Staying On Message with the Dowager Duchess of Downton Abbey

Ever the master communicator, Maggie Smith's Lady Violet Crawley understands the importance of staying on message. Remember how she strong-armed poor Dr. Clarkson to stick to the story that Sybil had only the tiniest chance of survivial after preclampsia set in? She did this because Sybil's mother Lady Grantham still thought Sybil might have survived if she had been taken to the hospital for a C-section, which Lord Grantham had opposed on another doctor's recommendation.

Lady Violet tells Dr. Clarkson: "You've created a division between my son and his wife when the only way they can conceivably bear their grief is if they face it together." In other words, don't let your words foment any doubt in Lady Grantham's mind.

In a subsequent scene, Lord and Lady Grantham question Dr. Clarkson at length but he doesn't stray from the main theme: that Sybil would have most likely died even if she had delivered the baby by Cesarean as he had recommended.

From Episode 5:

Dr. Clarkson:

On that awful night I'm afraid I'm afraid I may have given you the impression my recommended course of treatment offered a real chance of Lady Sybil's survival. The truth, and I've done a great deal of research since as you can imagine, is that the chance was a small one, a tiny one really. 

Lady Grantham:

But ... there was a chance.

(Long look between Dr. Clarkson and Lady Violet.)

Dr. Clarkson:

An infinitesimal one. The discomfort and the terror would have been all too certain.

Lord Grantham:

So you think Tapsell (the other doctor) was right?

Dr. Clarkson:

Oh, I cannot go that far. Sir Tapsell ignored all the evidence in an unhelpful, and if I may say, an arrogant manner.

Lord Grantham:

But ... Sybil was going to die.

Dr. Clarkson:

When everything is weighted in the balance, I believe Lady Sybil was going to die.

So: Dr. Clarkson maintains his proper English stiff upper lip and stays on message, and Lord and Lady Grantham go back to sleeping in the same bed again. It worked in a 1920's Yorkshire estate, and it still works everywhere else in 2013.

Carnival CEO Buries The Lead

Before boarding the Carnival Triumph to face his disgusted, frightened and spitting-mad customers last night, Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill delivered a three-minute statement to the assembled news media.

And while he eventually said some of the right things, it took him a minute and 46 seconds to say what he should have said right at the start. He should have apologized to his customers right from the get-go.

Cahill started by talking about the "tremendous effort" that went into getting the ship back to shore. He thanked the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Public Health Service, the City of Mobile and the Port of Mobile. He thanked Carnival employees on land and onboard. He said how nice it was that the guests had recognized the efforts of the crew in online posts and in news media interviews.

That's all fine - it's very important to thank employees and partners in a crisis situation - but it wasn't until the 1:46 point that he finally said: "I'd like to reiterate the apology I made earlier. I know the conditions onboard were very poor. I know it was very difficult. And I want to apologize again for subjecting our guests to that."

I'm speculating here, but I get the impression that Cahill thought he had already apologized to his customers over the long days before the ship finally made it to Mobile, and that's why he didn't start with an apology this time. But this was his most important news media appearance up to that point, and delaying the apology by first talking about Carnival employees made him come off as a bit self-serving.

His on-camera performance wasn't terrific, either. He spent most of his time with his eyes cast downward, which made him look a little unsure of himself. Better to keep the chin up and make eye contact with the reporters on hand.

Listen, the guy was in a very tough spot. It's hard to say you're sorry. It's particularly hard for a proud CEO to say he's sorry. It's particularly hard for a proud CEO to say he's sorry over and over again. But rule number one of crisis communications is to express concern for your customers first.

Bill Connor of Oratorio Media and Presentation Training Quoted in The Washington Post

Oratorio's Bill Connor was asked to comment for Sari Horwitz and Peter Finn's story on the NRA's media messaging strategy in the February 14, 2013 Washington Post - see the full article here.

Before You Speak Up, Drink Up

As I write this, it's less than 24 hours since Marco Rubio's sip heard 'round the world and you've probably seen it 24 times already, but take a look in case you haven't.

I feel badly for the guy - not much fun to get an attack of cottonmouth in front of the entire American electorate - but this was one comedy skit that could have been avoided.

As a U.S. Senator, Rubio should have understood the importance of hydrating. For the rest of us, before any public speaking appearance:

• Drink plenty of room-temperature water, and keep more water within easy reach. Hot liquids can burn your tongue and ice-cold drinks can tighten up your throat.
• Avoid carbonated beverages, which make you burp.
• Don't drink a lot of jitters-inducing coffee - and definitely stay away from booze. You might think it'll calm your nerves, but it just thickens the tongue. You can have a celebratory cocktail later, after you've nailed your presentation.

Finally, Rubio made matters worse by the antic way he tried to maintain eye contact with the camera as he reached for the water bottle. Better if he had simply paused, looked off-camera and calmly taken a sip before turning back to the business at hand.  Audiences are more forgiving than we tend to assume; they know that speakers occasionally get thirsty, need to clear their throats, or pause for a breath. If Sen. Rubio had trusted in that, he would have looked less like a thirsty deer in the headlights.

Obama and "I"

President Obama certainly covered the waterfront in his State of the Union speech last night: immigration, jobs, guns, education, taxes – all held together with several rousing iterations of “let’s get this done” and “they deserve a vote.”

But he did something else. Or rather he didn't do something else. He didn't use the word "I" much. We counted a grand total of 28 I’s in the 6900+ word speech.

James Pennebaker of the University of Texas says in his book "The Secret Life of Pronouns" that when you're feeling confident, you focus on what needs to be done, not on yourself. His research found that confident high-status types use the word "I" less, not more. But even the high and mighty have bad days. Richard Nixon used many more "I" words during the Watergate scandal and Mayor Rudy Giuliani used more "I" words when his marriage fell apart and he found out he had cancer.

So if you want to appear confident and in command the next time you give a speech or make a presentation, avoid the word "I" and instead use the name of your company or your product. In other words, don’t forget to brand.