“What’s in a name?” This was the question Shakespeare asked through the character of Juliette. Years ago, I was in a meeting at my church. I volunteered to be part of a committee and was excited to step up and participate. Connie, the leader, had been a church member for a few years and was experienced heading up volunteer events. We both met with the Director of Church Activities and my enthusiasm quickly subsided. The Director barely looked at me. She addressed the conversation to Connie. She would say, “Right, Connie?” “ I want you to buy holiday flowers, Connie.” “Connie, get back to me”. I felt invisible. There were two people in the room but only one name was being called. Needless to say, I never joined another volunteer committee under that director.
Fast forward to today. An expert on the news was being interviewed by a reporter. She was filling in for the main host. Yet, this guest kept calling the reporter Maria. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue because he kept using the wrong name. He’d say, “That’s right, Maria.” “Thank you, Maria.” Newsflash. When the main host is not on the set that day, you don’t keep referring to the replacement by the host’s name.
Who prepared him? Was he media trained at all? Could he not see it was a different person on the screen? Had he memorized his answers expecting to speak to the original host? He sounded foolish. He lost total credibility. His message was lost because I was distracted by his consistent use of the wrong name. When I media train clients I teach them to pivot. As a public speaker you need to adjust your presentation in the moment. And in media interviews change can happen last minute.
So what’s in a name? Your credibility.
To learn how to present yourself to the media, contact me at www.diresta.com