Page 210 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

DEALING WITH THE MEDIA 201

taxes.” Or you could simply say, “Eight out of ten Americans say
they support the measure.”

Cite your personal experience. Whenever possible, draw on your
own eyewitness recollections. There is no substitute for actually hav-
ing been there. For example: “People complain about bureaucracy
and how they never seem to get anything done. But in the three
years I spent in local government, I saw more projects completed
than in the previous twenty years spent in a big corporation.”

Defuse loaded questions. Techniques for doing this include: (a) dis-
agreeing with the loaded premise (“I don’t agree with your charac-
terization of American managers”), (b) recognizing that some people
may agree with the loaded premise (“It may be true that some people
feel the way you do, but . . .”), or (c) bridging immediately to your
position (“It may be true that some people feel the way you do, but
most people fail to consider that . . .”).

Don’t be afraid to change your mind. It’s OK to change your mind.
More than one major reversal in a lifetime is probably too often, but
we should feel free to change our minds about issues as the circum-
stances surrounding those issues change. Robert McNamara, the
former secretary of defense under Presidents John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson, and chief architect of America’s aggressive mili-
tary involvement in Vietnam, changed his mind. Years later, McNa-

mara finally admitted he had been wrong in Vietnam and wrote a
book about it. A change of heart can signal fl exibility and open-
mindedness, so admit when you’ve changed your mind and be pre-
pared to explain why.

Assume the microphones are always “hot”—even before and after
the show, or during commercials. This means don’t say anything
you wouldn’t be comfortable saying on the air or having immortal-
ized on tape. No one wants to become part of a “blooper” reel.