A Tale of Two Statements
Consider the difference in these two statements:
“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.”
“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests our next president . . . and Barack Obama is the candidate who has the brains and judgment to meet that test.”
If you were paying attention to the presidential race even a little bit last week, you recognize the first version as coming from Joe Biden. It was a mistake because it supported one of the key messages of John McCain — that Obama doesn’t have the experience to be President of the United States.
With a very small change in wording, along the lines of the second version, Biden could have stayed on message and out of trouble.
Two points.
Point Number 1: Anyone who talks to or within earshot of reporters regularly should know immediately that Biden’s statement was a problem. Anyone who doesn’t understand how to avoid this kind of mistake shouldn’t be speaking on behalf of your organization in any setting that could lead to news coverage. If you have an executive or spokesperson person prone to gaffes like this one, get them media trained. And make sure they understand the difference between the two statements that appear above: The first one points to your guy as having a problem and the second points to your guy as the one who can stand up to the inevitable challenges ahead. There’s a big difference.
Point Number 2: If you have an executive or spokesperson who continues to make gaffes like this one even after being media trained, try to find a way to keep that person from talking to reporters – even if it’s your CEO. Joe Biden’s a U.S. senator and a candidate for vice president. He’s going to say things that are quoted by reporters. But he’s famous for this kind of mistake. If they could, Obama’s media handlers would never let Biden talk in public without a script. If your CEO repeatedly makes this kind of mistake and isn’t trainable, you may have to live with it. But look for strategies to have someone else talk to reporters instead, if you can.
That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?
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Tags: joe biden, media messages, media minute, media relations, monday morning media minute