All eyes were on the presidential debate this week in Denver. But prior to the big debate, both parties were busy preparing for possible scenarios and anticipating questions, hoping to shine. In any speaking platform, preparation is key and I thought it might be helpful to look at how each candidate prepared and the takeaways for PR professionals.
In preparation, President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney both spent diligent hours preparing, and each camp worked to highlight their individual strengths and avoid showcasing their weaknesses.
Mitt Romney’s team is fully aware that Gov. Romney gets into trouble when he is challenged, and his team worked to help him avoid this. He spent hours watching tapes from past debates with Obama and running through scenarios that would cause himself to lose his cool. By challenging his downfall head on, Romney’s team was able to help him prepare for possible situations where he might get heated. According to an NPR article titled, “Hours Of Preparation For Romney Ahead Of Debate,” this happened during a primary debate in Las Vegas when Texas Gov. Rick Perry accused him of hiring illegal immigrants. Mr. Romney tried to interject and said, “I’m speaking. I’m speaking. I’m speaking.” He was agitated by the accusation and at one point put his hand on Perry’s shoulder.
Likewise, President Obama spent his time preparing, but his team’s objectives were to keep the president in charge of the debate without being too combative. Obama aides reviewed tapes of Romney’s previous debates to identify possible “pitfalls” for a challenger.
Another tact that both Romney and Obama used prior to the debate, was lowering the expectations of the viewers. Both candidates came out applauding their challenger as a talented public speaker and said that they themselves have not had much time to prepare or are not very experienced. This tactic is designed to make the audience surprised if a candidate does well and show compassion or expect for a candidate to do poorly. Think of it like giving a great present. If you tell a loved one that you are buying them a fantastic gift, you could oversell the present. However, if you say you’ve had very little time to shop for their birthday present, your gift will be a welcomed surprise.
During Wednesday’s debate, Mitt Romney did seem to become agitated when President Obama talked about the Affordable Health Care Act and indicated that Romney’s health plan would not address preexisting medical conditions like he claimed. Moderator Jim Lehrer tried to move the discussion along, but Romney insisted that he be heard: “No I have to respond to that,” interrupting Jim Lehrer. However, the interruption did not escalate. His aides predicted correctly and both candidates seemed to know what got under each other’s skin.
President Obama did avoid being combative during the debate. In a CNN article, “Romney takes debate to Obama over economy, healthcare,” Tom Cohen said, “The president firmly defended his achievements and challenged his rival’s prescriptions as unworkable.” However, it was Romney that seemed to command the debate.
So, what is the takeaway for communications professionals? We know that panels, interviews, speaking opportunities and debates can be a great opportunity for an organization’s spokesperson to be seen as a thought leader and increase brand awareness. However, it doesn’t stop at securing the opportunity. As a PR professional, it is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your spokesperson to properly prepare them to take the stage. It is also important to know the strengths and weaknesses of the other participants.
As PR professionals, we can learn from the approach of each camp. It is important to not only prepare for what messages you want to communicate, but prepare for how you’ll react in possible scenarios. We typically develop briefing materials for our clients that provide background on members of the media, analysts or other panelists to anticipate what questions might be asked and what hot button issues might peak a journalist’s interest. Our clients may not spend the hours that the Presidential candidates spend preparing, but we can certainly model the strategy.
How do you prepare for speaking opportunities?