Are You Prepared?
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
Several years ago, I worked with a nonprofit executive who asked me to secure him a high-profile media interview before a major announcement. The announcement was, in fact, significant and worthy of national attention. And I was proud to report shortly afterward that I had secured him an interview on background with one of the country’s top journalists.
The journalist was interested in doing a feature on this nonprofit’s upcoming news, and the background interview would help her determine if she could sell the story to her editor.
We met at Union Station in Washington, DC for the briefing. Before the session, I had carefully informed the journalist of the key points, provided exclusive background materials, and offered to set her up with several high-profile people close to the news. She was excited to hear more from this executive directly about his plans and vision for the future.
And then, everything crumbled.
As soon as we sat down, I realized my error. I had taken so much time to prepare the journalist that I had failed to adequately prepare my client. He fumbled through his words, rambled on about issues unimportant and irrelevant to this journalist, and ultimately lost the opportunity for that coverage.
Not only had we lost that opportunity, but we had also wasted this journalist's time, and I had lost some of the trust I had worked so hard to earn with her.
It was a lesson for both of us, that preparation is truly the key to success. We either prepare accordingly, or we prepare to fail.
My dear mentor Don Foley often shares a similar story, and the words of one New York Times reporter, who said after witnessing an ill-prepared executive deliver a highly anticipated speech, “It was the height of arrogance not to prepare.” Legendary basketball coach John Wooten had a similar sentiment when he said, “When you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.”
We all know it, but we don’t all do it.
So, if you have a big event, meeting, pitch, or conversation coming up, don’t discount the importance of preparation. Your audience doesn’t care how many competing priorities you have or how full your schedule is the day before the event. They care about how you show up in that moment with them. So, prepare accordingly if you want to increase your chances of success.
Here are a few tips to help navigate your next big opportunity:
Find the balance. The best conversations are just that: two-way conversations, not one speaker talking at the audience. Use your introduction and first few minutes together to build comfort and connection with your audience so you can prime them to better hear you and engage throughout the conversation.
Be interested, and interesting. Show from the outset that you’re present and tuned into your audience. Be prepared with an interesting observation about your audience and their work. Aim to leave the audience with at least one thought-provoking idea they’ll want to pass along to someone else.
Be curious. It doesn’t matter if you’re the one being interviewed. You can still show up with a question that can help spark even more interesting and deeper conversations about the topic. One way to show curiosity: "I'm looking forward to sharing some of our ideas with you today, and I’m also curious to get your take on a few things.”
Know whom you're talking to. There's no excuse for not knowing something about your audience: who they are, what they care about, what they’re talking about or writing about. A quick mention at the top signaling that you’ve done your homework gets their attention and helps them tune into you—not what they have coming up after you.
Criticism is always a bad idea. Don’t throw your competition, your previous employer, or anyone for that matter, under the bus. You may not agree with everyone, but you don’t need to position your disagreement as disrespect. If you find yourself in a position where you have to respond to a loaded question, consider answering it like this. “We all have different ways of going about this work, and it’s not my position to try to understand someone else’s actions. Instead, I hope we can focus on how we’re advancing this work…”
Bottom line: When it comes to preparation, there will always be forces of distraction. Stay focused on your audience, your objective, and your preparation, and success will follow.
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
