Interviewing: Historic Example of a Prominent American Left Utterly Speechless Because He Failed to Anticipate an Obvious Question

The video clip below should serve as a powerful and most enduring lesson to anyone and everyone who will ever be interviewed. The lesson: That if you fail to do your homework, such as formulating your thoughts on at least the most likely questions during a forthcoming interview, then you, too, could look like a “deer in the headlights” and, for a few moments, become the definition of “inarticulate”!

Background: My blog readers of a certain age will immediately recognize the video clip because it’s from a famous TV interview broadcast on CBS in November, 1979, when the late Sen. Edward Kennedy was about to launch his campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. You can see Kennedy is clearly stumped when the interviewer, famous broadcast journalist Roger Mudd, asks him an obvious question--“Why do you want to be president?” For whatever reason (hubris, or a sense of entitlement, or something else) the senator isn’t prepared for that query and freezes! [Incidentally, it took Kennedy several seconds to “recover,” and when he did, he began rambling hopelessly, which you can see at the 1:21 minute mark in the following clip on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5TkhNWPspM.] 

Not surprisingly, Ted Kennedy’s miserable expression and inarticulateness in response to Mudd’s question instantly became airborne and, to this day, more than 35 years later, the then-White House hopeful’s fiasco still finds occasional mention in the media. In fact, that is exactly how the long-ago interview reentered my consciousness: Last month, while discussing the present crop of presidential candidates, a talking head featured the clip below to remind his audience of what can transpire when any interviewee is poorly prepared and lowers his or her guard. 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

  

 

“Scale of an Old Testament Miracle”; “a Leninist Assertion of State Power” -- Visual, Evocative Expression to Emphasize Something

Here are some recent examples of articulate people using a vivid, evocative expression while emphasizing something and thus making their assertion indelible--examples which, I hope, will inspire the rest of us into similarly imaginative use of the language, especially when we are trying to break through the clutter. 

• About a month ago, when there was suddenly a high level of activity in the U.S. Senate—a body which seems to be permanently stricken with paralysis—a somewhat satisfied Bob Schieffer, host of CBS’s “Face the Nation,” had this to say in his weekly commentary: “By no means is it on the scale of an Old Testament miracle, but some progress is better than no progress.”

 

• Referring to the “water rush” that is going on in California’s Central Valley, with people drilling wherever they can thanks to the absence of any regulation on how much water they can take out, a TV interviewer said to Jerry Brown: “You don’t know how much water there is and how much they are taking out… Surely in this emergency you need to get a grip on that more quickly!” To which the California governor responded: “Well, the complexity of California, stretching from the Oregon border to the Mexican border, doesn’t lend itself to a quick (pause) Leninist assertion of state power. This is a more decentralized, more private sector oriented world we live in, so we move at a pace slower than (what you are suggesting).”

 

• Rebutting some detractors during a Sunday morning TV show, Peter Schweizer, whose recent book “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich,” saying: “I’ve given my findings to the New York Times, Bloomberg…these (news organizations) are not cupcakes! They are serious researchers and investigators.”

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

“The World Cup of Fraud”—The Speaker’s Misplaced Eye Emphasis While Uttering the Now-Famous Words

By now, you’ve probably seen the image of a top IRS official (Richard Weber, chief of criminal investigations) describing the deep and pervasive corruption among FIFA’s top ranks as “The World Cup of Fraud.” The moment those catchy words were uttered, which was during a U.S. Department of Justice press conference yesterday, May 27, they became airborne.

Now, watch the video clip below and ask yourself the following: How much more emphatic and impactful Mr. Weber would have been if, instead of looking down at his notes, he had been looking directly at the audience as he uttered those crucial words! Such a face-to-face connection with the audience would have enabled him to use appropriate facial and hand gestures--as well as other nonverbals--to accentuate that particular remark. [Yes, I use notes all the time for much of my public speaking but I make sure to look directly at the audience when uttering key words and phrases.] 

Take a look at my post of March 26, 2011, which has a better illustration of when to look at your notes and when not to while uttering a sentence. 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

 

 

Want to Become a Dynamic and Riveting Public Speaker? Then Watch this 11-second Clip of Someone Whose Public Speaking Skills are Matchless and Unrivalled!

