Our media training blogs are often based on the recent performances of spokespeople.
“Why don’t you put some definition on these terms?”
Those were the words of a bemused Sky News presenter who became increasingly frustrated with the vague language used by his interviewee.
Talking in generalities is a mistake many media spokespeople make.
So, how can you avoid this problem? And what can you learn from this high-profile example?
It happened when Labour MP Lilian Greenwood was asked about a possible tax rise and what her boss, Heidi Alexander, meant by recently saying “modest incomes”.
Presenter Matt Barbet asked: “Your boss talked about people on modest incomes not being hit by any tax rises come the autumn.
“By modest, does she mean the average or less than the average? What exactly is that?"
The minister for the future of roads initially said she was using “common sense language” before adding “I think it is people who work for a living and who get a payslip at the end of the month”.
The unimpressed presenter interrupted, saying: “I work for a living and get a payslip – is my salary modest?”
When the politician said she did not know what his salary was, he added: “Probably not, actually. So, what does modest mean by salary terms?”
Ms Greenwood eventually said she thought it meant those who “earn kind of around average”.
But when she later added that her party thought “those with the broadest shoulders should bear the burden,” the presenter again showed his annoyance at the lack of detail.
He said: "Modest income is vague, broadest shoulders are vague. Why don't you put some definition on these terms instead of using these broad, sweeping words where no one knows what they represent?"
And that’s a fair point.
People watching the interview will want to know exactly what “modest income” means and whether it might include them.
It’s a vague term that people will define differently.
And attempts to dance around it by saying things like it means “people who work for a living and who get a payslip at the end of the month” only add to the confusion and uncertainty.
One of the weird things about the interview - beyond the vagueness – was that the government had been given a clear indication the media was interested in the phrase “moderate incomes”.
Just 24 hours earlier, Darren Jones – normally one of the government’s better spokespeople – had struggled to define what it means during an interview with LBC.
He said: “What Heidi was referring to yesterday was our manifesto commitment, which we’ve talked about before. Where we promised not to increase the headline rate of income tax and national insurance in people’s payslips – that’s what we refer to as working people.”
Clear? No, me neither. And nor was the journalist who made several attempts to gain some clarity.
So, why weren’t lessons learnt from that, and a better definition created to prevent other members of the government from facing the same interview issue and irritating another journalist?
We’ve stressed before in these media training blogs the value in reviewing interviews your organisation has carried out, seeing what you could improve from those performances and using that insight to help shape preparation.
What else can comms professionals and their spokespeople learn from this?
Well, during our media training courses, we stress to delegates the importance of avoiding vague answers and generalities.
Be specific. Talk about relatable experiences, offer specific statistics and discuss real examples and stories – it boosts understanding and helps build connections.
Abstract terms will only confuse your audience and cause the journalist to ask more questions to understand what you mean – giving you less time to get your message across.
It is also worth remembering that a big part of interview success is how you make the audience feel.
People will not remember everything you say, but they will recall how you made them feel.
If you can’t provide clarity to a vague term, you or your organisation has introduced, that feeling is unlikely to be positive.
This is something our new AI-powered training companion Thirty Seven can help spokespeople with. Its detailed analysis highlights vague answers and descriptions, and areas where spokespeople should be more specific.
What about if you don’t know the answer?
This is where the bridging media training technique is your friend.
If you don’t know the answer, use the technique to acknowledge the question and then steer the conversation to what you want to discuss.
So, in the case of Ms Greenwood’s interview, she could have said something like, “I’m not sure of the exact definition, but what I can tell you is…”.
That must be better than trying to endlessly dance around the question, giving the journalist the opportunity to call out your vagueness and allowing them to keep asking the same question – all of which detracts from the credibility of the spokesperson.
And that’s a shame because Ms Greenwood has shown that she can perform well in the spotlight.
During an interview with BBC Breakfast on the same day, she was asked if she would take advantage of a new electric car scheme.
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “But I have sent a WhatsApp to my husband this morning saying, ‘Have you seen this?’ because when we get our next car, it is going to be electric. And I convinced him by saying, ‘Look, there are more charge points out there, we will be able to charge it at home and be able to do the journeys we want to do’.
“And we want to give other people that confidence to make the switch.”
Asked by the journalist what her husband had said, she added: “He said ‘Yes’ because he knows he’s got to do what he’s told really.”
An answer with touches of humour and personality.
What a shame it was overshadowed by the vagueness of the other interview.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with nearly 40 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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