practice to follow to avoid turning a drama into a crisis.
Ryanair initially blamed the cancellations on punctuality problems, saying less than 2% of their flights would be affected and that they would still hit their target of 90% of planes arriving on time. (Following the rule that it’s a good idea to use facts to put an issue into perspective.) But with that 2% translating into around 400,000 passengers affected, the storm of complaints on social media, TV, radio and in newspapers was entirely predictable. The company then changed their story and admitted the problem was caused by large numbers of their pilots booking holidays at the same time. Whatever the operational reasons, it seems hard to believe that Ryanair’s managers didn’t know the crisis was coming. And it seems equally unlikely that they suddenly woke up one morning and decided the solution was just to cancel around 50 flights a day and simply not fly large number of their passengers anywhere! The impression of mismanagement continued with a public falling out with the company’s pilots.
Crisis management: best practice guidelines
So, a quick reminder of some (but by no means all!) crisis management best practice guidelines:
1. Plan ahead and prepare thoroughly – very few crises cannot be foreseen. The timing may not be known but most major issues can be identified and crisis plans developed to tackle them.
2. Agree on procedures and make sure everyone in the company who needs to know them is familiar with them BEFORE a crisis hits.
3. Develop media statements and key messages (templates can be developed in advance that can quickly be modified for each situation) and have trained spokespeople ready to go as soon as possible. This preparation also includes identifying how you will have enough people to ensure websites don’t crash, Live Chat questions are answered and phones are answered. If this doesn’t happen, already stressed and angry customers will only be outraged even more.
4. Position your company as taking action to ‘fix’ the problem and make sure you get the tone right: people are more important than profits. While in certain crisis situation the lawyers won’t let companies actually say the word ‘sorry’, spokespeople can use language like, ‘deeply regret’ and ‘very concerned by’ etc.
5. Don’t view the media as the enemy – they can help you get messages across to all your target audiences!
All common-sense steps you would think but amazing how often companies and organisations don’t follow them.
If you would like to know how we can help to educate your top team on crisis management or prepare them for crisis interviews, just give us a call. All Media Coach courses are bespoke, we will work with you to make everything we teach directly relevant to your business.
Photos used under Wikimedia Creative Commons licence
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/rsz_boeing_737-8as_ryanair_ei-dwl_8135261092.jpg210300Catherine Crosshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngCatherine Cross2017-09-20 18:13:242020-10-12 08:19:20What not to do in a crisis? Follow Ryanair’s example of crisis management!
‘The hypocrisy of Blair’ was the headline in The Sun on Monday this week, giving readers their weekly dose of outrage. Trevor Kavanagh, former political editor and now a columnist, wrote a stinging and vitriolic condemnation of the former Prime Minister for daring to suggest that there were ways to control immigration that might satisfy those who voted to leave the EU – and therefore mean Britain didn’t have to leave after all.
Outrage
Tony Blair suggests much stricter immigration controls for EU citizens to satisfy angry UK voters: “Paradoxically, we have to respect the referendum vote to change it,” he explains. If he had sold his own children into the sex trade it’s difficult to imagine more personal and outraged coverage in some areas of the media. For example this story from the Express.
Blair appears to have grown a Teflon skin, which may be why he is such a strange colour. Defending him is a mug’s game so I am not going to waste my words, although I still think he is one of the most brilliant communicators of his generation, if not of his century.
Tony Blair: defending him is a mug’s game but he is still a brilliant communicator.
But it does, once again, throw the spotlight on whether it is ever possible to change your mind in public – over a major issue – and not get completely ridiculed. It seems there is, in the somewhat skewed moral code of journalists, no bigger crime than to change your mind. This is, of course, irrational on many levels and was tackled in the last century in a quote attributed to economist John Maynard Keynes :
‘When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?’
Flip-flops and U-turns
I have written about this before two years ago (click here if you are interested) but the moral of the story is clear: you do not want to make public U-turns or flip-flops lightly because journalists will be likely to put it in a headline and suggest you are losing face, incompetent or an idiot.
