Antoni Lee’s blog

BRW published my brief letter (see below) in response to a recent article. The magazine’s online editing system restricted me to 400 characters.

Robert Louis Stevenson said that when we know all a person’s adjectives, we have all his or her treasures.

In a media interview, speech or presentation, when a person overuses a word we accept that it’s out of habit and we bear with it. Perhaps he or she loves the word, ‘awesome,’ or ‘absolutely,’ and peppers the conversation with one of those words. When it goes on and on, we tune its meaning out. Overusing a word or phrase dilutes its power.

In another category of favourites, some words sound good when spoken. Words like absquatulate, crepuscular and sesquipedalian tumble nicely out of the mouth. Unfortunately when they land on people’s ears, the results may not be what we anticipated.

I’m all for music in language, but unless you’re William Faulkner, using obscure or overly long words can be a bad idea:

1. It can look like showing off.
2. It can embarrass people when they don’t know what one of your words means.
3. It makes of a fool of the speaker or writer who rushes in and misuses words.
4. It can be a long-winded, woolly, unnecessary substitute for a short, clear word.

Some rules of thumb:

1. Use words that express rather than impress.
2. Don’t use a word just because it sounds good. Use words in palette and context.
3. Use adjectives for specificity, not emphasis.
4. Don’t overuse a word or phrase. Repetition works best when it’s intentional and well-placed.

Many writers have useful things to say on this topic, including George Orwell, Mark Twain, William Zinsser and Sol Stein.

Trainees sometimes tell me, “I’ve seen several media spokespeople use um and ah and it helps them sound natural, and less canned.”

While this may seem true to some, in public communication, expletives like: um, ah, er, well, like, sort of, kind of and you know are not worth the time it takes to say them. And like weeds, if not checked, words that add no content (or other) value tend toward infestation, as in the following Caroline Kennedy recent interview:

In a news grab, every syllable counts, and in presentations, weedy expletives become distracting and annoying. Say something meaningful and intelligent instead. You will still sound natural, as well as crisp and professional, when you cull expletives.

Want more info? Enquire about a Redact training program.

After graduating at age sixteen from the Webber-Douglas drama school in Kensington, Brenda debuted in Noel Coward’s Private Lives. In following years she performed in West End theatres including the Garrick, Adelphi and London Hippodrome. Arriving in Australia in the 1960s, Brenda continued performing live as a singer and comedienne, before adding television and radio acting and radio announcing and presenting to her repertoire.

Brenda’s radio interviews crossed the social spectrum, from politicians and writers to chefs and entertainers. Her interviewees have included writer Stephen Bogart (son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall), and Australian cultural treasures Margaret Fulton, Barry Crocker, Wayne Goss and June Daly Watkins.

I asked Brenda, “What makes a good interviewee?”

“Personality is very important, and you can hear it in the voice. It has to have animation, some kind of spark!”

“Are you saying that voice control is important for interviewees?”

“Voice production should be important to anyone who speaks in public. Politicians should have speech training. If you don’t know how to speak properly, that is, how to put your voice over when you have to speak for an hour or so, you’ll get hoarse and get laryngitis or something.

“Deep breathing is the key. Practice breathing in slowly, holding your breath and then letting it out slowly, all the way up to twenty or thirty seconds or so for each action. Lift up your rib cage. Make sure your throat is open. Too many people swallow their own voice and lessen the sound of their words.

“Speak up so that your voice carries. In Laurence Olivier’s day they didn’t have microphones, yet you could hear him at the back of the gods! But being loud is entirely different to projecting. Loud can be raucous and very unpleasant to the ear.”

Vocal production and a sense of drama can apply in short speeches, business introduction speeches…and more, without sacrificing professionalism. In fact, making a speech interesting and engaging enhances its professionalism.

I often ask spokespeople in media training, What kind of spokesperson would you like to be? What qualities would you like to embody? Adjectives they cite include: professional, credible, informed, brief, honest.

