What to do when your spokesperson messes up?

Public relations work with lots of data, numbers, metrics, and graphs. However, we must never forget the fact that it is a predominantly human discipline, carried out by people who collaborate with others to reach common goals.

Due to the above, it is inevitable to find mistakes from time to time. This is where we use the common phrase "we are humans". And yes, humans make mistakes and we are unpredictable. Because of this, an essential task of public relations is to anticipate crises and prepare plans to prevent, if it is possible, the mistakes made by humans and reduce their effects in the short, medium and long-term.

The spokespersons are an essential part of your company, are the human face and the voice of it. In addition, they transmit their values, goals, and mission to the media, shareholders, consumers and interested parties in general. They should be the only ones authorized to talk about your company because ideally, they have a prior training that allows them to have the confidence and presence to address an audience that your brand requires. We must remember that the spokesperson must also face a crisis!

But, what happens when your spokesperson "messes up"? How to handle it? How to prevent to make bigger the mistake? We will discuss this and more in this article.

How should the perfect spokesperson be?

In the previous paragraphs, we talked about how important a spokesperson is for your company. The right spokesperson should be chosen carefully. Many important things that have to do with your communication and corporate image will depend on it. The spokesperson mistake can transcend for a long time. Generally, their statements are used by the media and this mistake will always have a lot of echo. Is just life!

Before choosing your ideal spokesperson, it is worth saying that previously you should have defined the objectives, values, mission, vision, language and other aspects that define you as a company to make sure the external identify you and distinguish you from others. It is important that you keep this in mind because the spokesperson shouldn't shape the company, but about the company should form the spokesperson.

However, regardless that the spokesperson must undergo training, it is important that complies with certain characteristics that will ease their work, for example:

• What the spokesperson works on? Is it the CEO of the company or is it an actor, an athlete, an expert or an influencer? His/her work matches the essence of the company?
• the spokesperson must make an authentic connection with your company (it is pretty obvious and money can not buy it).
• Preferably, the spokesperson must have experience as a spokesperson (media training helps but isn't a miracle).

How to choose your spokesperson?

If you are already in the "casting" process, pay attention to the following to be able to make a good decision when deciding on a spokesperson:

• Choose someone with excellent communication skills.

As we told you before, media training helps but isn't miraculous. Choose the spokesperson who has better communication skills, easygoing, with the right personality, agile in thought (remember that sometimes the spokesperson will have to improvise), that transmits honesty and transparency when speaking to the media, that connects with shareholders and that has the ability to be empathetic or even know how to apologize, when necessary.

• That has authority within your company.

We know that you can hire someone external and train them. Ideally, your spokesperson should come from your company and have a high hierarchy, that speaks with authority showing confidence and trust. Remember that a knowledgeable executive will always give the best answers for your key audiences.

• With previous experience.

It is important that your spokesperson can represent your company in different scenarios. We don't have to repeat that the spokesperson shouldn't get nervous in camera or microphones and that should be familiar with the most appropriate communication channels to give the message (conferences, interviews, live TV or radio shows, etc.).

• A good reaction to the pressure.

It is probably that your spokesperson will have to show themselves and explain in times of crisis, as well as receive massive questions from the press, which will not always be nice. Controlling stress, acting calmly and not taking it personal are key features of any spokesperson. The spokesperson should never forget that their your job is to keep a positive image of the company before all those involved in the communication process.

Should the CEO be the spokesperson for your company?

It is natural that you have been asked yourself that question after reading all the above. To answer it, you must be very critical and transparent, as well as to try your CEO to all the necessary tests to know if the spokesperson is qualified to be a spokesperson.

Being the image of a company doesn't necessarily reflect the experience and professionalism of a CEO. There are times when a CEO is not good at public speaking or cameras because make them nervous. This doesn't mean that the spokesperson is a bad leader, however, isn't prepared to be a spokesperson.

In addition, sometimes during a crisis, the CEO must have a low profile and isn't the one to face the crisis. When you choose your spokesperson, keep your head cool and assess if there are people who can do a better job or are more qualified than your CEO.

Top 12 Spokespersons’ don'ts

It is normal for anyone to feel intimidated by cameras or microphones, or for an interview or conference to get out of control when there are many reporters asking only to one person. For this is the media training. You must emphasize the following points, in such a way that your spokesperson doesn't manifest them in the job:

1. To babble.

Getting nervous is not a mistake (remember: we are human), but what is wrong is not knowing how to handle the situation. Many times happens that the spokesperson feels overwhelmed by the interview and begins to babble, which in his mind sound good, to get out of the situation. This is a bad image for the audience and is sometimes associated with the politicians' stereotype who talk a lot but say nothing.

2. The famous “bridging”.

The spokespersons are trained to answer the questions clearly but always introducing into the conversation the messages that the company wants.

This is not an error per se, it is when instead of answering the question, the spokesperson avoids it and answers, as a robot, what the company wants. The idea is to answer, but subtly introduce the goal message making the answer consistent with the original question.

3. Memorize.

The spokesperson must know how to improvise. It is better to memorize only the talking points instead of a full speech. Thus, the spokesperson will avoid speaking a lot to reporters and say the same speech to different media. This is noticeable, and journalists may not publish the interview if they think the spokesperson said the same thing to all their colleagues.

4. Speak nonsense.

Many journalists let the interviewee talk, talk and talk and even keep quiet when they have nothing more to ask, which can cause the spokesperson to take advantage of this moment to talk nonsense in order to "fill the space". It is better the spokesperson answer promptly to what is asked and, if there is an opportunity, take advantage of the "bridging" to place the key messages in a discreet and coherent manner.

5. Pokerface.

Managing emotions is key for any spokesperson, but don't overdo it! This means, one thing is to control nerves and another is to put a robot face while talking about sensitive subjects. If communicating something gives you joy, smile. If a work accident happened and an employee died, show yourself sad.

6. Let it flow!

It's very common for a spokesperson to talk about others' feelings. For example, if there was a collapse in the company or there will be a massive dismissal, don't say "don't worry". If there are losses, don't tell the shareholders "don't worry". The spokesperson shouldn't control others' feelings, it's better to talk about the company, what the company feels and nothing more.