On Authenticity and Acronyms

Recently, I was a panelist for one of Bulldog Reporter's nationwide audio conferences.  The topic was, “Fighting Media Attacks: PR Secrets of Training Your CEO to Confidently Face the Press When Bad News Strikes.” (That’s a mouthful, yes?).   I’ve been tapped as an expert on many of Bulldog’s panels, and I love to do them.  Bulldog Reporter has a loyal following of PR practitioners, and the subjects of these audio conferences always spark interesting discussion.  Bulldog also works to assemble a panel of experts who bring more than one view to the table.   I usually learn from the other panelists, and I hope they also pick up a trick or two from me.

There is one panelist, who I will say right up-front has made a successful career of training. My problem is that his means are so formulaic and incredibly contrived.  He has an acronym for everything he teaches, and though I’ve heard his acronyms many times over the years, I can never commit them to memory (one of them is “B.E.A.C.H.B.A.L.L.” or some such thing).  He contends that memorizing his acronyms is the key to an executive’s success.  He also feels that building relationships with reporters (or other audiences) is a waste of time.  I have never heard him use the word “authentic” when talking about successful spokespeople.  And therein lies my rub. 

No cute acronym -no schtick - is effective if a spokesperson can’t speak authentically.  My goal is to get inside the executive’s head, and find out first what drives them.  I discover what it is they want to say, then together we find a way to craft the right messages that can be delivered in a natural, refreshing and authentic way.  They won’t need an acronym to remember the concept, because it’s tied to their natural way of thinking.  It’s not hard - it just takes time.  Less time than trying to remember what “B.E.A.C.H.B.A.L.L..” stands for, and far more authentic.

And to his second point, I say this: relationships are critical. Building relationships with key reporters, bloggers and other audiences can do more for an executive than can landing a pithy soundbite.  Nothing wrong with pithy soundbites, but a compelling message coupled with a good relationship can mean the difference between a good article or presentation, and an over-the-moon great one.  Even if the executive is in some kind of trouble, that relationship can lead to a fair article.  Without an understanding built over time, the relationship is likely to be that of an antagonist/protagonist.  Here are three tips to building that relationship with the media:

1) Read their stuff.  Get familiar with the last 3-5 articles written by your key reporters, so you can better craft your messages to their audience.  Reporters are complimented when you mention one of their articles - and why you agree or disagree with their point of view.

 2) Call them when you don’t have to.  If you come across an interesting fact that is relevant to a reporter’s ‘beat’ - let them know.  It’s especially effective if that tidbit has nothing to do with your company.

3) BE AUTHENTIC.  I can tell you from my years as a reporter that few things got under my skin faster than a spokesperson who sounded like they’d memorized a bunch of acronyms, and forgot how to speak from their own experiences. I call them “Stepford Spokespeople”.  Robotrons who memorized three key messages, and had no idea what they were really trying to say.

As I mentioned, I always learn from the other panelists during these conferences. This time, I learned that I cannot be dissuaded on this: Authenticity trumps Acronyms every time.