Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 02

February 2017 // Canadian Government Executive / 25 Know your intentions before stepping into the spotlight. “Con- sider whether your goal is to inform, reassure, motivate, explain, or inspire. If you don’t know, your audience won’t either. Haig’s problem was that he had two primary objectives. He wanted to warn the Russians and he wanted to assure Americans. He was conflicted and so was his communication,” she says. She adds that you should answer the question you’re asked rather than the ques- tion you fear – sometimes interview subjects over-anticipate the level of response required. This is a fascinating book, rich in her reportage on the incidents and her communications advice, and those two streams of infor- mation deftly intermingled. It’s eclectic, ranging beyond these in- cidents to include Oscar Wilde’s damaging statements in his libel suit against the Marquess of Queensbury; Joan of Arc’s trial for crossdressing and heretical thoughts; Mary McCarthy’s over-the- top putdown of fellow writer Lillian Hellman (“every word she writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the.’”) and even, closer to home, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman’s off-the-wall comments about not wanting to go to Mombasa because of his fear of snakes or ending up in a pot of boiling water. I enjoyed it as a journalist and I sus- pect that, as a government executive, you will as well. tion no man can resist: How come you’re so wonderful?” Beyond guarding against vanity Williams stresses it’s important to know beforehand what you want to achieve in an interview. Mr. Kiss- inger was just responding to questions while Ms. Fallaci had an agenda – the same as all reporters – to make news. Be prepared to answer questions with key messages but without seeming overly scripted or giving the same answer over and over. Edward Kennedy lacked an agenda for the interview with Mudd but more importantly lacked an acceptable reason he could share in public about why he wanted to be president. In- terestingly the softball question that tripped him up came in a mulligan interview after he was unsatisfied with his first sit-down with Mudd. He dealt with the toughie questions but on the soft- ball he was like Casey at the bat, giving a long, wandering answer that talked about every possible political issue but never really said anything, until he struck out. There was no joy in Camelot that night. Says Williams: “Kennedy couldn’t claim he was misquoted as his words were captured on film. Instead he raised questions about Mudd’s tactics and journalistic ethics. Still, his rambling response was evidence of something unresolved that led him to turn an obvious question into a long remembered, and much debated, defining moment.” As she advises: Think through your answers to the obvious questions. When the stakes are high, she suggests considering the possibility of your own ambivalence and how that can trip you up. She also distinguishes between a softball question, on which you can swing and miss, and a gift question, which you should hit out of the park. Many journalists end interviews by asking, “Have I forgot anything?” Williams is astonished some interview subjects will respond, “No.” Use that gift to repeat your most im- portant message. Hit it out of the park. Haig wasn’t being interviewed. He inserted himself into a crisis situation. Reporters – the world – were seeking answers to who was in charge while Reagan was being treated in hospital. The situation could lead the Soviet Union or other countries to act in an unacceptable way. He presumably meant he was in charge ad- ministratively of the White House while Vice-President George Bush, the person constitutionally in charge, returned there. But his words were replayed over and over again, leading to ridicule and concern he was power hungry. The lesson according to Williams: Don’t presume to rise to the occasion. “Haig made assumptions about his abilities. He spoke in haste and never lived it down,” she writes. Take a minute to cre- ate a headline about the most important thing you want people to remember from your remarks. web http://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/author/harveys/ Williams distinguishes between a softball question, on which you can swing and miss, and a gift question, which you should hit out of the park. Many journalists end interviews by asking, “Have I forgot anything?” Williams is astonished some interview subjects will respond, “No.” Use that gift to repeat your most important message. Hit it out of the park. The Leader’s Bookshelf