TJ Walker argues that in crisis communication, what matters isn't the question but the video clip that follows. Any phrase from your answer might circulate online in isolation, so every word must sound reasonable on its own. Anticipate how a few seconds of your response will play and edit yourself before you speak.
Ultimize. Most people focus on the question they're being asked. They try to answer it carefully. They try to be precise. They try to make sure they're being fair and accurate. That's understandable, but in a modern crisis, the real issue is not the question. It's the clip that comes after your answer, because that clip is what most people will see. It's what will be shared online. It's what will be discussed, and it's what will shape how you're judged. So even if the question is complex, your answer has to work in a much simpler format. It has to make sense on its own. It has to sound reasonable without the context of the full conversation. It's not just that your whole answer has to seem reasonable. It's not that just every paragraph has to seem reasonable. It's not even that every sentence out of your mouth has to seem reasonable. Every phrase out of your mouth, no matter how it's chopped, sliced, diced, has to sound reasonable and make you look good. Otherwise, do not say it. It has to reflect the tone you want associated with you. If your answer only works when people hear the full exchange, big time risk for you, big trouble, because most people won't hear the full exchange. They'll see a shortened version that may remove the nuance and keep only the part that feels most dramatic or controversial. This is why some answers feel perfectly fine in the moment but look terrible when replayed. In the moment, the context is clear. In the clip, the context is gone. So you have to think ahead. You have to ask yourself, How does this answer sound when it's reduced to just a few seconds? If it still works, you're on the right track. If it doesn't, you need to change it because you can't force anyone to watch the whole clip, because you can't force anyone to listen to this sentence first and then this sentence and then your conclusion. Doesn't work that way in today's environment. You're not just answering a question, you're creating the clip that will follow you. The time to edit is not after it's out there in the world and everyone can control it any way they want. The time to control it is before it has left your mouth.
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