by Roger Ailes
CHAPTER 13: EVEN HEROES GET SCARED
Summary
• In a poll of human fears, twice as many people were more afraid of speaking in public than of dying. Fear of failure and embarrassment are the main reasons people don’t do things in life.
• Insecure communicators usually see themselves as worse speakers than they really are.
• There are two kinds of anxiety that may affect how we address an individual (or group): external anxiety caused by frightening outside situations that might occur, and internal anxiety that results from illness. Less than 2 percent of people actually suffer from internal anxiety.
• The greatest antidotes to fear are preparation of material and use of energy in delivery.
• Since you are the message, you must view yourself in a short-term and a long-term way. Short-term, as in a speech, use everything in your power at the moment and forge ahead. Long-term, improve yourself constantly to bring forth a successful lifetime. Do not confuse the two.
Questions/Exercises for Discussion and Reflection
Think about your greatest fears. Picture yourself in front of an audience and consider the absolute worst consequences of your showing fearful behavior to others. Could you survive the worst and would the audience “forgive” you (or even care that much)? If communicating in certain situations gives you the jitters, minimize your anxiety and be fair to yourself by preparing what you’re going to say as much in advance as possible. If you make a mistake, don’t fuss over it. Get back to your topic. Work up the courage to put yourself in one communication circumstance you’ve been dreading. When you’re in front of your audience, don’t try to be perfect. Just focus on getting your message across. Once you complete your presentation, how reasonable or awful were the fears that earlier bothered you? What reaction did you get from the audience?
CHAPTER 14: “MAKING IT” IN GRANDMA’S EYES
Summary
• The safest course in dealing with the press is not to make “off the record” statements. The only thing off the record is what you don’t say.
• If you have wisecracking instincts, keep them in check around the media.
• You have an obligation to help the press by providing true and complete information. But don’t be cornered into meeting a reporter’s deadline if it forces you to provide incomplete or unsubstantiated facts.
Questions/Exercises for Discussion and Reflection
If you were to conduct an interview with the press, what subject(s) could you speak about with authority? How would you prepare yourself for meeting the press? What topics would you prefer to keep private and how would you respond if a reporter confronted you with those topics?
CHAPTER 15: MEDIA TACTICS: SCORING ON DEFENSE
Summary
• Check out all over-the-phone media requests for information. You need to check out the reporter, what he wants, and why he might want it.
• With the media, you are always on defense, but if you do it right, you occasionally score.
• Never go into a media interview unprepared. Discuss the interview in advance with a public relations professional, a media trainer, or other trusted counsel. Reverse your roles: If you were the journalist, what questions would you ask?
• Have an agenda with at least three major points you want to mention in the interview. The most common mistake made by people who are interviewed is that they wait for the reporter to ask questions related to the major points they are prepared to make. That may never happen.
• The medium determines the message. Newspaper interviews allow you time to explain. Radio and TV interviews require “headline” answers.
• Never assume that your agenda and the reporter’s agenda are alike. You have a prepared point of view, but the reporter has a series of questions that may go beyond the scope of your agenda. Early in the interview you must try to build a bridge between the two agendas.
• You are not obliged to reveal confidential information, but don’t dismiss the query with “No comment.” Give a rational explanation as to the proprietary nature of some of your information.
• In news interviews, be friendly, be brief, be direct, and be positive.
• Avoid jargon, speak plainly, and use examples and illustrations expressed in laymen’s terms.
• Stay composed at all times. Part of the reporter’s armament is to throw you off balance, so stay calm and stick to your point of view with short, clear answers.
• Whether it’s a TV, radio, or print interview, say what you have to say, then stop. It’s the reporter’s problem to come up with the next question. Generally, the tougher the question, the shorter your answer should be.
• Dress conservatively. Don’t let your wardrobe overwhelm your words.
• A practical formula for interviews runs thusly: Q = A + 1. A question is asked (Q). Reply with a brief answer (A). Then add a point or points (+ 1), preferably from your prepared agenda.
• You can ask a reporter if you can review his text of the interview, but don’t request changes in his writing style.
• The more inflammatory the journalist, the cooler you should be.
• If a reporter uses negative, hypothetical, or incorrect words in a question, don’t legitimize them by repeating them in your answer.
• Develop three levels, or “tiers,” for each answer, to the most challenging questions that may be asked by a reporter: Tier A is a short summary of your position. Tier B is a concrete example or fact to back up your summary. Tier C is a further elaboration and another supporting statement. If a reporter pushes you further, go back to tier A.
