Here are some highlights from this Roger Ailes book:
* Look in a mirror and study your own face. Begin to talk about a political issue and see which part of your face moves and which doesn’t. Using the same subject matter, repeat the conversation; however, imagine that now you’re speaking to a child. See if your face softens and if your eyes become more expressive, and if there is a tendency to care more that the listener understands what you are saying. Most people do tend to use more facial expression when talking to children.
* Here are the ten most common problems in communications. Read the list. If any of them apply to you, the principles in this book will help you solve them.
1. Lack of initial rapport with listeners
2. Stiffness or woodenness in use of body
3. Presentation of material is intellectually oriented; speaker forgets to involve the audience emotionally
4. Speaker seems uncomfortable because of fear of failure
5. Poor use of eye contact and facial expression
6. Lack of humor
7. Speech direction and intent unclear due to improper preparation
8. Inability to use silence for impact
9. Lack of energy, causing inappropriate pitch pattern, speech rate, and volume
10. Use of boring language and lack of interesting material
* “You are the message.” What does that mean, exactly? It means that when you communicate with someone, it’s not just the words you choose to send to the other person that make up the message. You’re also sending signals about what kind of person you are—by your eyes, your facial expression, your body movement, your vocal pitch, tone, volume, and intensity, your commitment to your message, your sense of humor, and many other factors.
The receiving person is bombarded with symbols and signals from you. Everything you do in relation to other people causes them to make judgments about what you stand for and what your message is. “You are the message” comes down to the fact that unless you identify yourself as a walking, talking message, you miss that critical point.
The words themselves are meaningless unless the rest of you is in synchronization.
* If you are uncomfortable with who you are, it will make others uncomfortable, too.
* As a consultant to a major broadcasting company, I traveled to various cities to evaluate television talk show hosts. I spent time with each of them and watched them on the air at their stations. But even before meeting them for the first time, I’d check into a hotel and watch their programs on television, with the sound turned off, for five or ten minutes. If there was nothing happening on the screen in the way the host looked or moved that made me interested enough to stand up and turn the sound up, then I knew that the host was not a great television performer. I’d watch the screen for interesting expressions on people’s faces, sudden movement, laughter, or whatever made me say to myself, “Hey, I wonder what’s going on here? I want to reach over and turn the sound up.” If nothing moved me toward that sound knob, I would often recommend terminating the contract of that performer.
* If you have access to videotape, ask someone to interview you. Then turn the sound down and watch yourself. Are you still interesting? Or place a mirror by your telephone. Watch yourself as you speak and listen. Do your eyes and face look engaged and lively? Do you gesture when you speak? Do you ever smile?
People who are the best communicators communicate with their whole being. They’re animated, expressive, interesting to watch—just as they should be on television.
* Tape and ape… buy a tape of a famous actor or actress reading selections from literary works or speeches. Record yourself reading those same selections and compare your vocal quality. Your goal isn’t to become a performer, but when you hear good speech and attempt to emulate it, you will improve your voice.
People who want to be radio announcers train their voices by taping the best professionals and trying, at first, to imitate the pros. The process is called “tape and ape.” The goal isn’t to become a mimic. It’s to develop a range for the voice. Range, or vocal variety, should be your goal, too: It’s what makes a voice interesting, alive, and distinctive. Just as you’d watch a tape of Jack Nicklaus swinging a golf club to help perfect your own swing, or of Martina Navratilova swinging a tennis racquet to improve your backhand, you can do the same with recordings by professionals. You don’t have to turn this into a second career. Fifteen minutes of practice a day will make dramatic improvements not only in your voice but in your pronunciation, articulation, and inflection.
* IF YOU CARE, THEY CARE
As an alternative exercise, try this, using a video recorder or even an audio recorder. Tape yourself as you talk extemporaneously on a topic you really care about. Here’s one possible topic: Recall the best vacation you ever had in your life. Assume you’re talking to people looking for a great getaway. Your job is to convince them that they should go where you went, see what you saw, feel what you felt, understand why you liked it so much. Do that for five minutes and tape it. Replaying the tape, you’ll hear your voice move up and down the musical scale. There will be lots of vocal variety because you relish the topic.
* If you care, your listeners will care and your voice will automatically move up and down gracefully and naturally. If you don’t care, it will automatically flatten out and be b-o-r-i-n-g. And whether you’re talking on the phone, running a meeting, or giving a speech, the last thing you want is a dull, monotonous voice that puts people to sleep.
* FEELINGS
In every communications situation—one-on-one or in a group—you should be asking yourself, “What am I feeling here?” Whenever I’m confused in a business situation, I generally get very quiet, sit back, and ask myself, “How do I feel about what’s going on here?” If I’m in a conversation with one person, I might ask myself, “How do I feel about this person?” The emphasis is first on my feelings.
