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Handling
Q&A's: Be A Conductor By Andrew Farah In a Q & A
session, your audience has the floor but you dictate the beat. Consider
yourself as a conductor and Q & A's will be a cinch. You're alone on a stage and a prying question is posed. Fast on your feet, you jump to conclusions and drive home an answer before the questioner can finish. He gets his answer but little of your respect. While he was speaking, he handed you an inadvertent gift - TIME: time to develop an appropriate answer. Pay no mind to the number of questions you entertain, quantity cannot trump content. Sometimes, speakers keep speaking as they begin to lose ground. This could not be more destructive. Rarely can a speaker dig his or her argument from the muck while under duress. Dr. Frank Luntz, a leading pollster and author of Words That Work, says, "Speaking is not a conquest, it is a surrender." Simply stop talking by saying, "I'm going to stop there." Catch your breath, gather your thoughts and relax. If he wants your continued opinion, he will ask for it. How long should my answers be, you ask? Length of Answer = Length of Question, times three. Resist the urge to spew. Let them be the judge of an answer's sufficiency. An audience appreciates complete, succinct responses. Brevity. It is soul of most communication. Andrew Farah
was a summer Intern with The Communication
Center®. | ||||
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Getting
Comfortable with Telephone Interviews By Nathan Roberts Sure, you want to be
comfortable when that reporter calls for a telephone interview. You've
reviewed your material, anticipated the "gotcha" questions and have your
note cards in front of you. Now it's time to settle down in that
comfortable desk chair, put your feet up on the desk and put all that
media training to good use in getting your message out. Right?
Wrong! The best technique for doing a telephone interview is to stand up, move around, keep your energy level up and stay focused. A really good idea is to get out of your own office if you can. Go to a quiet conference room where there are no distractions, such as a computer screen with email coming in or fellow employees sticking their heads in to interrupt you. By eliminating distractions, standing up, and moving when possible, you will remain focused on just one thing: listening to the interviewer's questions and responding with the key messages and supporting facts you've worked so hard to develop. When the interview is over, it's time to reward yourself. Go ahead, put those feet up on the desk. Nathan Roberts
is an Executive Media Coach with The Communication
Center®. | ||
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Be on the alert for negative, emotionally-charged words, otherwise
known as buzzwords. We believe it's best not to repeat the negative buzzwords when you answer any questions. Check out this latest quote. "Guatemala is a
good place to commit a murder, because you will almost certainly get away
with it." -- Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Reporter on extrajudicial killings, when he launched his most recent report earlier this year. | ||
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"Speaking from
experience with several communication trainers, I can say that The
Communication Center, under the leadership of Susan Peterson, is the best
in the business. The need for precise messaging and interview preparation is more significant than ever in the era of new media. The Communication Center does a great job of tailoring communication services to the needs of the individual client. Once you've put the ideas into practice, the results speak for themselves." ~ William N.
Walker, Vice President for Strategic Communications and External
Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | ||
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Watch for Our New
Website! Here's the latest
picture of all our trainers on our Executive Communication Team. Watch for
more pictures and details on our new website debuting in
August. | ||
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 Keri Osborne, Editor The Communication Center |
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