In the Line of Fire How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts

by Weissman, Jerry

• ISBN13: 9780131855175
• ISBN10: 0131855174
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-21
• Publisher: FT Press

Summary

Answer even the toughest, most hostile questions brilliantly! Learn to take the floor, stay poised, and win your audience over every time. - The indispensable resource for everyone who presents: businesspeople, politicians, fundraisers, teachers, students, everyone! - The world's #1 presentation coach shows how to get ready and stay in control - from start to finish! - Learn from dozens of compelling case studies . . . Including moment-by-moment photos and commentary on the debate answer that destroyed a Presidency!

Author Biography

JERRY WEISSMAN, the world's #1 corporate presentations coach, founded and leads Power Presentations, Ltd. in Foster City, CA. His private clients include executives at hundreds of the world's top companies, including Yahoo!, Intel, Cisco Systems, Intuit, Dolby Laboratories, and Microsoft.

Weissman coached Cisco's executives before their immensely successful IPO road show; afterward, the firm's chairman attributed at least two to three dollars of Cisco's offering price to Weissman's work. Since then, he has prepared executives for nearly 500 IPO road shows, helping them raise hundreds of billions of dollars.

Weissman is author of the global bestseller Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story (Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2003).

In this book, you'll find many examples of Q&A sessions and political debates in the public arena. The original videos of these sessions are available on a DVD that you can obtain by visiting www.powerltd.com .

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Agility versus Force	xv
Challenging Questions
Martial Arts
Effective Management Perceived
Baptism under Fire
Case Studies: Bill Clinton; David versus Goliath; Bruce Lee; David Bellet; Mike Wallace
Chapter One: The Critical Dynamics of Q&A	1	(14)
Defensive, Evasive, or Contentious
Presenter Behavior/Audience Perception
Case Studies: The Classic Bob Newhart Episode; Trent Lott on Black Entertainment Television; Pedro Martinez; The NAFTA Debate; Two Weeks of an IPO Road show
Chapter Two: Effective Management	15	(8)
Implemented Worst Case Scenario
Maximum Control in Groups
The Q&A Cycle
How to Lose Your Audience in Five Seconds Flat
Chapter Three: You're Not listening!	23	(16)
Case Studies: 1992, 2000, and 2004 U.S. Presidential Debates
Chapter Four: Active Listening	39	(14)
(Martial Art: Concentration)
The Roman Column
Sub-vocalization
Visual Listening
You Still Don't Understand
Yards After Catch
Case Study: 1992 U.S. Presidential Debate in Retrospect
Chapter Five: Retake the Floor	53	(28)
(Martial Art: Self-defense)
Paraphrase
Challenging Questions
The Buffer
Key Words
The Double Buffer
The Power of "You"
The Triple Fail-Safe
Case Study: Colin Powell
Chapter Six: Provide the Answer	81	(16)
(Martial Art: Balance)
Quid Pro Quo
Manage the Answer
Anticipate
Recognize the Universal Issues
How to Handle Special Questions
Guilty as Charged Questions
Point B and WIIFY
Topspin
Media Sound Bites
Case Studies: George W. Bush; John F. Kerry; George H. Bush Revisited
Chapter Seven: Topspin in Action	97	(18)
(Martial Art: Agility)
Michael Dukakis Misses a Free Kick
The Evolution of George W. Bush
Lloyd Bentsen Topspins
Ronald Reagan Topspins
Chapter Eight: Preparation	115	(10)
(Martial Art: Discipline)
Lessons Learned
Case Studies: John F. Kennedy versus Richard M. Nixon, Al Gore versus Ross Perot
Chapter Nine: The Art of War	125	(32)
(Martial Art: Self-Control)
The Art of Agility
Force: 1992
Agility: 1996
Agility and Force: 2000
Agility and Force: 2004
The Critical Impact of Debates
Lessons Learned
Case Studies: Al Gore debates Dan Quayle, Jack Kemp, and George W. Bush; George W. Bush debates John F. Kerry; The Presidential Debates: 1960 through 2004
Chapter Ten: The Role Model	157	(12)
Complete Control
Case Study: General Norman Schwarzkopf
Endnotes	169	(6)
Acknowledgments	175	(4)
Index	179

Excerpts

In the Line of Fire Introduction Agility Versus Force During my 40 years in the communications trade ranging from the control rooms of the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan to the boardrooms of some of America's most prestigious corporations, I have heard...and have asked...some highly challenging questions. One of the most challenging I ever heard came during Bill Clinton's presidency when he was engulfed in the firestorm ignited by the revelation of his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Despite intense public and media pressure, Clinton continued to fulfill his presidential obligations, among them hosting a state visit by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair. On the afternoon of February 6, 1998, after the two heads of state made their customary prepared statements to the press, President Clinton opened the floor to questions from an audience packed with reporters. At that point, he became fair game for nonstate questions on the subject that was uppermost in the minds of the media and the public. One question in particular came from Wolf Blitzer, the senior CNN political correspondent: Mr. President, Monica Lewinsky's life has been changed forever, her family's life has been changed forever. I wonder how you feel about that and what, if anything, you'd like to say to Monica Lewinsky at this minute? The stinging question brought a few scattered titters from the other reporters. Looking straight ahead, right at Blitzer, Clinton smiled and bit his lower lip, an expression that had become his trademark. Then he said, That's good! The crowded room erupted in laughter. After it subsided, Clinton continued: That's good...but at this minute, I am going to stick with my position and not comment. Blitzer had nailed the acknowledged charismatic master of communication skills at his own game, and the master acknowledged it publicly for all to hear. Fortunately for Clinton, he was able to default to his legal situation and not answer. Very few people on the face of this planet have the expertise, the charm, the quickness of wit, or the legal circumstances to respond so deftly to challenging questions. Yet very few people on the face of this planet sail through life without being confronted with tough questions. The purpose of this book and its many real-life examples is to provide you with the skills to handle such questions, and only such questions. If all the questions you are ever faced with were of the "Where do I sign?" variety, you could spend your time with a good mystery novel instead. Forewarned is forearmed. One other forewarning: All the techniques you are about to learn require absolute truth. The operative word in the paragraph above, as well as on the cover of this book, is "handle," meaning how to deal with tough questions. While providing an answer is an integral part of that "handling," every answer you give to every question you get must be honest and straightforward. If not, all the other techniques will be for naught. With a truthful answer as your foundation, all those techniques will enable you to survive, if not prevail, in the line of fire. Challenging Questions We begin our journey of discovery by understanding why people ask challenging questions. Journalists such as Wolf Blitzer ask these kinds of questions because, being familiar with the classical art of drama, they know that conflict creates drama. Aristotle 101. Why do people in business ask challenging questions? Because they are mean-spirited? Perhaps. Because they want to test your mettle? Perhaps. More likely it is because when you are presenting your case, which is just th