I am a prisoner of my trade. I wish I could be a normal consumer of news and information. Since news and information is what we do, it’s good to pay some extra attention to technique.
I can’t read an article without considering why the named or unnamed source said what he said. “Who do you think leaked this?” I imagine the question the journalist asked to get the sound-bite. I wonder if the conversation was tense or light-hearted.
I listen to political candidates on the radio and forget to judge their stance on the issue but instead judge them on their ability to stay on-message through tough questioning. Bernie Sanders is really good at this, here’s a recent interview where he has to deal with his recent heart attack – he ties is back to his talking points and plays down his health as a non-issue.
Press conferences give a great deal of insight into what the media care about and how questions are handled. You can tell a lot about an organization by the way they conduct a press conference. By the way, press conferences are not a great way to convey information.
I watch interviews with CEOs and corporate leaders to see whether or not they get wrangled. I had to watch several interviews by a McDonalds’ CEO for school; I don’t eat at McDonalds. This was a cush interview but I couldn’t help but notice the CEO’s excitement. By the way, Easterbrook was recently fired for fraternization. No matter, he gives a great interview. Equally impressive is the body of news he did during his 3-4 year tenure where he sells the company’s growth plan.
I paid a lot less attention to what Representative Adam Schiff said here but I think he answered the questions properly, deflected where he needed to, clarified what was important to clarify. He was calm but direct.
We can learn a lot as observers. The only AAR is what makes it in the news. Make sure you’re on your game when you get to coach your boss before an interview or give one yourself.
*This post is entirely apolitical as is all the content on MaxDis. As a servicemember and a public affairs officer, we do not have the right to publicly express political views.
Photo by Spc. DeAndre Pierce