Ted Cruz first entered my consciousness in late 2012, when he was elected a U.S. senator and almost immediately began grabbing the limelight in Washington D.C.  Ever since, I have been stupefied by his public speaking skills. There’s no question that he is one of the best public speakers in the land thanks to a combination of extraordinary articulation and superlative nonverbals, especially the way he uses his voice, hands, and torso. 

Note that I lavish the above praise on Sen. Cruz despite the gulf between his thinking and mine. I can bet that were he and I to meet over coffee at, say, a Starbucks, we wouldn’t even be able to agree on whether it is cloudy or sunny outside. 

Special comment regarding Cruz’s inspiring use of clenched hands in the clip below: As you enjoy the short video clip below, excerpted from his presidential campaign-launching speech at Liberty University last month, note that Cruz’s fists are vertical. Well, as I illustrated in a blog post last year, clenched hands in a horizontal position can be an equally effective gesture when you want to project leadership, determination, vigor, etc.

Good material for my seminars and one-on-one coaching on public speaking. 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

Vocabulary Expansion Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

Have you looked at the latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, which has been online since mid-April? Here are the six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3rdEdition”): 

1. dudgeon

2. eschew

3. realpolitik

4. taciturn

5. intransigent

6. pariah

“Great Living Blizzard”; “Seismograph on Society”; “An Aladdin’s Cave of..”--Visual, Evocative Expression to Emphasize Something

Here are some recent examples of articulate people using a vivid, evocative expression while emphasizing something and thus making their assertion indelible--examples which, I hope, will inspire the rest of us into similarly imaginative use of the language, especially when we are trying to break through the clutter. 

• Describing his “near religious experience” on a mountaintop in Central Mexico, National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore telling CBS “Sunday Morning,” “I arrived before dawn on a rented mule and there, standing silently in the mist, were ancient fir trees so laden with monarch butterflies that their bows literally bent under the weight. When the sun came up, millions of brilliant orange spots burst from the trees, rising and falling and swirling around me like a great living blizzard.”

 

• As expected, the recent death of Noble Prize winning author Guenter Grass generated a torrent of tributes from prominent Germans. That nation’s president spoke about Grass having “moved, enthralled, and made the people of our country think with his literature and his art.” Another described him as “having held up a mirror to the Germans.” But the most memorable and evocative words were from the German Cultural Council which called him “more than a writer…a seismograph on society.”

 

• Journalist Donatella Lorch, while explaining on NPR why Nepal’s two giant neighbors India and China are willing to spend billions of dollars to build dams in that tiny landlocked nation, saying: “Nepal is an Aladdin’s cave of water wealth for the entire South Asian region…It has massive glaciers. It has massive rivers…” 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

The word “Automaticity” — Its Utterance by Guest on Yesterday’s “Morning Edition” Earns Special Mention by Program Host Steve Inskeep

Did you listen to NPR “Morning Edition” yesterday (Friday, April 3)? One of the segments featured Tony Blinken (Deputy Secretary of State, hence a top official in the State Dept.) who highlighted some of the critical aspects of the nuke accord that had been reached with Iran just a few hours earlier. 

In response to host Steve Inskeep’s question “If Iran violates the deal…would the sanctions automatically snap back,” Mr. Blinken said, “Yes, there is going to be automaticity in the so-called snapback…if Iran reneges on its commitments.”  

 

Well, use of the uncommon word automaticity (pronounced aw-tuh-muh-TIS-ih-tee) raised the eyebrows of not only yours truly (and, presumably, of at least tens of thousands of other listeners) but also of host Steve Inskeep who, at the end of the interview some 20 seconds later, commented “OK, Tony Blinken is Deputy Secretary of State and I think the first person ever to use the word automaticity on Morning Edition. Mr. Blinken, thanks very much...” [Click here for the transcript.] 

Some of the ways in which a single word can greatly impact a discussion or make one's point indelible: People with a strong command of the language and who speak with confidence will, often a time, really push the envelope in their choice of words, especially when they are trying to galvanize their audience. (This is a central aspect of my popular keynote "The Power of the Spoken Word.") Here are three quick examples of how a single word can help make one's point indelible, if not airborne:

1. Using an ordinary word in a most extraordinary and imaginative way. (For instance, my post of Jan 16, 2013, which is about famous Spanish painter Joan Miro proclaiming that he is going to “assassinate painting.”) 
2. Using an uncommon and high-caliber word but one that is sure to be understood by the audience because of the context or use of synonyms. (In the case of Tony Blinken’s utterance, it is obvious to listeners that automaticity is the noun from the word automatic which had been used by Inskeep just seconds earlier). And this is exactly what my book is about. Just click here and look at the "Workplace Examples" on the sample pages.
3. Creating a word, often on the spot, that is (i) going to be readily understood by the audience, and (ii) likely to stir them, even fire their imagination. This immediately brings to mind a spectacular moment in a Sunday morning talk show during the 2012 presidential-debate-season when a guest used an extremely fresh and stirring adjective derived from the name of a famous movie character. It sure left the audience spellbound, so much so that the host interrupted the guest to comment on that particular word! Will feature that video clip in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Of course, these three examples are by no means a comprehensive list of how a single word can make a point indelible.

