Separating spin from sin.

In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions ... When It Counts by Jerry Weissman Prentice Hall, 2005 216 pages

While it contains much of the "same old, same old" about how corporate spokespeople should handle questions, Jerry Weissman's book In the Line of Fire helps mark the clear beginning of two trends that are becoming critical to success in the question-and-answer process.

The first is honesty. My heart sang when I read the following words on the third page of the introduction:

"All the techniques you are about to learn require absolute truth. The operative word ... 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 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."

I must admit that I found it amusing that this quote immediately followed an example from a news conference conducted by Bill Clinton in which CNN senior political correspondent Wolf Blitzer asked the former U.S. president about the family of White House intern Monica Lewinsky. But there is no doubting Weissman's message: "Tell the truth." I believe that more of us will be singing the same tune in the future when we counsel presenters and spokespeople to answer questions from employees, shareholders, boards of directors, suppliers, prospects, clients, reporters and other stakeholders.

The second trend Weissman reveals to us is the skill of answering and stopping. On page 77, he informs readers that he believes "no presenter is under any obligation to respond to an accusation that is untrue in any other way than with a complete refutation. If you are attacked with a question that contains or implies an inaccuracy ... come back immediately with a simple, direct rebuttal." In other words, with particularly dangerous or unfair questions, he believes it is fine to borrow the famous anti-drug slogan and "just say no."

This is good advice. I have long been surprised that more people in the business of teaching others to answer questions (e.g., presentation coaches and media trainers) have not discovered this simple and powerful tool. Using another political example to make this point, Weissman draws from a news conference by then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in which a foreign journalist asked a number of questions that culminated with "And does the U.S. have a plan to spread a set of values at gunpoint, in your view, at this point?"

The answer? "No, of course not." With this example, Weissman demonstrates the most powerful tool of all in handling tough questions: answering clearly and concisely, and then stopping.

Throughout the book, I was both intrigued and a bit disappointed. I was intrigued because Weissman uses a number of political examples--as a Canadian living in Canada, I have long made a hobby of watching U.S. politics, which are significantly different from the politics of my country. I was a bit disappointed because Weissman's credibility and expertise come from the corporate world, yet his corporate examples are relatively few and far between. I would have appreciated more "real-life" examples from his personal experience.

For a retail price of US$24.95, I would rate the book a good value, if for no other benefit than to read the section on honesty aloud to a management group or a client who is in danger of crossing the fine line that separates spin from sin. Honesty should come first, last and always in the question-and-answer process.

Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC, is a Toronto-based consultant who specializes in presentation skills and media spokesperson training. He is chair of IABC's international accreditation council, and is developing a "train-the-trainer" media training program that will be available from IABC next year.