How do you answer a question like ‘you’re a nasty piece of work, aren’t you?’

If you ever thought presenters’ questions were getting easier, think again.

Boris Johnson’s annihilation by Eddie Mair on the Politics Show is evidence, if needed, that they are getting tougher.

How do you answer a question like ‘you’re nasty piece of work aren’t you?’ Boris bumbled his way through with an ill-considered response, which succeeded in incriminating him further and damaging his integrity in a way which has probably jeopardised any hopes he might have had about being a party leader.

It reminded me of the question put to David Cameron by Matt Baker on BBC TV’s One Show last year – ‘how on earth do you sleep at night?’ It is a question that is an attempt to de-stabilise the interviewee by calling into question their moral make up.

When it comes to making the most out of media interviews, you may need to be prepared for this kind of below-the-belt question. It is worth asking yourself ‘what’s the worst question I could be asked?’ and then consider how you would respond. Think of it as the ‘killer question’.

When it came to responding to the question put to him, Boris had a choice, he could have said: ‘Whatever else I am, I am a man of integrity and I find your question insulting. For that reason, I am not going to defend myself against each of these allegations now, because I feel that I have done so already.’

When replying to Matt Baker’s question, David Cameron ignored the negative overtone in the question and played it straight down the line, saying: “I always try to get a good night’s sleep…after all, if you’re exhausted you end up making the wrong decisions.”

This is just one of the reasons perhaps why Cameron is PM and Johnson is Mayor.

Say sorry, but mean it

There’s a lot of it about lately. Tesco saying sorry to its customers for breaching their trust over the horsemeat scandal and now the Evening Standard tweeting a two-stage apology after broadcasting its front page about the 2013 Budget before the Chancellor had even stood up to make his speech. 

When the chips are down, making an apology in a timely way and getting it across to as many people as possible, can certainly help to minimise damage to brand reputation. But is there a right way and a wrong way of making a corporate apology?

Tesco’s strategy was to say sorry as loudly as possible – the sheer quantity of column inches bought up and used to communicate this message was impressive and demonstrated how seriously they were taking the crisis. Their message could not be missed. The company’s CEO, Philip Clarke was also very visible in delivering the message. But as slick as it was, their apology may have come across as a little contrived.

The Evening Standard was also quick off the mark when it came to making their apology. Joe Murphy resorted to Twitter – the very media that had caused the storm in the first place – to broadcast his apology as quickly and clearly as possible. His first message described the incident as a ‘very serious mistake’ and his second message indicated that he would be making a full apology to the Chancellor and to the House of Commons in due course. The newspaper has since followed this up with written apologies and suspended a junior employee.

The spontaneous nature of Twitter makes it an ideal media to use when communicating in the crisis and corporates are increasingly using it as their lead media channel in such circumstances. The immediate and personal nature of a tweet can also help to ensure that any apology is viewed as authentic and unscripted.

So what can we learn from this? When making an apology, all the usual advice applies - be direct, take responsibility and be prepared to communicate what action you are taking to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But above all else, your message must be believable and sincere and tweeting can help.

Striking the right balance

Not an easy format for even the most experienced spokesperson but Vince Cable manages to pull this one off.

After a damning indictment by a spokesperson for the TUC about the Government’s proposals to change the unfair dismissal claims system, the Business Secretary manages to strike the right balance with his ‘live’ down the line, delivering a reassuring message about not going down the road of making it easier to hire and fire while highlighting the plight of small businesses being concerned about the cost of tribunal claims. He sounds reasonable and balanced and dare I say conciliatory. His use of phrases like ‘strike the right balance’ and ‘it’s a question of balance’ certainly help too, as do his first few words, which take the heat out the debate by suggesting that he is in broad agreement with the TUC’s position rather than against it. One to watch!

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One nation…one message

As Harold Wilson once said, ‘a week is a long time in politics’, and it’s true when you consider the impact of Ed Miliband’s speech  at the Labour Party Conference this week.

His ‘one nation’ speech was certainly well-delivered and his main message was unmistakeable. In fact, as this Channel 4 news clip shows, he managed to mention ‘one nation’ seven times in his introductory address. 

The clarity of his message is something that spokespeople could learn from when preparing for media interviews.

Of course, the ravings of party supporters will ultimately be balanced out by the comments of his critics – after all this is British politics. But the successful style and delivery of his speech has certainly made Ed Miliband seem a more credible leader than he did at the start of the week. That’s the power of effective communication.

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Get your plugs in!

Watch this clip to see a masterclass in getting your plugs in!

It’s Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix and what a good job he does to stay positive in the face of some fairly tough questioning.

It’s surprising how many spokespeople forget to mention the company or organisation they are representing and rely on the presenter or reporter to mention it for them. All too often, they are left disappointed.

Remember why you are there. Mention the company name and deliver your sales messages clearly and directly – it’s silly not to and at the end of the day, broadcasters accept that media-trained experts will do this.

Just one word of advice for Mr Hastings – try to avoid nodding while listening to the next question – it can look like you are agreeing with what the reporter is saying!

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Opinion counts

If ever there was an example that having a strong opinion can enhance your interview style, then this is it.

Martin Lewis reinforces his reputation as a consumer champion by launching an attack on the Government for ‘pathetic weak regulation’.  Martin clearly understand the power of words and how to create a memorable phrase or two to underline his message. It’s all good stuff.

While he comes across well and is very watchable, he should take care not to interrupt fellow guests, however. This can have a negative effect on viewer perceptions and just comes across as rude. By all means have your say, but let others have theirs too.

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Rule number 1 – be nice to your customers

It is obvious that the chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has never heard the first rule of customer relations, that the customer is always right. Or if he has, he has chosen to ignore it.

The outspoken boss allegedly delivered an ‘extraordinary rant’ after a customer made a complaint about being forced to pay an extra fee of £200 for failing to print off her boarding pass in advance. Mr O’Leary said those who object to the penalty charge are ‘idiots’ and added that they should ‘b****r off’. Nice words – especially from a high-flying business leader who could potentially act as role model to young entrepreneurs.

For spokespeople everywhere, there is an important lesson here. Whatever the topic of the interview (or what kind of day you have had), your message should always aim to reach out to and not alienate your customer base.

Perhaps Mr O’Leary should take a lesson from Virgin Atlantic’s general manager of airport operations, Joe Thompson, who has recently described the airline’s customers as ‘kings and queens’ while publicising a study about luggage choice.

If the message you are planning to communicate is unlikely to appeal to your customers (or worse still cause offence) then you probably shouldn’t be saying it.

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