By John Ruane
One of the key responsibilities of a PR pro is to prepare a spokesperson to address an audience or media interviewer. It’s important to make sure the person is prepared with three to five key messages as well as answers to any tough questions that may be asked.
The counselor goes to the worst case scenario question and works his way back toward more normal, more likely questions that might be asked. Those messages are important.
But if this Republican primary can teach anyone in our business about preparing spokespeople, it’s pretty clear that the message is important, but looks and sound are equally, if not more important.
With each Republican Primary debate, it becomes more and more clear which of the candidates looks and sounds like the best potential Republican presidential candidate.
Looks and sound? Absolutely. As they stand there at their respective podiums, Americans are judging them on how they look. It starts there for all of us. And when they speak, the auditory quality of their respective voices is up for judgment as well.
When that shrill voice comes out of Michelle Bachmann’s mouth, there are millions of Americans saying, “I’m not going to listen to that for four years.” Hence, she is eliminated.
When Ron Paul goes off on a tangent, his voice sounding like the crazy old grandfather who escaped from the home, he is crossed off the mental scorecards of many across the land.
When Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich speak, they have a tone of confidence, professionalism and sophistication in their respective voices that helps win over voters. In the latest polls, they are the front-runners, with Gingrich a distant third at this time.
Romney is no surprise. If a Hollywood casting agent were casting the role of President, he would get the part. Romney is the general leading the troops with complete belief and conviction in his statements, rarely wavering. American voters want that quality. They like that confident quality. They want to know where they are headed and have faith in the fellow taking them there.
He will do very well as long as he doesn’t pull a Forest Gump and stop in the middle of the road to say, “I think I’ll go home now.”
Cain has an appealing deep voice and when combined with his more folksy, grassroots messages and logic, appeals to many Americans. His voice, message and style will most likely draw cross-over conservative Democrats as well as some independents.
From my standpoint, Gingrich is the dark-horse in this race. He brings his educational pedigree to his speech which separates him from the others. He is well-educated with the ability to easily recall relevant historical events and people in order to make or support a point during a debate. His wonderful soothing, but confident vocal tone combined with his intelligence make a positive impact on the viewer. The question is will the Christian conservatives forgive his past discretions?
Perry has a very polished voice as well, but since he alerted America to the fact that he can bumble a sentence with the best of them, his image and chances have dwindled.
Looks? Romney looks like a leader. He looks like someone who could have a superhero costume underneath that suit. He looks like a man who could represent us well as President of the United States. The same could be said about Rick Perry, but unless he learns to say, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain,” clearly and distinctly, he has little hope.
To me, Cain looks more like a businessman than a President. I’m probably influenced by his background. Doesn’t mean he couldn’t be President, but if I were the casting director, he wouldn’t be my first choice. The same could be said about Gingrich who looks more like a college professor, however we have seen him in action in Congress, so we know he can look like a leader and act like one as well.
Then there is Rick Santorum, who is no dummy, has plenty of strong opinions and convictions. However, during a recent debate, when he took issue with front-runner Romney, he showed America a certain look on his face that seemed to indicate he was a jerk.
Is he a jerk? I have no idea. But I do know that very special look he shows us makes him look like one. It’s not a look you want to exhibit when you are running for President. I asked several friends what they thought about his special facial expression, and remarkably, all had the same reaction. He is either a jerk or suffering from a bad case of constipation!
So what’s the lesson learned for each of us working to prepare our spokespeople?
- Do your best to make sure the spokesperson is dressed to look very impressive, very professional.
- In the course of rehearsals, determine if there are any vocal issues that can be worked out without throwing off the speaker’s natural delivery or presentation. If it can’t be worked out, live with it.
- Rehearse the Q&A and key messages so there is a very strong comfort level. My experience has been that some spokespeople welcome the practice, while others want to wing it. Winging it is never a good idea.
We may never have to prepare someone to run for President of the United States, which would be the most challenging job for someone in our profession, but as long as we can make our spokespeople look, sound and say the right things, we will have delivered the best possible success and represented our clients well.
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John Ruane is an author and president/CEO of Ruane Communications in Chicago. |