If you do need to do it, it needs careful planning, crafted arguments or messages and robust answers to the obvious question of: ‘why have you changed your mind’, and ‘how often you have been wrong before’ etc. Blair, of course, had all these ready for his interviews on Sunday – plus a dose of humility, which is a good side dish in these circumstances. If you can get past any personal animosity to him, this interview on Andrew Marr on Sunday (available only until 19th October) is a good watch. No question is ever ignored but the prepared messages are always also inserted in such a way that you can’t spot the join. There is lots of careful phrasing and the usual rationale and inclusive tone. In its way, it is a masterpiece.
If you need help messaging some difficult announcement, or just want to rehearse, the Media Coach team stand ready to help!
Photo of Tony Blair used under creative commons licence.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/rsz_1tony_blair_uk_prime_minister_1997-2007_8228591861.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2017-09-12 09:00:172020-09-14 08:08:44The hypocrisy of Blair: PR lessons from a reviled politician
The hardest questions from journalists are often the ones where you can’t tell the truth and you can’t lie.
If you are not used to corporate life you will be quick to judge this post as more evidence of spin doctors’ corrosive effect on society. But I have learnt that there are plenty of occasions – totally ethical circumstances – when it is not possible or sensible to tell the truth. And I for one am not sure UK Prime Minister Theresa May was telling the truth when she let it be known she plans to lead the Tories into the next election.
But let’s start at the beginning. When working out prepared reactive lines to tough questions, those where you can’t tell the truth and you can’t lie are in a category all of their own.
There are some of the more straight forward ones. They were some of the hardest questions but over the years others have found the right phrase and now everyone uses it. In the trade we call all of these phrases a ‘close down’.
Sorry that is commercially confidential
Companies often have numbers that they do not want to release for perfectly valid commercial reasons. This might be as simple as ‘what is your margin on this?’ or ‘how many deals are in the pipeline?’ or more specifically ‘I heard your margins are being squeezed and are now down below 12%. Can you confirm that?” In these cases it is easiest to be straight with a journalist and say ‘sorry that is commercially confidential’.
We never comment on market rumours
If your listed company is in the process of doing due diligence ahead of a takeover bid you are legally obliged not to disclose this to one set of shareholders ahead of another. It has to be announced to the whole market at the same time. You have no choice but to keep it under wraps before the announcement. So if a journalist asks directly ‘are you about to buy xyz company? ’ you will have to fall back on the well understood stock answer ‘we never comment on market rumours’.
The market sets the share price
Similarly, a senior executive should not share an opinion on his own company share price. It would be ill advised to say ‘my shares are undervalued’ to one journalist because again if there is something to be shared on this you must tell all investors at the same time. The stock answer here is ‘we just run the business and let the market set the price’.
However, that still leaves plenty of common but trickier questions that need a bit more thought.
Difficult questions can, for example, arise if a member of staff has been ‘let go’ for some major issue; it may have been incompetence or something illegal that never went to court. You can’t say publicly what you believe to be true because you could be sued for slandering the individual. A standard answer would be ‘I am not going to comment on personnel issues’ although this is harder to sustain the more senior the person in the spotlight.
How long do you plan to be in the job? When will you retire? Or any version of this is another question a senior leader is ill advised to answer. It is well known that as soon as a decision to go is announced, power starts to drain away from that person and the troops line up behind one or other of the potential successors. In business life we normally advise a dismissive ‘when there is any announcement to be made on that I will let you know’. But the more senior you are, the more your shareholders and customers will demand to know.
Theresa May’s dilemma
This is exactly the dilemma Theresa May faced last week.
Having experienced life as a ‘lame duck leader’ after the general election, and having perhaps recovered somewhat from that, I am guessing she would be reluctant to do anything to undermine her own power again. But the problem she faced, from the moment the election result was confirmed, was people speculating on her future.
This was pushed to the top of the news agenda with a flurry of reports about her plans to leave the job. I think timing is also an issue here because she had a number of lobby correspondents on the plane with her to Japan. That sort of event always involves some cosy briefings between the PM and the press. The ‘will you stay?’ question was guaranteed to come up. It is one of the hardest questions any leader can face. Given the circumstances, she decided to quash the story and to go with a definite ‘I am staying’, ‘I am not quitter’ and ‘yes, I intend to fight the next election’.
[Personally, I am not convinced by the ‘I am here to stay’ statements. If I was in her shoes and – just imagine – I was keen to go after the Brexit negotiations, I certainly wouldn’t confirm this. And in her particular circumstances there is no dismissive phrase that would not have the same effect as saying ‘yes, I plan to go’. It seems to me she has to pretend to be staying. I am not saying she is definitely being misleading, just that she might be.