* Being committed is crucial. Very few people freeze up, unable to speak, when they feel strongly about something.
* When I speak to others, I am always in control of:
• Time (rate of speech, pauses)
• Space (where and how I move)
• Eye contact (not just where I look and at whom, but the emotional messages my eyes send)
• My voice volume, pronunciation, changes in pitch, and tone)
• My state of mind (calm, happy, upbeat, self-confident)
• My attitude (unthreatened, open-minded, friendly)
• The flow of dialogue (I know when and how to insert my ideas and opinions)
• The absorb-project balance
• My feelings (I admit them to myself, understand them, and communicate accordingly)
* I can correct fifteen communication technique problems with one ounce of energy. It’s so fundamental to success. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you come on like some used-car salesmen, leaping all over people, because that really turns everybody off. With the right kind of energy, you’re absorbing what others are broadcasting to you. You project enthusiasm, and most so-called speech problems clear up automatically. A good communicator’s energy is perceived as “life force,” vitality—an aliveness and vigor exemplified at its best by very good communicators like John F. Kennedy, Lee Iacocca, Elizabeth Dole, the young Muhammad Ali, Ted Koppel, and Barbara Walters. One of the absolute rules for control of the atmosphere is focused energy.
* Properly focused energy comes across as positive, a magnetic intensity, rather than negative, an overwrought intensity. It is an inner flame that we all display when we sincerely believe something and we talk about it. We’re committed. Intuitively we know true energy when we see and hear it in a communicator. It is the energy associated in its most consistent form with Harry Truman, Martin Luther King, and Winston Churchill. We all have known people who radiate this “life force” in abundance. Maybe it’s a parent, a friend, a coach, a teacher, or a member of the clergy. When people with energy speak, or even listen, they don’t display inattention, lack of focus in the eyes, or lack of interest on the face. People in love have energy. People who truly relish their jobs have energy. Communicators with positive energy are involved with their audience (whether one or a thousand) and their message. Because they believe in what they’re saying, you believe them. You may disagree with them, but you can’t question their conviction. Keep this rule in mind: If you have no energy, you have no audience.
If your energy is up, your rate, volume, and pitch will be appropriate to the communications situation. If you are enthusiastic, if your posture is good, if you’re friendly, and if you’re comfortable, you have the “right” kind of energy. Here’s the good news: We have all demonstrated energy at some time in our lives. At those times, we’ve been excellent communicators. It is a completely natural state. Remember back to a moment when you know you were communicating effectively because you absolutely believed in what you were saying. Remember how you felt? Harness that power and you will be successful at communications.
When I first started speech coaching I did it the old-fashioned way: with drills and practice on rate, pitch, and volume. My clients made progress, but it was slow and tedious. Today, I do it organically. I work on the energy level of the communicator. Is it appropriate for the situation? What are his goals? What is he trying to say? What does he mean? How does he feel? How much does he care? If he is in touch with these things, his technique will improve quickly and, often, dramatically. Instead of trying to remember several speech variables—like pitch, rate, volume, and gestures—just remember “energy” and all the variables will take care of themselves. I put the letter E in the margin of all my speeches to remind me of energy.
Today, tomorrow, or next week, when you experience strong feelings and high energy, make a mental note of what you’re thinking about. It will be something about which you feel strongly. My experience is that just about everyone gets good at communications when they get emotional.
* Most people think that their energy level is much higher than it is. Eighty percent of our clients are surprised when they first see themselves on tape. They usually say things like “I thought I was more forceful,” “I didn’t know I was so boring,” “I never move my face or hands,” “I’m talking in a monotone.” Most people think they’re coming on too strong in a speech, when usually it’s just the opposite. Whether you think your energy level is too high, too low, or just right, ask some of your friends what they think. You may be surprised at what you learn. Actually, you should always bring your energy up a little bit in front of an audience. Ninety-nine percent of us have natural inhibitions which will keep us from going too far.
* If I had to summarize in two words the advice I give to many of my clients, it is “Lighten up!” For seven out of ten people who lose their jobs, the reason isn’t lack of skill. According to studies by executive recruiters, it’s personality conflicts. The flip side to that is reflected in this quote from the management newsletter Bottom Line—Personal: “As an executive reaches middle management and beyond, the primary criteria for advancement are communication and motivation skills, rather than basic job performance. Relations with superiors and peers are also critical. Bottom line: Top management promotes people it likes.” What is guaranteed to make people not like you? Taking yourself too seriously.
* What’s on the record? What’s off the record? The problem is, there are no rules. There are many fine reporters who will distinguish for you between (1) material they’ll use only with your name; (2) material they’ll take on “background” without specific attribution; and (3) material they’ll just use for their own better understanding of the issues. Unfortunately, for many reporters, distinguishing between these categories and remembering (or honoring) confidentiality agreements can get hazy, especially when a story becomes “hot” or when it’s a “scoop” and the reporter is under a crushing deadline.