 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

Let's Welcome Another Prominent U.S. Senator to my List of “Today’s New Breed of Holocaust Deniers”

The purpose of the video clip below, which is from the Sunday, March 23, 2015, edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” is twofold: 

1. To inform you about another high-profile U.S. senator--and that too a 2016 presidential aspirant--who rejects climate change (because it serves his political ends) and is fit to be inducted into my honor roll of “Today’s New Breed of Holocaust Deniers.”  

2. California Gov. Jerry Brown’s strongly worded denunciation of this senator. In fact, Gov. Brown’s criticism is so well articulated and forceful that I am likely to use some of his verbal expression in my future speeches on the subject. I believe you, too, will find it inspiring.

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

 

Vital Negotiating Tip from Negotiator Par Excellence George Mitchell, former Senate Majority Leader and Principal Architect of the 1998 Peace Deal in Northern Ireland

In this half-minute clip, from a Rita Braver interview on CBS “Sunday Morning” (one of my three most favorite programs on television), we hear Sen. George Mitchell outline a key ingredient of his highly successful approach to negotiations.
 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

Vocabulary Expansion Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

Have you looked at the latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, which has been online since the end of February? Here are the six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3rdEdition”): 

1. stentorian

2. excrescence

3. quiescent

4. anodyne

5. incongruity

6. ensconce

A Pathetic First Impression! 10-second Video Clip of 2016 Presidential Aspirant Who Doesn’t Have a Clue How to Look Pleasing and “Connect” Instantly

First, the comments below are not fueled by any political ideology: My criticism would have been equally vigorous, equally scathing, had the subject been a Democrat.

Now, click on the 10-second video clip below, which is from a very recent edition (Sunday, March 1) of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and you’ll observe a miserable first impression created by the guest. 
 

Why do I say "miserable"? For two reasons: First, the guest (Ben Carson, a Republican presidential aspirant for 2016) appears statue-like and inanimate--what I describe in my seminars and coaching as the “Egyptian Sphinx model.”  Second, his expression is abjectly cheerless, even funereal! 

Just two of the numerous things Carson could have done in the opening seconds to create a favorable first impression: a big, warm smile and at least a modicum of physical movement--say, leaning in momentarily. And I’m not even getting into aspects of his attire, such as his poor choice of tie. For a fuller discussion on that, please visit my posts on “men’s attire,” where I discuss the principle of matching contrasts. 

Ben Carson’s has to be one of the worst first impressions I have ever seen from a person who is trying to market himself or herself, let alone someone who wants to be elected America’s next leader.

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

My Recent Interview on Russ Capper’s “The BusinessMakers Show”

Click here to view the video version of my recent interview with Russ Capper, a prominent Houstonian and host of “The BusinessMakers Show.” [For an alternate link, click here and scroll down to the middle of the page.] I believe you will be most interested in the following three segments from that conversation:

·         The opening minute: I describe the singular purpose of my company, “The Articulate Professional,” which has been in existence for over 22 years!

·         5 minutes 43 seconds into the interview: The William F. Buckley vs. William Bennett distinction--Why you should emulate the latter when wanting to speak with impact + the vital role of “spontaneous pauses.” Here, I discuss how to use--for impact and indelibility--fresh, evocative, and high caliber words without losing your audience or creating resentment, i.e., how to employ such words without coming across as pompous or pretentious. 

·         11 minutes 50 seconds into the interview: Three brief stories of spectacular communication failures by corporate titans and other luminaries. I briefly cite three anecdotes involving such failures, each of which was a powerful lesson and helped spawn one of the most popular offerings in my repertoire. [The three communication seminars/ coaching topics that were thus created: (i) Conquering the Pervasive Disease of Rambling: How to emphasize your point in Just Three Sentences; (ii) Creating a highly favorable first impression: Some simple verbal and nonverbal techniques; (iii) How to disarm and neutralize your critics and detractors without being offensive or disrespectful.]

