Taking message control to the extreme

A friend in the PR biz put me onto this video the other day. If you haven't seen it yet, it's pretty entertaining. Someone took the time to compare Obama and McCain's responses from the three televised debates. In a number of instances, each candidate's responses are exactly the same (not similar, but verbatim) in all three debates.

I'm clearly an advocate of managing your message. But there is a difference between having a set of core messages and sticking to them in spirit and tone, and repeating the same talking points word for word in front of tens of millions of people on multiple occasions.

When we do simulated TV interviews in our media training sessions, some participants (particularly those who have never done TV before) ask if they can have their message cards in their hands while they're being interviewed. They're understandably a bit anxious and think that having their messages in front of them will help bolster their performance. Occassionally, to help demonstrate a lesson to the group, I'll say 'sure'. The result is not exactly great television. Invariably, they can't help themselves from reading from the crutch that they're holding in their hand. The interviews sound stilted and they look really awkward.

Then, I'll ask the person to please fold up their message card and put it in their pocket. We start the interview again. And to the interviewee's surprise, in the vast majority of cases, they are able to answer the questions in a confident and knowledgeable manner. They hit most or all of the key points with no visual aids -- and the interview looks like something you might see on TV.

The secret to their success isn't the card in their pocket. Rather, it's the hour that we have spent as a group, boiling their organization's story down to four or five solid, well-articulated messages that explain their position, answer the important questions and contain the appropriate proof points. That's the hard part. The message card is really little more than a memento at that point.

If the process of developing the key messages has been handled properly, those messages become embedded in the participants' minds. They might not be able to recite them word for word, but that's not really the point. However, they are equipped to respond to reporters' questions on the issue in a strategic and coordinated way. And everyone around the table has a consistent message, ensuring the organization goes out to its audiences with a single voice.