On the other hand, I have been more cautious than most about writing Mrs. May off as there have been many amazing political comebacks in my time. Plus, while May is at the moment rather poor on television and on the campaign trail, she may be a rather good Prime Minister in other ways. And as we see in training sessions time and again, people can learn if they put the effort in.]
Anyway, back to the hardest questions. I thought I would end with a warning: from my constant consumption of UK media I would say that Eddie Mair on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme is the best (or worst) journalist for asking impossible questions. This year he asked the BBC’s Director of Radio James Purnell ‘Why do on-air people get paid more if they have a penis?’. I still haven’t worked out what, given the circumstances of that interview, the answer should have been.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/rsz_composite_2.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2017-09-04 17:46:052017-09-05 16:00:01Media Interviews: The Hardest Questions
Journalists often accuse the PR world of ‘navel-gazing’ when developing messages and trying to sell-in stories. While working in various BBC newsrooms I often took calls from people trying to sell me a story by saying “This is really interesting…” Unfortunately, most of the time it was interesting to them but of little relevance to a wider audience.
Well, this week the boot has been on the other foot. Journalists have found the silencing of Big Ben interesting but the rest of the country less so. The Big Ben story went on and on for nearly a week. But apart from those inside the Westminster bubble, does anyone really care?
Big Ben will remain silent for the next four years – a story that had extensive coverage for more than a week. But who really cares?
Perhaps one reason it got so much coverage is because it’s the so-called ‘silly season’ when journalists sometimes struggle to fill newspapers and bulletins.
Here are some questions to ask when developing angles and messages to sell into journalists.
Developing messages: Ask is the story timely?
In other words is it about an issue of the moment, next week’s news rather than last week’s. Clearly, Big Ben passed this test. Most of the coverage happened before it fell silent not afterwards.
Developing messages: Is your story relevant to people’s lives?
Do your messages pass the ‘So What’ test? In the case of Big Ben, most people have heard of it, so the news it will be silent for most of the next four years might be of some interest. But many people I’ve spoken to outside London remarked that they didn’t really care and found a week of coverage over the top, because it was irrelevant to their daily lives.
When developing key messages and selling-in stories, look for ways to make the story relevant to multiple audiences.
Roger Harrabin is a BBC environment analyst (we used to call them reporters). The first line of his washing machine story is a perfect illustration of the second element you need when selling-in a story to journalists: can you sum up why it matters in one sentence? He wrote:
“A simple device to cut the weight of washing machines could save fuel, cut carbon emissions and reduce back injuries, according to researchers”. Now that clearly passes the ‘So What’ test? Journalists will respond better if you think the way they do and ‘cut to the chase’.
Developing messages: Have you joined the dots?
We understand, this approach is often at odds with the way many people think. An engineer once said in a media training session “You have to understand that, as engineers, we are trained that the facts should speak for themselves”. This, unfortunately, demonstrates exactly why selling-in stories, developing key messages or answering questions in a media interview can go so badly wrong. When speaking to busy journalists don’t fall into the ‘too obvious to mention’ trap: you have to connect the dots and (concisely) spell out the point you want to make and why it matters.
Of course, once you have the journalist’s attention it then really helps if you can back it up with a story, metaphor, anecdotes or proof points to bring your point to life.
A final example of effective communication – making it real – comes from Lord Browne, formerly of BP, who said in a recent talk that “engineering is about creating solutions to humanities most pressing challenges – whether it’s building a bridge, finding new treatments for cancer or tackling climate change”.
You can’t argue with that!
If you want more on this subject Robert Matthews blogged last year about a scientific study that was adapted to fit the Ted Talk formula. The talk was called ‘Can you really tell if a kid is lying’. The blog is here and the Ted Talk is here.
Photo credit: Big Ben used under Creative Comms licence.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/rsz_big-ben-1082205_960_720.jpg210300Catherine Crosshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngCatherine Cross2017-08-29 17:10:372021-05-31 08:38:25Developing messages: Are you guilty of navel-gazing?
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Blair appears to have grown a Teflon skin, which may be why he is such a strange colour. Defending him is a mug’s game so I am not going to waste my words, although I still think he is one of the most brilliant communicators of his generation, if not of his century.
