10/10, No Notes: The time a Lowe Group client pulled off the perfect pivot, straight out of our media training, on live TV

Key Takeaways:  

• The most effective pivot is to acknowledge the question, answer briefly, and bridge to your message. 
• A strong message triangle keeps you focused and makes bridging easier. 
• Live interviews are opportunities to demonstrate expertise and composure under pressure. The right preparation goes a long way. 

It was the sort of thing that makes PR pros pull out their hair (and this particular flack doesn’t have much to spare!): A live broadcast hit with one of our bond portfolio manager clients to talk about the latest news out of the Fed. We positioned it as such when we initially pitched it. We sent the producer the PM’s bullet points ahead of time—as one typically does for broadcast—and they were all about the Fed news and its likely impact on the yield curve and on bonds. We sent them his title: “Senior PM-Fixed Income.”

Now the red light is on.

Now the presenter is asking our client, “So what do you think [Fed Chairman Jerome] Powell’s comments mean … for stocks.”

Now is when the interview could have gone pear-shaped. Fast.

By rights, our client could have gotten ruffled, or even a bit hot under the collar, rolled his eyes and said, “Well I’m a bond manager, so how about we talk about bonds…?”  It would have been one of those record scratch moments for the interview and it would have made the presenter look bad.

Alternatively, he could have gamely played along and offered up his opinion on the stock market—after all, everybody has an opinion on the stock market. His answer probably would have been interesting and nuanced and may have even reflected the house view at his firm. But then what? The presenter still thinks they’re talking to an equity expert and proceeds accordingly for the rest of the interview.

A pitch-perfect pirouette

Imagine how proud we were when our client instead chose Door Number 3: “Well,” the PM said, “It looks like the stock market is reacting favorably and we do think the chairman’s comments signal a risk-on market environment as we head into the fall. In our portfolios that means we’re going to be looking closely at opportunities in credit, an area we’ve been downplaying up until now in our diversified fixed-income strategy…”

Perfect. Rather than clashing with the interviewer on live TV for not being prepared or getting ahead of his skis and talking about stocks, the PM flawlessly executed a three-step move straight out of Lowe Group’s media training: Acknowledge the question you were asked (even if it’s not the one you were hoping for), answer it briefly, and then bridge to what you want to talk about.