It's A New World in Media Communications
Transparency Wins
I recently had an epiphany born of the worldwide highly charged activism over Black Lives Matter and the Me Too movements, and nationwide protests over our lack of leadership during COVID-19. What I have come to learn above all else is this: Transparency wins.
As an experienced pioneer in the field of media training, I have been a developer and proponent of the “Bridging” technique, often used to get a spokesperson out of the quagmire and back on point. It’s a practical approach meant to facilitate conciseness and understanding of a situation, and helps the speaker be in an active rather than passive position during a media interview. Bridging uses phrases like “What I can tell you is this” in answer to a question you had wanted to avoid.
What does this have to do with transparency? Nowadays people are scared, angry, distrustful, unemployed, and in some cases dying because of COVID-19. In this environment, it’s essential to tear down those bridges and instead answer the questions. Public officials upon whom we rely to keep us safe during the pandemic must be more transparent in their positions. We are in a very different place now, and we will no longer tolerate obfuscation, manipulation, and/or fabrication from our leaders.
On Face the Nation this past Sunday, the moderator, Margaret Brennan, a young and extremely intelligent, intuitive journalist was grilling US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams on the issue of wearing masks. Dr Adams had clearly been given the Message Book from the White House and told to keep repeating the propaganda: “We are in a much better place now than in February.” Tell that to the states experiencing record new spikes in the virus. Tell that to the people who lost loved ones because of lack of leadership during this pandemic. Tell that to the 40 million unemployed.
Ms Brennan replayed a February interview with Dr Adams during which he pleaded with the public not to buy masks. She asked if this had been because the healthcare system desperately needed protection and that there was barely any PPE in government stockpiles. The Surgeon General could have risen to the occasion and said, “Yes we needed masks for frontline workers.” When Ms Brennan asked, “Does the White House have this under control?” the doctor could have mentioned specific leadership actions. But, no. After an uncomfortable pause he jumped to, “What I can tell you is this” and doubled down on his “we’re in a better place” message. When the journalist pressed him, he took the infamous Trump position of telling the journalist that her behavior was unfair. The segment essentially wasted everyone’s time.
Especially in these heated times, spokespeople must be more transparent. If you want to win the trust of your audience, you have to earn in. It’s time dial back the bullshit. Transparency is key.
Get more tips about getting out of your own way in Your Self Sabotage Survival Guide by Karen Berg: https://tinyurl.com/y786t4ax