* A good friend of mine who is a reporter told me about an experience he had at an editor’s conference. A grizzled senior editor leaned over his desk, looked at all the young reporters, and snarled, “You know why so many of you are going to get divorced and a lot of you will become alcoholics? Because you are now in the business of selling people out. Your job is to get close to your sources, get as much out of them as you can, and then print it, and don’t worry about them. You say you’re defending the public interest. Your job is to stick it to the guy who trusted you enough to spill his guts to you. And if you can’t handle that, get out of the business now!”
* I have never known of a person’s being fired because he or she refused to talk to the press and turned it over to his or her public relations department.
* Reporters and the people they interview become at odds when either party tries to follow only his own agenda and refuses to address the other person’s needs.
* With the media, make no mistake. You are always on defense, but if you do it right, you can occasionally score.
First recognize that the media has nothing to lose by interviewing you. On the other hand, you or those you represent could lose.
How, then, can you prepare yourself to deal with the news media? What are the strategies and techniques for handling journalists? I will summarize the highlights of what we tell our clients. To begin with, don’t ever take a phone call from a reporter you don’t know. First, tell the reporter, or have your secretary tell him, that you’ll get back to him. You need time to check out who the reporter is, what he could possibly want, and why he might want it. You need to think and compose yourself.
* Have an agenda of three major points you want to discuss in the interview, and plan to work those points in sometime during your conversation with the reporter. The most common mistake made by people who are interviewed is that they wait for the reporter to ask questions which will trigger their agenda points.
* Ask yourself: How can I build a bridge from the reporter’s agenda to my own agenda? You can do this successfully if your agenda consists of points made interesting and newsworthy with the support of facts, illustrations, and examples.
* In many press interviews, reporters will use loaded words in a question. Don’t legitimize these words by repeating them in the answer. Recast language or issues into factual terms. In effect, you reposition the negative premise of the question.
For example, if a reporter characterizes your actions as “corrupt, irresponsible, malicious, and injurious to the public welfare,” you should not say, “We are not corrupt, irresponsible, malicious, and injurious to the public welfare.” All you’re doing then is repeating the charges, which will reinforce and help people remember the words of indictment even more. Instead, you might say, “We’ve answered our critics by …” and then describe positive, concrete actions you’ve taken.
Whenever there’s a loaded question like that, you might also smile and point out that the question is loaded by saying, “Well, obviously, you have a strong opinion against us in this, and let me try to give you the facts.” And then go into your litany.
Our advice to both our political and business clients is to develop three levels or “tiers” of an answer to the most nettlesome questions they could be asked by a reporter. The first level, tier A, is a one- or two-sentence summary of your position. If a reporter wants elaboration, you are ready with tier B, a concrete example to back up that summary, plus a little more detail. Most reporters won’t need more than two levels to an answer, but if need be, you should be ready with tier C, a further elaboration using another supporting statement.
If a reporter wants to push you past C, loop back to your tier A reply. This system keeps you solidly on your position, regardless of how aggressively a reporter wants to push you to an indiscreet reply.
* it’s also a good rule of thumb that the tougher the questions, the shorter your answers should be. Many people foul themselves up in interviews by giving rambling replies. Either they end up sounding as though they’re “protesting too much” or they say something inaccurate or indiscreet in an attempt to be responsive to the premise of the question.
The premises of questions from journalists are sometimes objectionable themselves—or hypothetical. You have no obligation to legitimize a hypothetical or false premise.
The savvy former director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Kenneth Adelman, once appeared on a Sunday morning national news program. A reporter asked Adelman if the Soviet Union might be using Cuba at that very moment to build up arms supplies and then threaten the East Coast of the United States. Adelman said, “No.” That’s all. The reporter didn’t know what to do after that. There was silence. Silence is an enemy on television, a medium where advertisers can pay up to $950,000 for a minute of airtime. So the reporter scrambled around for his next question.
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. Whenever you can, frame your answers in the context of “the public interest,” which reporters believe they protect and represent. For example, rather than focusing on the return on investment of a new product—as you might at a board of directors meeting—focus with a reporter on the ways the new product will save some consumers time or money or otherwise improve their lives. Answer one question at a time. If you are unsure of the answer, admit it candidly. Say what you can, but don’t fudge. And don’t lie. It will come back to haunt you.
Match your facial expression to the seriousness of the message.
* If you’re besieged by a flock of reporters (let’s say on the steps of a court building), try to control the situation by selecting a single question to which you will respond. Look at the reporter who asked the question. Ignore the cameras and microphones surrounding you and speak to the questioner. Try to come in “under” the tone and volume of the questioner, speaking more calmly. If you shout excitedly, the TV viewer may decide that you sound defensive and are therefore guilty.
