Page 122 - How To Sell Yourself

Selling Yourself in Confrontation and Media Interviews 121
a sense of humor without appearing to be a “smart alec.” When CNN’s Bernard Shaw pulled the trigger on presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, asking him if he’d still oppose the death penalty if Kitty Dukakis had been brutally raped and murdered, Dukakis would have scored points with a smiling, “Bernie, we wouldn’t need a death penalty if I got my hands on him.” Case closed. When Dan Quayle was asked what he would do as vice president if the president were assassinated, Quayle’s, “I’d pray,” seemed inept, given the facial reaction that made him appear to be groping. He might have turned it around with, “You ought to ask the president what he’d do if I were assassinated. After all, I’m the unpopular one.” The question was so outlandish and so undeserving of an answer that a near-playful answer that didn’t make light of the president’s death would have put the public on notice that the reporter couldn’t come up with a substantive question.
The “what if” question has lots of first cousins. Some of them are:
• “Who’s to blame...?”
• “Whose fault is it...?”
• “Who’s responsible...?”
Every news organization would gleefully print or air your com- ments that place blame. Even if you think you know, be sure to make it clear that you’re not a judge, not a jury, and certainly not God. You can even say that too many decent people have had careers and reputations destroyed by someone who decided to mouth off to a reporter.
Another cousin is “what really happened?” The suggestion here is that you know a lot more than you’re willing to tell. Each technique is designed to hit a button.
If you allow yourself to get frustrated, angry, insulted, or stressed out, you’re guaranteeing yourself an unflattering appear- ance on the evening news or one of the tabloids.
8. “That’s a wrap...”
These are famous last words. When you hear them your guard goes down. It’s over. Well, it’s not over ’til it’s over. And that’s when they’re gone. Some reporters and their crews use it as a trick to be played on the unsuspecting. The words suggest that the