Never Repeat the Negative (Part 4 of 5)
In this digital-saturated media age, innocent communication can be taken out of context and can damage your reputation. Technology is not your friend when it comes reputation management because our always-on world creates risk and potentially a lot of trouble. A big pitfall (and an easy one to fall into) is repeating the negative in a statement, interview, or other recorded conversation.
One of the sneakiest traps that people fall into when being interviewed or in a conversation is that they Repeat the Negative. It goes something like this:
Reporter: Can you tell me how many people are under investigation and exactly how much money was stolen from the ABC123 fund that supports more than 500,000 women and children in the state?
You: We don’t know how much money was stolen and at this time we are not ruling anyone out. There will be a full investigation and we are prepared to make the necessary changes as a result of our findings. Anyone responsible for impacting the 500,000 women and children will be held responsible for this negligence. We will leave nothing to chance as this is our highest priority.
Nothing is technically false about your answer. But look at the italicized text. See how easy it is to repeat the negative? This presents an comfortable situation for your media response because you whatever allegedly happened here, you want to address the question and being truthful. But unless you know the facts: Was money stolen, embezzled or misappropriated? Were all 500,000 people impacted or was it 150,000? Was it only women and children affected? Have you done a full audit to know how much money is allegedly missing? There are a lot of facts and information to confirm, before responding. And you may not have the time to secure all of those facts, before you need to address the media. If you don’t respond, the perception is that you are hiding something or already guilty.
At Trifecta Public Strategies we advocate for truth and transparency. And while the response above shows both, because it repeats the negative content from the reporter’s question it sets you up to be featured as the lead news item for the 4:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. nightly news segments and again the next morning with a headline that may only say,“Money confirmed stolen from 500,000 women and children and company says its investigation is ruling no one out.”
So how does that happen? In a word….editing, paraphrasing and it grabs headlines.
The better approach is to say something like this: “We do not have all of the details at this time, but these allegations are our highest concern. What I can tell you is this - we are fully cooperating with the police and we are committed to providing any information that will help resolve this issue including the people who may be involved. It is our intent to stay focused on the families that our organization and generous donors support. But this information calls for a thorough internal investigation to secure the facts and make the necessary changes.”
If that statement is edited, you have a greater chance of controlling the message and mitigating risk.
Here are a few tips to remember for interviews and media statements:
Any statement you give the media is fair game. Any email or phone call as well.
Comment. No comment is a comment and leaves your reputation in the hands of the media. You may not like how it shows up, but a careful and factual response is important.
Don’t say a single word that you don’t want to hear replayed 100 times.
Never underestimate how editing can turn well-intended comments into a mess.
Simple, short, and factual answers are the best answers. You will have time to add comments throughout the investigation as new facts become available.
Do not feel compelled to overstate the details or speak because cameras and microphones are pointed at you.
Explain the facts that you know and deliver more facts as you know them. (no really...follow up with more facts. Stalling isn't good for anyone.)
In the middle of any emotionally charged event -- which is pretty much the definition of crisis -- remember that it is EMOTIONAL. Stay true to the facts as they are happening and have plans in place throughout your organization for responding to such events. And then explain those facts in YOUR words rather than the negative words a reporter may be trying to put in your mouth.