Colin Powell, former United States four star general and Secretary of State, lists 15 lessons on handling the media on pages 132-133 of his book, It worked for me. He shared these Lessons with a person named Cal, whom he was mentoring.
Many of the techniques can be applied to other-under pressure situations.
Media handling techniques:
- They get to pick the questions. You get to the pick the answers.
- You don’t have to answer any question you don’t want to.
- Never lie or dissemble, of course; but beware of being too candid or open.
- Never answer hypothetical questions about the future. Continue reading