Wins are easy to quantify, but it’s often difficult to understand the value of a missed opportunity. This is especially true when it comes to public relations.
That’s why a good public relations professional stresses the importance of strong messaging and frequent media training.
Those who interact with the media or the public not only need to know how to stay on message while responding to questions, but also how to spot potential opportunities and use them to their advantage.
Recently, Vice President Biden had a great opportunity served up to him, and he blew it…badly. Stopping for frozen custard, the restaurant manager told him his dessert was “on the house…just lower our taxes and we’ll call it even.” With cameras rolling, this was the opportunity of a lifetime to tell the owner about his administration’s programs that were lowering his taxes. It also was an opportunity to empathize with and share the concerns of a voter.
Instead, Biden lost his cool and called the manager an obscenity. The footage was played on both local and national news programs.
Think back on your public interactions and media interviews. How many opportunities have you missed?