Total Sound Bite Failure

Some of you have been nice enough to write to me and say Wow.

T.J.

so much good information here.

You’re brilliant.

I love your brilliant insights.

Here’s the thing.

I’m not brilliant at all.

I’ve learned the hard way.

I’ve learned by doing these things the wrong way.

Twenty five years ago I was a press secretary for a member of Congress in Washington D.C.

I was working

in the Capitol one day all of a sudden the phone rings It’s a reporter from a newspaper The Hill it

follows all the legislation and inner workings of Washington and politics and the reporter said T.J.

got a couple of questions for you to have a minute.

Sure T.J.

I’m unclear about the congresswoman’s legislation H.R.

fourteen hundred is unclear to me.

And I said yes H.R.

fourteen hundred is unclear it’s being cleared up in committee and when it does

you realize it does X and Y and Z and I simplified it.

REPORTER It was very pleasant.

Thankful appreciative sir.

Oh thanks so much.

T.J.

you’re a professional.

Really appreciate you getting back to me quickly clarifying this issue.

Thanks so much hung up the phone and thought Wow I am good at my job here aren’t I.

This is great.

Went home that day packed my suitcase because the next day I’m going to Hawaii.

Beautiful place I’d never been there.

And I was going to go taxpayer expense because I was working for a Hawaiian member of Congress so I

go in.

I packed my bathing suit My Hawaiian Shirt sunglasses suntan lotion come into the Capitol the next day

carrying my suitcase there on my desk was the newspaper there and the front page was the story skimmed

out a paragraph.

There is my name.

According to press spokesperson T.J.

Walker quote H.R.

fourteen hundred is unclear.

End of quote.

Page D twenty seven this is back.

Still in their actual newspapers not online.

There’s a few more quotes of me but it was on page D twenty seven nothing bad but they’re on the front

page.

It’s a quote from me saying my boss’s legislation was unclear.

Sit down a few minutes.

Buzzer rings on my phone it’s the chief of staff.

T.J.

I want you come on in.

Get good news and I get bad news but good news.

You’re all packed.

That’s great.

But bad news.

You’re not going to Hawaii or anyplace else.

You’re fired.

Get the heck out of here.

Kicked out of the office.

That was the end of my career in that office.

So what had happened.

I violated the fundamental principle.

I used someone else’s negative words.

I rebutted the premise and I used negative words when I said H.R.

fourteen hundred the name of the legislation

was unclear.

That’s an attack.

Unclear what the reporters were not mine but I said it.

So it was perfectly legal ethical and justified for the reporter to use it.

And it’s my own fault.

That’s what got me fired.

So for people who are nervous about dealing with the media it’s perfectly rational to be nervous people

can lose their careers.

They can be fired.

So I rebutted the reporter’s premise.

I used the reporter’s words I had negative words attacking words which made it a sound bite.

So it’s not just that I was off message I was off message with a sound bite and it was only a couple

of words but that’s all it takes.

So that’s why I’m glad you’re here because smart people don’t learn from their own mistakes.

They learn from other people’s mistakes.

I’m glad you were here to learn from my mistakes because I certainly hope you never have anything like

that happen to you.

I’m hoping that you always get the exact message you want the exact sound bite you want.

Do that.

And no one’s gonna be kicking you out of the office or firing you.