If you’re in the public eye or have a job with any public-facing role there will come a time when a problem arises. Guaranteed.
It may not be your problem, you may have had little to do with it, but the perception that you are somehow at fault may be dogging you and inhibiting your ability to get things done.
The keyword here is perception. Once the media is involved, perception becomes the name of the game.
Experience has taught me that in order to help the story move along and go away, there are three things you need to express: Feelings, Facts, Fixes. Some people refer to these as The Three F’s.
I call them essential knowledge for anyone in any position of power. It will behoove you to master this solution now so that you have it at hand when the need arises.
Feel
The very first thing you should express is regret when any misfortunate incident occurs. Even if you’re not directly responsible or don’t feel like you ought to apologize, it’s much easier, better, and quicker to express feeling sorry than to offer any sort of denial.
Denial keeps the flames of accusation burning and guarantees that the story will run again the next day. Regret enables people to move on.
And – this is crucial — if you are being accused of wrongdoing, never, EVER, repeat the accusation. It will simply make the problem bigger.
We all remember Bill Clinton famously denying that he had “sexual relations with the woman.”
Not his finest moment.
It’s better to use a bridge – “however,” “but,” “and moreover,” “as a matter of fact” – to your next topic than to repeat the accusation. It can, and will, be used against you.
Needless to say, never lie. Lies will undoubtedly come back to haunt you.
Facts
The second part of your statement should include reason and facts.
Facts can help to defuse tempers and inflammatory situations. They are neutral.
- “The flooding has affected five streets in the downtown area.”
- “The report cited three services that need improvement.”
- “The plane’s landing gear malfunctioned due to an electrical short circuit.”
Fix
When facing the camera or an angry crowd, it’s always useful to let the audience know that you are doing everything possible to set the situation right.
Appoint a commission to look into wrongdoing (and enable them to do their job). Set up a website or Twitter feed for people to log complaints (and make sure there are people on hand to man it).
Send out a team of engineers to fix the problem immediately (and put in place a social media SWAT team to keep customers updated hourly).
And then, once you’ve stated your intended remedy, offer to return to the program or to call the reporter with an update tomorrow.