In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts: How to Handle Tough Questions ...When It Counts by Jerry Weissman

Author:Jerry Weissman [Weissman, Jerry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pearson Education
Published: 2005-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

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You must answer tough questions directly.

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Confidential. If you get a question about classified or restricted material, and you say, “I’m not at liberty to reveal that,” you will sound evasive. You will sound even more so if you say, “If I told you I’d have to kill you!”

Instead, provide a reason for your confidentiality. Attribute it to company policy, security, competitive data, legality, or privacy, and do it positively rather negatively. Rather than say, “We don’t provide such confidential information,” say, “It’s our policy to provide only information previously mentioned in our press releases.” In the Introduction, Bill Clinton’s response to a question about Monica Lewinsky was, “At this minute, I am going to stick with my position and not comment,” attributing his confidentiality to implied legal reasons.

Senator John F. Kerry ran afoul of a confidential question during his 2004 quest for the presidency. Early in his campaign, Kerry made the claim that foreign leaders backed his candidacy. Then, on March 14, at a town-hall meeting in Pennsylvania, one man repeatedly asked the senator to identify which leaders, and Kerry repeatedly refused. The man continued to badger Kerry until in exasperation he blurted,

That’s not your business! It’s mine!

The immediate perception was that Kerry had something to hide. Later, in a calmer moment, Kerry explained:

No leader would obviously share a conversation if I started listing them. [6.5]

The lesson for John Kerry is that he learned to attribute his reluctance to confidentiality rather than to prying. The lesson for you is this: If you cannot provide an answer, provide a valid reason.

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