Then we look closer. What does professional mean? Trainees say: service oriented, conscientious, knowledgeable, informed, business-like.

I ask, Why do organisations put spokespeople forward? Why don’t they always issue unattributed messages? The main answer is that the media and the public like to see real human beings representing organisations. Direct quotes enliven, inform and personalise stories in any medium.

Many corporations are adept at professionalising their spokespeople. They do this for understandable and valid reasons, including to convey concise and conservative positions and to guard against unruly expression. But this also creates problems. When a person tries to be professional, they often become serious. Serious is fine, except that it’s easy to over-do. It arrives stripped of humanity, cloaked in clipped, drab, monotone and boring responses. It’s safe, but it’s often not very likeable, and there’s not an organisation I can think of that doesn’t depend on being liked by someone. (Aristotle pointed out a long time ago, that logic is only one part of the persuasion equation-other key elements are pathos and ethos.)

Professionalism is admirable and necessary, but being informed and credible need not be an excuse for being boring. Being boring can be useful (e.g. in keeping you OUT of the news), but more often, it’s a communication vandal. It stops people reading, listening, watching…and liking.

One consummate professional and credible communicator who isn’t boring, is investment expert and chair of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett (consistently one of the world’s richest people). The company’s annual report lacks design sizzle, but it’s read because it’s informative and entertaining-it even has a couple of funny (and relevant) jokes.

Another terrific communicator in a so-called boring sector, is the ANZ bank’s chief economist, Saul Eslake. His speeches and presentations prove that credentialed economists can also be in demand writers and speakers.

In summary, don’t let being in business be an excuse for being boring.

The following post is from the Dec ‘06 edition of my Message Matters newsletter. Sadly, ignorance of the topic is a regular cause of interview failure leading to poorer than necessary publicity.

Not long ago, a top company launched its new line of audio equipment to Australian media. The product was impressive. The spokespeople looked good. Presentations started. Before long, a reporter interrupted: What format does it copy music in? The reply: We don’t know − maybe MP3. Further questions followed, and so did the we don’t knows. We don’t know is valid sometimes − even for CEOs − but not to predictable, reasonable and easy questions.

The result was a conspicuous story lampooning the product launch. What should have been a company high became a low. (Any publicity is not good publicity.) The problem was not media error, misreporting or bias, but poor planning.

Some planning tips:

1. See an interview as one of many options. If you decide to do one, WRITE DOWN WHY. For example: to correct a misperception, to announce an initiative, or to raise an issue. Keep it that simple. This gives you focus.

2. Distill and jot down the essence of what you want to say in a few (no more than seven) points. Running without your own agenda is ill-advised. Dumping a set of lengthy briefing papers on a spokesperson doesn’t go far enough; help the spokesperson cut the content down to one page. Make the information manageable.

3. Pick your rhetorical tools. Assign a concise example or illustration to each assertion or claim. Align your logical, emotional and ethical tones. Present any radical ideas conservatively.

4. Order your messages. Beginners and experts alike can enumerate to offer cognitive and audio cues.

5. Write key words for brief opening and closing statements to start and end the interview. These may be as simple as a context-setting and a summary line.

6. Practice saying your messages out loud. Even for print interviews, compress each main point to a 10 or 15 second statement. You can then embellish to suit available time. As Mark Twain said, Use the best words, not their second cousins. This is first a matter of substance, then style. Cut out clichés, jargon and abstractions. Turning abstract nouns into concrete ones, or even verbs will give your message more zip.

7. Practice again, but this time, frame your answers in response to predictable media questions. Remember, the media don’t need to know everything, but effective issues managers will give them something.

Preparing well is the key to tackling information needs thoughtfully, advisedly and professionally. You may say, I don’t have time! I agree that it’s a bit late once the reporters are already in your foyer. If they’re not, feel free to contact me about programs to prepare spokespeople in advance.