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Consultant's Corner
Stay On Message
By Stacy D. Cole
October 12, 2004
While on the campaign trail, you will be faced with distractions from time to time. It happens to all candidates sooner or later. It may be a hostile voter, a debate, or any number of things.
There are going to be campaign stops where you are going to highlight a certain issue (say crime prevention in a high crime area) over your other issues. We will discuss 3 types of distractions and how best to handle them:
Reporters:
Reporters, whether TV, radio, or newspaper, need juicy stories to get on the air or in the paper. Thus, when you encounter them, either in person, on the phone, etc, they will try to lead you into answering a question that will make you look bad. You can avoid this by realizing this may/will happen beforehand, and knowing how to handle the situation.
When they ask you a question that seems to have nothing to do with the issue that you are highlighting that day, find a way to tie it into your issue of the day. Reporters want to create a story by hopefully catching you in a mistake, whether saying the wrong thing, or you giving an answer that is inconsistent with what you have previously stated. DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP!!
Hostile Voters:
These are the people who are either a) opposed to your candidacy, or b) supporters of the other candidate. Or, they could be both. Regardless, they will show up at your public events and try to disrupt the proceedings. They will try to heckle you and your audience, or worse, try to create a disturbance.
No matter what, DO NOT ENGAGE THEM!!!! They are just trying to bait you into creating a scene. There is NO upside to engaging them.
Well-meaning supporters:
These people will ask you questions about other issues, not knowing that you are trying to spotlight only one particular issue that day. Treat them with kid gloves. Acknowledge their questions, thank them for their support. But, steer the answer back to the issue of the day, at the same time answering their question.
All of these scenarios may or may not happen with other people present. Reporters may be interviewing you when they try to know you off-message. Hostile voters may try to encounter you when you are going to your car. Well-meaning supporters may ask you a question with a reporter overhearing the conversation. The point that is being made is to pay attention to the people you are talking to and the people around you when you are in public. Stay with your message (issue) that you are highlighting that day, and don't let others steer you away from it.
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