Speak to Lead

Warning: There Is No Context

The following is a post I originally made to my first (and now dormant) blog on June 23, 2005. Although the situation is no longer a national news story, the principle it illustrates is extremely relevant. It is a mindset everyone dealing with the news media needs to understand, and internalize. So here is the transplanted post:

It was only a matter of time. Tuesday, seven days after comparing prison conditions at Gitmo to those under Hitler and Stalin, Senator Richard Durbin bowed to the inevitable and apologized for his analogy. In an article yesterday in the Washington Post Style Section, Mark Leibovich suggested, “Someone should post a sign in the Senate cloakroom…. The sign would warn politicians against comparing anything to the Nazis or Hitler or the Holocaust. These comparisons are not a good idea.” I agree with Mr Leibovich.

But there should also be another sign: WARNING: The only context is the final context.

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Are You America's Next Top Pundit?

Well, I just got around to reading today's Wall Street Journal. On the front page of the Weekend Journal is the start of America's Next Top Pundit, a two-page article by Jeffrey Zaslow.

If you have a desire to join the top pundit list, this article is a must read. If you don't get the Journal, find a friend who does (and get to him or her before the paper gets tossed into the recycling bin), steal one from the reception room of a big pr or law firm (if the paintings on the wall are real oil paint and not Target reproductions, the firm gets the Journal), or subscribe to the online Journal (WSJ.com) where the article will be archived).

New Politcal Debate Trend?

I recently caught part of the C-SPAN replay of the Ensign-Carter Nevada U.S. Senate campaign debate. Does Jack Carter's style represent a new trend in political debating?

First,  I need to add some disclaimers. I saw only 12 minutes. I didn't hear what the structure and ground rules were.  Other than being aware the campaign existed, I haven't been following it. I have not taken the time to find out what the pollsters found in terms of the impact of the debate. I haven't checked the news coverage to see voter reaction. The only Nevadan I talked to get a response was my sister-in-law who hadn't watched, didn't care and knew before the campaign started who she is voting for. So my comments are based soley on my primitive response.

Interview Prep in an Era of No Privacy - 4 Steps to Avoid Becoming Media Roadkill

"Privacy?There is no privacy. Get over it!" That comment just a few years ago by Scott McNeely, then CEO of Sun Microsystems, stated a condition that most people did not want to hear. A truth they did not want to believe. And a situation most people refused to deal with.

But in the ensuing years it has become increasingly harder for people to keep their heads in the sand, especially if you are about to undergo an interview with an investigative journalist. You should assume the reporter has details of your private life as well as your private business dealings. This is especially true if the issue your are being interviewed about has been involved in any civil or criminal litigation.

Sound Bites Get No Respect: Why the Pundits and Politicians Are Wrong!

It’s election time and open hunting season on the much used—and much despised—sound bite.

The latest to take aim is Maryland senatorial candidate Michael S. Steele, who charged that his opponents “want to sound bite people’s experiences and sound bite people’s lives into 30 seconds, and people don’t live that way.” And presumably don’t vote that way either.

The common argument says previous generations cast their ballots after considering the substantive messages and rhetorical flourishes of Lincoln, FDR and JFK. The “golden age of oratory” has turned to dross—replaced by slick political operatives in complicity with an indifferent news media. Today’s voters are limited to chewing on a few pre-packaged platitudes before pulling the lever.

Are sound bites a genuine threat to our democracy?  Or do their detractors wax nostalgic over a “golden age” that never existed?

While it’s true that audiences born before television, radio and the Internet were not bombarded by as many bites, blurbs and headlines as contemporary Americans, the sound bite has existed since ancient times.  For centuries, political, business and religious leaders have distilled their messages into memorable, bite-sized pieces. 

Welcome

Why the Speak to Lead blog? Because my passion and my profession is helping people who have important messages, decide what to say, and learn how to say it. 

Here you'll find tips, tricks & tactics to help you move to a higher level of communication proficiency...to be more confident, more convincing, and more memorable as a leader, in order to get more of the results you desire.

These are techniques I have used in helping national and international political leaders, C-level executives, entrepreneurs, scientists, and even journalists win with the media, on the platform and with other audiences critical to their success.

If you have questions or a specific communication challenge you would like help on, email me at lou at hamptongroup dot com. Either I or one of my associates will post a response.

Thanks for being here.

Lou Hampton