Media Training: Interview Mistakes to Avoid - Lessons from Obama Adviser's 'Off the Record' Comment

Obama adviser Samantha Power, a Harvard professor and Pulitzer Prize winner, resigned from the campaign today and apologized for referring to Hillary Clinton as a monster during an interview with a Scottish newspaper.

Where did Power go wrong, and how can you avoid the same fate?

1. Power: "[Clinton] is a monster, too -- that is off the record -- she is stooping to anything.... " Speaking "off the record" is like playing Russian roulette with bullets in five of the chambers. Trying to make it retroactive is playing with bullets in all six chambers. (Just ask Hillary Clinton. She tried it while first lady during an interview with women reporters, and failed.) Don't play Off the Record.
2. Just because you're intelligent and experienced (Power was a war correspondent for The Boston Globe and The Economist for 3 years.) doesn't relieve you of the need to know the result you want from the interview and know your messages. Then stay on message.
3. Power said she was tired from the red-eye flight. Fatigued persons tend to be more irritable and more likely to go off message and lose control. Don't schedule interviews when you're likely to be tired.

Comments

[Terry Gault]

Lou,

You are dead-on with this post: it is unfortunate that Power made the mistake of making an ad hominem attack against Clinton and then asking for it to stay off the record.

In presentations and public speaking, if it should be "off the record," it shouldn't be said at all. This will just lower your credibility and make your audience distant.

Instead, your message should be clear, concise and authentic; even if it is controversial, credibility can still be maintained. This is the mistake Power unfortunately made, which cost her her job.

[Lisa Braithwaite]

Great tips, Lou. I'm surprised that someone so experienced in dealing with the media would ever say, "Off the record."