The Bonner Business Series – Media Relations. Allan Bonner

endless number of ways to phrase questions and thus an endless set of answers to prepare. I’d rather make multiple use SOCKOs than start a Q & A project that, by definition, never ends.

      A great SOCKO just may be the answer to 50 questions you might be asked. But, a Q & A sheet has only one answer per question. With SOCKOs, you use versions of them over and over again. I say versions because you don’t want to sound scripted.

      Qs & As are like a “round” in music. The most famous round is probably “row, row, row your boat.” Each person says the same thing, at the same time in the round, with the same notes, over and over again. It both sounds and is repetitive. A Bach “fugue,” however, has several variations. The composer has some choice of when to come in, on what note and with what sequence of notes. It still has structure, but a fugue generates and sustains more interest than a round.

      The kind of repetition you want is the kind Shakespeare used—emphatic, clear and powerful repetition, not redundant repetition.

      Once you’ve identified your ISSUE, you should decide which is the most important 10% of the information about which you want to tell the world. This is your SOCKO.

      After that you can add four or five supporting discussion points that you can use to expand your answer when you respond to follow up questions. This way you make sure you have enough material to present and defend your case, no matter how rigorous the interrogation. It might help if you also think of your SOCKOs as the raw material of news.

      Framing

      Framing is important because it places your message in context. If you don’t care enough about your message to place it in context, don’t be surprised if reporters choose the context for you. When people in the public eye complain that they have been misquoted in the media, what they usually mean is that their words have been taken out of context.

      So set your own frame.

      Imagine anchoring yourself in the graphic frame in this book and be sure not to let anyone pull you out. You aren’t in total control here because the people receiving your message may have their own frames, or modify yours based on their personal experiences. You may say the glass is half full while they are convinced it is half empty.

      Social scientists tell us that the person or group that sets a valid frame first on any given issue has a tremendous advantage over those who try to do so later. It is very hard to unframe a message, unspin it, put the genie back in the bottle or the toothpaste back in the tube. As one academic put it: “It’s hard to unscare people.”

      Parents know that going, “Boo!” is the easy part, but consoling a scared toddler can be tough.

      So make your message powerful and clear and get it out early and often and you will always be ahead of your adversaries.

      Your message can also be a “flag” or signal to the audience that you are worth listening to and your issue is worth paying attention to. The signal potential of a message involves a subliminal communication that you and your message are more important than all the other things competing for the attention of the recipient that day. Considering the “all news” formats of many radio and TV stations and the thousands of other distractions in a day, you have to work hard for a share of the news consumers’ minds. SOCKOs will help you do just that.

      Messages have to compete to survive. Your message may signal that this issue or event is a harbinger of things to come. It’s got “legs” and will be around for a while. That can be good or bad, depending on the issue and the side you’re on, but that’s how the system works.

      Amplification helps explain how some minor issues can capture media attention, and how an issue moves between and among various players in society, such as lawyers, clergy, activists and others. The issue changes during this journey and your management of the issue must change also. I liken the journey that an issue takes through the various players in society to the path through a pinball machine that the steel ball takes. You have to guide the ball, play the flippers and be careful not to tilt the machine.

      Amplification is also the reason that some messages “override” other messages. Terms such as “ecologist,” “fisherman” or “aboriginal” had more resonance or amplification power than “oil company” did after the Exxon oil spill in Valdez, Alaska.

      So, some words “trump” other words. Similarly, most images trump most words and some images trump other images. This means that the images of the endangered bald eagle, the dead otter and the oiled bird trumped all other concepts, messages and images in the Valdez oil spill. Most of the technically competent engineers, scientists and others who worked for Exxon thought that the plain, unvarnished facts of the matter would win the day. Even though the facts were on their side, simple recitation of those facts didn’t stand a chance against those images.

      You need to construct your words and images to fight and win the battle against other powerful and competing messages.

      Another way of looking at amplification is to illustrate your position, idea or initiative by linking it to something that is already well known. I worked with the spokesperson of a prestigious Washington think tank recently and was a little surprised how easily he adopted this approach. It turned out he already kept an eye on popular songs and movies so that he could turn a memorable phrase in his media clips and quotes. That may sound superficial, but if it works and gets your perspective out, it’s worth a try.

      Now is the time to use these principles and methods outlined above. We’re convinced that it’s not only possible, but also necessary for organizations to identify the thirty or so topics about which they may have to speak and work through what they’re going to say on these topics. This work needs to be done now, well in advance of media scrutiny.

      Even a good news opportunity is no time for a company or organization to begin the process of deciding how it can best describe its activities, its goals, hopes or aspirations. Doing so during a crisis or unforeseen circumstance is foolhardy.

      Let’s say a building blows up. As a spokesperson you’ll be asked: “Was anybody killed? How did they die? How badly are people injured? Are you insured? Are you liable for third party damages? How did it happen? What was the cause? How bad is the damage? Can the building be fixed? When do you expect to reopen for business?” On the assumption that you are not a physician, lawyer, police officer, insurance adjuster and antiterrorist specialist all rolled into one, the answer to all those questions must be: “I don’t know.”

      But you can’t walk out to face the cameras and microphones and say, “Here’s a list of all the things I don’t know.” You have to say something. So, you talk about strategies, attitudes, behaviour, goals, hopes, aspirations, capabilities and training — but only if you and your organization have had the foresight and taken the trouble to prepare these SOCKOs in advance.

      Newsmakers prepare a series of basic SOCKOs using everyday language as part of an effective and successful communications strategy. A manual containing SOCKOs covering a variety of topics and issues should be compiled and updated as necessary.

      SOCKOs are essential to have in media encounters, whether over the telephone, in person, on camera, with a print reporter or on background with an editorial board.

      Now that you have your SOCKOs in hand and some ideas of how they can be deployed in the service of your organization or company, it’s time to go to work.

      Most stations and networks have their own ideas of what is practical and aesthetically pleasing. Here, the London studios of CNBC Europe involve a formal setting with lots of desk and space between me and the host.