How to Proceed When Your Spokesperson is a Dud

[By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications]

For decades, clients have come to Hennes Communications to learn how to communicate better with reporters, stakeholders and the public.

The gold standard is when a speaker says the right thing and delivers it to their intended audience in an interesting, conversational manner.

To do that, we often spend as much time working on what you say, as well as how you say it — and you hit it out of the park when you match the the two.

To do that, we employ trainers who understand the issues and are great writers, trainers who strategic thinkers — and trainers who know how to teach.  Our training philosophy is simple:  we’re not there to entertain with war stories from the PR/media trenches.  We’re there to teach you how to do what we do, plain and simple.

From executive directors and CEOs to those a little further down the food chain who want only to up their game, it’s extremely rare that we can’t help someone become a better communicator.

But what does happen…when your spokesperson really is a dud?  We recently came across an article by Jacqui Cook who sums that situation up quite well and provides food for thought, below.

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Some people simply are not cut out for talking to journalists.

You’ve tried it all—expensive media trainers, countless mock interviews, hours-long messaging sessions—and still it’s crystal clear that the person in your organization who knows the most about a key topic is the last one you want on camera or on the phone with a reporter.

They may be the most brilliant and creative people in the company, but that doesn’t mean they have the skills and personality for a live on-air appearance—or even a recorded one.

Just watch this 2010 Mark Zuckerberg interview and try not cringe with each bead of sweat that rolls down his face. It is painfully obvious this guy does not love the camera.

Maybe nobody at Facebook will tell the founder he’s a bad interview, but in most cases, a good PR person can tackle the problem of a lackluster spokesperson with these steps:

Be very, very sure. Is the current spokesperson really untrainable? If possible, have other members of the PR team sit in on a few interviews and get their feedback (before sharing yours). Record interviews or prep sessions, and share them with trusted PR colleagues outside your organization to get their honest opinion.

Make sure you have exhausted all your training options. Is there one more coach you could try? One more way to present key messages? Just as important, do you have someone more skilled who can replace the current spokesperson?

There’s no sense making a change if you don’t have a stellar backup available.

Prepare your case. Switching to a new spokesperson is not easy, especially if the current one is in a high-profile position, such as the CEO, or is the chief developer behind a product or initiative.

Once you decide to seek a change, start assembling an airtight case. Be ready to point to specificexamples of when the spokesperson didn’t perform well: Did he or she freeze up? Go off message? Give bad information? Did any of those interviews result in negative or no media coverage?

Use your recordings of interviews and prep sessions to bolster your case.

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