• Audiences have a short attention span, so cut to the heart of the matter.
• In all interviews, don’t give in to pressure to go beyond the bounds of your stated position.
Questions/Exercises for Discussion and Reflection
Ask a friend or colleague to conduct a mock media interview with you on a subject related to your work or interests. Make a list of at least three proactive points you’d want to communicate if you met with the press. Play devil’s advocate and also list the areas where you might be vulnerable to criticism or tough probing. How skillful are you at implementing the Q = A + 1 formula explained in this book? Ask the interviewer for feedback (or, if you’ve recorded the interview, come to your own conclusions). How successful were you at presenting a positive composite message, one in which your style and substance worked well together? Did you say anything quotable? Returning to the concept of the “guest meter,” where would you rate (boring, okay, interesting, memorable, book this person back)? Did you say or do anything you’d regret if the interview were broadcast or printed? Review this chapter again and pinpoint areas where you might improve your media interviewing skills.
EPILOGUE
Summary
• Remember: We’re all human and vulnerable. Show that side of yourself to others and they’ll be more sympathetic to you.
Questions/Exercises for Discussion and Reflection
Arrogance defeats likability. Speakers succeed only if audiences allow them to succeed. This will happen only if the speaker sincerely tries to communicate with the audience, as opposed to acting full of self-importance. Does arrogance ever creep into your communication? Remember: Audiences will respond more favorably to a genuine, human approach.
NOTES
1. Eugene B. McDaniel with James Johnson, Scars and Stripes (Philadelphia and New York: A. J. Holman Company, 1975), p. 40.
2. Nick Jordan, “The Face of Feeling,” Psychology Today 20, no. 1 (January 1986), p. 8.
3. Robert O. Skovgard, ed., Openings (Dayton, Ohio: The Executive Speaker Co., 1984), p. 24.
4. Ibid., p. 14.
5. Ibid., p. 4.
6. Ibid., p. 2.
7. Gerald Gardner, All the President’s Wits: The Power of Presidential Humor (New York: Beech Tree Books, William Morrow Publishing, 1986), p. 222.
8. Ibid., p. 137.
9. Ibid
., p. 37.
10. Ibid., p. 20.
11. James Brady, “In Step with Perry King,” Parade, February 8, 1987, p. 22.
12. Robert O. Skovgard, “Summaries and Closings,” The Executive Speaker 7, no. 1 (January 1986), p. 9.
13. Skovgard, Openings, p. 36.
14. Ibid., p. 26.
15. Lou Cannon, Reporting: An Inside View (Sacramento: California Journal Press, 1977), p. 5.
16. Thomas Griffith, How True: A Skeptic’s Guide to Believing the News (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1974), p. 7.
17. Bill Hunter, “The Softening of Business Communication,” IABC Communication World 2, no. 2 (February 1985), p. 29.
ABOUT AILES COMMUNICATIONS
TRAINING
Ailes Communications provides communications, leadership, and media training programs developed by the authors of You Are the Message, company founder Roger Ailes and his longtime colleague, ACI president Jon Kraushar. ACI trains executives, authors, and leaders in many other fields seeking to most effectively get their messages through to a variety of important audiences, including customers, stockholders, the press, and government officials. Private training courses are custom-designed for each individual or organization.
RESEARCH
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For the past twenty-five years, the strategic consulting services of Ailes Communications have been highly sought-after by some of the nation’s most prominent organizations and leaders. ACI’s team synthesizes its corporate, entertainment, and political experience to provide clients with unique and innovative solutions to communications problems. Strategic projects can be undertaken on a retainer or project basis.
PRODUCTION
The film and video production capabilities of Ailes Communications are well known throughout the television and corporate communities. Projects range from advertising production to corporate videos to broadcast television projects like the CBS special The All-Star Salute to Our Troops (1991) or the syndicated “Rush Limbaugh: The Television Show.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Roger Ailes is president of the NBC-owned cable television channels CNBC and America’s Talking, where he hosts an interview program called “Straight Forward.” An Emmy Award-winner, he is a partner in and executive producer of “Rush Limbaugh: The Television Show.” Ailes’ many other acclaimed productions include The All-Star Salute to Our Troops following the Gulf War, and Television and the Presidency. A political media adviser in three winning presidential campaigns, he also founded Ailes Communications of New York, consultants to corporations and entertainment companies.
Jon Kraushar is president and chief operating officer of Ailes Communications of New York, which provides executive training, advertising and marketing strategies, research, and production for a variety of business and entertainment clients. He is a former award-winning newspaper journalist and television news writer and producer.