Does the press deserve

a candid answer

to everything they ask?

‍

Absolutely not.

‍

Be sincere.

‍

But button down the honesty will you?

‍

Delivering candor under fire

is just plain deadly.

‍

Actors train for years to be able

to deliver Emotions-On-Demand.

They know that the delivery of

one line or even one word can alter

the course of an entire performance.

‍

Why do you think you’ll be able

to produce a spontaneously

illuminating answer while

on the hot seat?

‍

Perhaps George Bernard Shaw put

it best when,  after being heralded

as the most spontaneous

speaker of his day, he replied:

‍

“Yes, I am spontaneous. Every gesture,

every response and every facial expression

has been carefully planned and rehearsed.”

‍

Spontaneity takes practice.

So does candor.

‍

A network pundit recently lamented:

‍

“People are so disciplined about staying

on message, you’re getting canned talking

points rather than something

genuinely informative.”

‍

“Informative” is the operative word here.

‍

You can be genuinely informative

as well as well rehearsed.

‍

In fact, you must provide the media

with information that resonates with

news value to score any significant coverage.

‍

It just may not be the news that

they were hoping for.

‍

Often they have written

the headline before

they even speak to you.

‍

That’s not fair. Is it?

‍

There are a few things that you

should avoid when striving to deliver

“candor-on-demand.”

‍

Avoid:

repeating the same word

or phrase more than two times

during an interview.

‍

Avoid:

smiling too much.

‍

Avoid:

looking like you are empathizing

with a reporter who is going

for your jugular.

‍

Avoid:

using “I” more than once.

‍

Avoid:

using your organization’s name

too often.

‍

Avoid:

buying time by using:

“that’s an interesting question”

more than once during an interview.

‍

Avoid:

bizarre, repetitive hand gestures.

‍

Avoid:

looking into the camera lens

unless you are doing a live remote.

‍

And, most of all… realize that:

‍

Candor is always

in the eyes of the beholder.