Ruh roh, Reorge!” Was that really just said in a national TV interview? Today’s news includes a major media interview blunder by Dr. Ben Carson, a potential 2016 GOP candidate. CNN reports the shocking comments that prison proves being gay is a choice. He says while race is not a choice, being gay is. Ruh roh, Reorge! Probably not exactly the slam dunk message he wanted out of the interview, but the media is playing that sound bite over and over today.
So, when do you need to seek media training? Most accomplished people, especially people like doctors, CEOs, speakers and leading experts, are confident people. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be successful. It’s been my experience, the more successful a client, the more likely they are to pass on media training. Big mistake! Media training isn’t about getting confidence. It’s about creating strategy and crafting public messages you want to underscore your legacy. Let me explain by summarizing a conversation among media anchors this morning on Morning Express with Robin Meade on CNN’s Headline News.
Robin Meade and Mike Galanos discussed Carson’s comments. Meade and Galanos were shocked Carson didn’t have a canned answer to such hot button issues facing presidential candidate hopefuls. Essentially their discussion boiled down to this: “You better have an answer that reflects what you really feel because you’re going to be asked those types of questions.”
That’s why you get media training. Sure, some people need it to gain confidence in front of a microphone or camera. The majority of successful people in front of a camera, though, need it to think through their answers to possible questions to make sure what they say reflects the public messages they want to send. To craft that, most need sounding boards and that’s what a good publicist is. Every time one of our clients turns down media training because they feel, “they’ve got it,” I wonder in the back of my mind will I be shaking my head soon asking, “Ruh roh, Reorge!” Was that really just said in a national TV interview?
