Selling Yourself in Confrontation and Media Interviews 121
a sense of humor without appearing to be a “smart alec.” When
CNN’s Bernard Shaw pulled the trigger on presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis, asking him if he’d still oppose the death penalty
if Kitty Dukakis had been brutally raped and murdered, Dukakis
would have scored points with a smiling, “Bernie, we wouldn’t
need a death penalty if I got my hands on him.” Case closed. When
Dan Quayle was asked what he would do as vice president if the
president were assassinated, Quayle’s, “I’d pray,” seemed inept,
given the facial reaction that made him appear to be groping. He
might have turned it around with, “You ought to ask the president
what he’d do if I were assassinated. After all, I’m the unpopular
one.” The question was so outlandish and so undeserving of an
answer that a near-playful answer that didn’t make light of the
president’s death would have put the public on notice that the
reporter couldn’t come up with a substantive question.
The “what if” question has lots of first cousins. Some of them
are:
- “Who’s to blame...?”
- “Whose fault is it...?”
- “Who’s responsible...?”
Every news organization would gleefully print or air your com-
ments that place blame. Even if you think you know, be sure to
make it clear that you’re not a judge, not a jury, and certainly not
God. You can even say that too many decent people have had
careers and reputations destroyed by someone who decided to
mouth off to a reporter.
Another cousin is “what really happened?” The suggestion
here is that you know a lot more than you’re willing to tell. Each
technique is designed to hit a button.
If you allow yourself to get frustrated, angry, insulted, or
stressed out, you’re guaranteeing yourself an unflattering appear-
ance on the evening news or one of the tabloids.
- “That’s a wrap...”
These are famous last words. When you hear them your guard
goes down. It’s over. Well, it’s not over ’til it’s over. And that’s
when they’re gone. Some reporters and their crews use it as a
trick to be played on the unsuspecting. The words suggest that the