#HOTmic Will Burn You

Here’s my free advice of the day: If you are near a microphone, it may be on.  And if you are WEARING a microphone, it IS on. You can safely assume that someone will hear your comments, and may record them. And if noteworthy, those comments will be replayed and picked up broadly by other media outlets.

On Wednesday, Yahoo! News Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian was fired because of remarkably inappropriate comments he made about Mitt Romney and his wife ahead of a live webcast covering the Republican National Convention.   Chalian naively thought his remarks were private. But he was wearing a microphone and, GASP, this obnoxious statement was picked up and now the world gets hear what he said.  Yahoo! acted quickly, issued a statement, terminated Mr. Chalian and apologized to the RNC.

You will recall that President Obama did something similar in March when he uttered to then-Russian President Medvedev, that “after my election I have more flexibility,” in relation to the contentious issue of missile defense. The world heard this embarrassing “private” moment.

POTUS and a seasoned journalist are far from being amateurs, but these are very foolish mistakes that everyone should learn from.

I tell my clients to never to let their guard down when they are in the presence of reporters and especially when doing an interview.  Most importantly, the interview, or broadcast, begins when the mic is near, the phone call starts or the reporter is in earshot. The interview ends when the mic is nowhere in sight, the phone is hung up and you and the reporter have parted ways.

I can point to countless headlines and incidents of comments that were made before or after a media interview when an executive, celebrity or politician believed that because the light wasn’t on, or the reporter’s notebook was put away, that their comments would be off-the-record. In the case of a live microphone, nothing is off the record. And with any journalist, nothing is off the record unless both sides agree BEFOREHAND that any following statements will be off the record.

So that means when you are on a conference call assume that someone else is on the line. When walking with a reporter to or from an elevator, assume that your comments can be jotted down later. And when the microphone is on you, it’s on, even if the camera is not.

Never take a relationship with a journalist for granted and never assume that because you don’t want the world to hear your comments, they won’t.

Melissa F Daly has worked in financial communications for more than 15 years, with a special focus on media relations and key message development around critical issues. Melissa formed MFD Communications, a communications strategy firm, after spending three years at Goldman Sachs as Vice President, Corporate Communications. Prior to that, Melissa was a Director at Brunswick Group, a London-based financial and business communications firm. There, she spearheaded its financial services business in the US, managing communications for hedge fund, private equity, insurance and traditional asset management firms. Melissa also worked at Fred Alger Management, The Hartford and Lipper in communications and media relations roles and has frequently appeared on CNBC and CNN as an industry commentator.   Her experience spans business sectors and continents. 

The First Rule: Prepare.

Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal featured an interesting story on Facebook’s advertising strategy and its new VP of Marketing, Carolyn Everson.  The reporter highlighted Everson’s first big meeting with advertising heavyweights including executives from Unilever, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, was linked in via videoconference.

Facebook has been struggling with its advertising strategy. It’s known to many outsiders that it needs to justify its value to its sponsors.  According to the Journal’s piece, when Mr. Zuckerberg was asked if the advertisers were committed to spending big bucks with Facebook, how could they be assured a return on their investment?

Mr. Zuckerberg's response, according to one of the attendees: "That's a great question and we should probably have an answer to that, shouldn't we?"

WHAT????

I have three rules that I share with my clients. The first rule is to thoroughly prepare for every presentation and press interview. One must prepare key messages and content and then practice those talking points.  This preparation and practice should be the same whether it is for a small audience, keynote speech or interview with a major publication.

Part of this preparation goes beyond the few points you want to deliver to your audience. You must also prepare for the tough questions.  A lot of focus is often spent on high profile press interviews and noteworthy speeches. But sales and investor meetings should be no different, especially if you are a C-suite executive or business leader. Your words will resonate, potentially travelling quickly through the investment community, among competitors and likely the media, as we saw with this example.

When speaking with your stakeholders, whether in person or using the press as a conduit for your message, know what the tough questions will be and have an answer for them.  The topic may be sensitive, but avoiding it or giving a flippant response will only make matters worse.  The audience will think you are either hiding something or simply don’t care.  Neither is beneficial for you or your firm.

See my related previous post: http://mfdcommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/was-that-question-really-such-surprise.html