Media Training Scorecard: Clinton 1, Trump 0

Table of Contents

By Federica Maraboli

Watching the presidential debate the other night, I couldn’t help but cringe for a variety of reasons, but mostly because of Donald Trump’s clear need for remedial media training.

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Each of us is a brand in our own way. How we speak, look, behave and present ourselves is constantly being observed by others and forms their opinion. Are we trustworthy, do we follow through and do we deliver on what we say? Some of the world’s most successful brands, like Apple and Google, do well because they live up to their brand promise. Beyond marketing, their offering meets a need, provides good quality, value and customer service. And upholding that brand promise extends to the people who represent the brand.

A Media Train Wreck

Not surprisingly, a recent Bloomberg poll found that Trump’s campaign has “been a disaster for the Trump brand.” Imagine if he actually became president, and therefore ‘brand’ spokesperson for the entire country? Love or hate Hillary Clinton’s political stance, from a media perspective her decorum, debate and delivery clearly trumped Trump. By applying some of the basic rules of media training, here’s how they stacked up:

  1. Be Prepared: Rule number one – have a plan. Know your key messages and the details around your topic. Anticipate tough questions and prepare your answers. Hillary Clinton’s experience here really came through, she knows her sh*t and articulated herself well. She’s a master of the details and mostly led the debate while keeping with her key messages. And she easily responded to many of Trumps’ baseless attacks, making him the follower in this exchange.
  2. Mind Your Behaviour: Television captures and highlights every nuance. From body language and facial expressions to gestures and emotions, viewers see it all – in HD no less. Trump came across as menacing and rude. His facial expressions were consistently negative and dismissive. He narrowed his eyes, pointed aggressively, raised his voice and, for some reason, kept sniffling, which was distracting. Clinton, however, was poised and kept her cool, managing to smile throughout the entire debate, even while under attack.
  3. Speak to what you know:  Thanks to the immediacy of the Internet and social media today, you’ll be called out on any lies, discrepancies or errors, PDQ. Another rule of good media training is to talk about what you know. Don’t speculate, and make sure that any numbers or facts you reference are correct. Clinton made the most of this with her repeated references to the real-time Factchecker on her site, although she reportedly did make four false claims. Meanwhile, Trump’s falsehoods added up to 34.

Overall, it’s Clinton 1, Trump 0. And the post-debate polls agree.

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