A Lesson From Sarah Palin
As you may recall, during the 2008 presidential and vice presidential campaigns, Governor Sarah Palin didn’t do many interviews and some of the ones she did didn’t turn out very well. I’m thinking specifically of the one she did with CBS News anchor person Katie Couric. If you recall that interview, it’s very strange what happened, because there were no “gotcha” questions. None.
The Governor was asked to explain why Alaska’s proximity to Russia enhanced her policy credentials (which she’d said in a previous interviews), about whether she supported a moratorium on foreclosures for home owners who couldn’t meet their payments (a subject that was very much in the news) and what newspaper and magazines she read.
I’ve reviewed that interview several times and you can on CBSNews.com or on Youtube, no “gotcha” questions at all. And yet, Governor Palin was very defensive. What happened? After the campaign she said, “I wasn’t allowed to do many interviews and the ones I did were not necessarily the ones I would have chosen.”
They’re not the ones I would have chosen for her. Before Katie, there was an interview with Charlie Gibson on ABC that is remembered for Governor Palin’s non-answer to Gibson’s question about the Bush Doctrine. I actually thought she handle that one all right by saying, “In regard to what, Charlie?” Wikipedia describes an evolving definition of the so-called Bush Doctrine that initially was used to justify the US invasion of Afghanistan and came to be used in justifying a so-called “preventive war” against Iraq. But why was she being interviewed by Charlie and Katie in the first place? If
I had been advising the McCain campaign, and I certainly wasn’t, I would have said, Have Governor Palin do as many interviews as possible at the local level, and little by little work up. Once she’s got her legs under her as a national spokesperson, then move on to interviews by network correspondents. If that had happened, it’s my view the Katie Couric interview would have turned out very different.
I’m not passing judgment on whether Sarah Palin was qualified to be Vice President, but if she had the opportunity to become comfortable in her new role as a national spokesperson there is no way she would have refused to answer Ms. Couric’s innocuous question about what newspapers and magazines she read.
When the campaign was over, Governor Palin said, “To me the question was more along the lines of ‘do you read? What do you guys do up there? What is it that you read,’ and Perhaps I was just too flippant in my answer back to her?” Defensive, right?
The Lesson for you in all of that is that, if you’re going to be interviewed on television, make sure you have lots of practice. Within your office and then, if possible, at little local stations. And then work up little by little until you really feel comfortable with what you have to say and how you have to say it. A lesson from Sarah Palin.
About the Author
David Snell is the principal of Snell Communications and the author of the e-books: Big Speeches to Small Audiences and Mike Fright: How to Succeed in Media Interviews When a Mike Wallace Wannabe Comes Calling. His e-books are based on his rich mix of experience including thirteen years as a correspondent for ABC News, three years as Public Relations Director of a large urban university and more than twenty years as a Communications Consulting helping Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and law firms improve there communications in presentations and media interviews.
Snell has written numerous speeches for executives and ghost written Op-ed pieces and long-form articles. His specialty is turning complicated technical and financial information into speeches and articles understandable to non-technical audiences.
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