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Executive Rewind: 3rd Party Questions as a result of hoof-in-mouth disease
The typical 3rd party questions that come up in interviews usually concern a piece of research or the comments of an expert. But, sometimes it’s especially controversial.
For instance, you may recall that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin proclaimed New Orleans would again be a “chocolate city.” The comment, taken by many as a message of exclusion rather than inclusion, got him in trouble. In reaction to the fallout, he tried to rationalize his way out of it.
Then, in a first anniversary piece on the storm and its aftermath, 60 Minutes interviewed the mayor for a piece by Byron Pitts. Pitts is an excellent and long time CBS correspondent who has covered the New Orleans situation extensively over the past year. He asked some tough yet important questions, including one about the tons of debris still piled up throughout the hard hit lower 9th ward.
Nagin bristled over that one and lashed back about it being five years later and New York still had not fixed that “hole in the ground.” Nagin was at first defensive, including during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press with Tim Russert. Russert offered him opportunities to apologize.
So what’s the lesson here? Don’t say something stupid, or that you’ll be sorry for? Well, yes, that’s always preferable. But, being human, you might slip up sometime and it requires some contrition on your part. People usually are willing to give you a pass when you admit a mistake. But if you’re unwilling to admit it, prepare yourself for the fallout. And beware the over-used, often abused, explanation that you were taken “out of context.” It may be true, but that excuse more times than not has proven to be false.
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The Media Trainers® Re–winder Reminder:
- If you’re not familiar with something someone else has said, or written, say so. Then go to a key message of your own.
- If you are familiar with a third party statement, or research, and don’t agree with it, don’t waste time criticizing that when your time is best spent giving your own strong, positive, stand alone position.
- A third party may have said or written something about an area of your business where you don’t have the expertise. Maybe someone else in your company should be responding to it.
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The Media Trainers®, LLC, has a Tough Questions eBook on our Web site that you can download free for easy reference.
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