Dance the dance and sing the song with effectiveness

Thanks to the controversial New York City dinner, the importance of the role of the spokesperson is being tackled once again. Under discussion, in particular, are the statements delivered by prominent spokespeople on the issue.

I have a spokesperson function in my day job and I can say with conviction that being in the line of fire is no fun, but it sure is a fulfilling job when handled properly. Fellow business communicators agree that if we do bungle on the job, we may be suffering from what Barbara Gibson, world chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), labels the “Spokesperson Deficit Disorder (SDD). ” She describes it as “an all-too-common ailment, a not-so-silent killer of corporate reputation — often undiagnosed even when the symptoms are evident.” Early symptoms include negative or weak media coverage, “misquotes” and interviews that go off track. SDD can strike at any level within an organization and can be most damaging if left untreated.

Over the past year, Gibson, who was in Manila during last year’s IABC Philippines conference and Gold Quill Awards, has surveyed more than 500 communication professionals by posing the all-important question: “Have you ever worked with a company spokesperson who was not fully competent in the role?”

Gibson has yet to receive a “no” response. To this she said, “It seems we’ve faced this problem. Or perhaps, more to the point, we’ve avoided it, sidestepped it, suffered in silence, and cleaned up the resulting messes as best we could.”

We may have undergone media training or used other communication professionals whenever possible, but few of us feel confident when directly addressing the problem. It’s hard, after all, to tell whether we are a lousy communicator — especially when our publics don’t seem to see it. It is a spokesperson’s job to help the organization achieve its strategic objective, and at same time he is responsible for helping make business or organizational communication more effective.

Here are a few tips for correctly diagnosing and treating SDD:

Involve the spokesperson trainee and intensify the training. According to Gibson’s data, the average corporate spokesperson has had only four hours of media training, which usually occurred over 10 years in the past. Then they were most likely fielded into the challenging arena of Fourth Estate interviews, and have been given meager or no feedback at all since their last exposure to media. A good way to evaluate is by asking these questions: How do we assess our own skills? Do we need additional training? Are we receiving the right kind of support to prepare for interviews? Do we receive feedback on our performance regularly?

Get the analysis right. Spokespersons vary, and each one of us has a unique mix of strengths and weaknesses. Find a way to independently and plausibly measure our capabilities to better help us improve our craft.

Develop a measurement system that can aid in benchmarking individual development. As we do this, we can also find the right spokesperson match for each media opportunity. The “ability to handle difficult questions,” for example, is one of the things that can be assessed. Scoring high in this area is key for anyone handling crises and financial communication or any other form of high-risk communication. If we believe that our skills need to be enhanced, get into some specialized training or coaching. When working with lifestyle media or doing other feature-type interviews, for example, we must be adept in providing great case examples and proficient in telling interesting and compelling stories.

Monitor interviews and pay particular attention to the full range of our skills. These are informal assessment tools that can aid in diagnosing strengths and weaknesses. What is lacking, though, in informal assessments is the third-party credibility that a formal evaluation can provide, a process that makes spokespeople more open to coaching, and a course that provides a foolproof approach to better our performance.

Outline a tailored development plan. It may involve going through basic media training, which aims to provide an opportunity to build on existing skills, create a forum for the development of key messages on vital organizational policies, and prepare identified spokespeople to interact with media with clarity, confidence, credibility, and overall effectiveness.

The syllabus may include tutorials and exercises on the following areas — understanding media and the prevailing media environment, presentation skills, message development, interview formats and techniques, handling ambush interviews and crisis management. By providing a written plan to cover the identified areas for development, we set up the expectation of ongoing development and position ourselves as coaches for future spokespeople.

No matter how good we think we are, a skills upgrade should be constant. At minimum, this should include feedback after every media interface and regular coaching sessions. The hard part is giving (and receiving) feedback without bruising egos. However, if available, perform a formal assessment and set up expectations.

When giving feedback, Gibson recommends using the “bad news sandwich” approach: Start with positive feedback, followed by the negative, and end on a positive note. Reviewing a video of our own performance can help us see ourselves more accurately. Some of us may be so laid-back and practically asleep, speak in a quiet monotone, or rarely show any enthusiasm. We may be incredibly knowledgeable, but with such conditions we may not get the desired coverage.

Any negative feedback should always include a specific recommendation for improvement. Undergo coaching sessions to work on areas that need enhancement. If we fall apart under fire, bring in a media trainer for a one-on-one advanced session on dealing with difficult questions. If we tend to get sloppy after doing a battery of interviews, impose an “energy break” to invigorate ourselves between speaking assignments. It may also help if we imbibe a mindset that feedback is not criticism, but a coaching mechanism with the ultimate goal of making us more effective and successful spokespeople.

No matter where in this world we spokespeople live, we’ve all been in the line of fire, have “danced the dance” and “sung the song” for our respective organizations, but the fact remains: our competency level will always be tested every time we open our mouths to present, explain, and defend.

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E-mail bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions and suggestions. Thank you for communicating.