 

Call me at 281-463-2500 or email me at vjsingal@verbalenergy.com if you’d like a clarification on any of the above. 

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

Another Tip for my Caucasian Readers on How to Create a High-Impact Attire: Capitalizing on One of the LIGHTER Colors in Your Facial Skin

In my post of February 4, 2014, I showed Sen. Bob Corker, arguably the best dressed of all our current male U.S. senators, donning a tie whose color was at the dark end of the range of natural hues in his face. Well, the clip below, from a recent interview on CBS “Face the Nation” (still my favorite among all the Sunday morning television talk shows), has the senator wearing a tie whose dominant color is somewhere at the mid-point of all the colors visible on his face. And he looks good, just as in all of my previous posts featuring him. 

 

The objective of this post, along with that of last February, is to demonstrate that when picking a tie, a typical Caucasian man has a very wide choice of colors that are (i) intrinsically pleasing, and (ii) will make the person look splendid because that entire range of colors is in keeping with the principle of matching contrasts discussed in my previous posts. Alas, the situation is far less favorable or “colorful” for people of color--men like me--whose relatively dark facial skin seriously limits their choice of neck ties.

© Copyright 2015  V. J. Singal

 

Vocabulary Expansion Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

Have you looked at the latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, which has been online since end-December?  The six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3^rd Edition”) are:

1. sui generis

2. lucre

3. emasculate

4. catalytic

5. rumination

6. placid

How to Rebut & Disarm Your Critics and Detractors: Exemplary Disarming & Neutralizing by Gen. Michael Hayden in Wake of the “Torture Report”

Over the past few years, few top executives, be they in the private sector or in the government, have impressed me as much as has former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden. In fact, I recently “awarded” him my personal “medal of honor” by including him in the select few Americans named in the welcome paragraph on my website’s homepage as being among the most effective communicators in the land. 

As you can see in the two video clips below, Michael Hayden skillfully uses several communication tactics to disarm or at least reduce the vehemence of those who began denouncing the CIA soon after the release of the “torture report” last week--on Tuesday, December 9.  Specifically, by providing a rich and compelling perspective (within just half a minute in each video clip), Michael Hayden very adroitly reframes the issue and employs cognitive dissonance to put his critics on the defensive.

 

You can bet that these clips will be excellent source material for case study and exercises during (i) future renditions of my popular seminar on “How to Disarm and Neutralize your Critics and Detractors without being Offensive or Disrespectful” and (ii) my executive coaching sessions. [For a sampling of participant comments when this topic was presented to a standing-room-only audience of about 100 project managers at a recent PMI conference, click here and scroll toward the bottom of the Web page.]

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal
 

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A “Call to Arms” to Combat Climate Change; Kerry’s Visual and Evocative Analogy for Emphasis

Climate change--or rather, the fecklessness of governments around the world (including the U.S.) with regard to combating  global warming--has been in the news lately because of the just concluded U.N. climate summit in Lima, Peru.  So, I felt it’s a good time to reproduce a couple of short segments from a forceful and stirring speech by Secretary of State John Kerry in Jakarta, Indonesia, this past February during which he issued a “call to arms” (to quote PBS NewsHour) to confront climate change.

Excerpt One -- Kerry’s visual and evocative expression:

“The science of climate change is leaping out at us like a scene from a 3-D movie.”

Excerpt Two -- His exemplary censure of climate change deniers:

“We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific fact, nor should we allow any room for those who think the costs associated with doing the right thing outweigh the benefits.”

Very well said, Mr. Kerry. Now, if only others fighting for urgent action on this issue would begin using similarly strong and hard-hitting language to denounce climate change deniers. [See my May 18 post “some choice words to lambaste politicians who reject the scientific consensus on climate change.” In that post, which was triggered by famous Princeton scientist Michael Oppenheimer’s warning that “the millennials will have hell to pay,” I described climate change deniers as “today’s new breed of Holocaust Deniers.”]

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal

Raising Your Profile in the Workplace: 12 Juicy and Bite-sized Tips from Harvey Mackay on How to be More Visible and Thus “Stand Out at Work”

Harvey Mackay, author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, is spot-on when he writes “Doing a good job isn’t enough to succeed at work. You’ve got to be visible to make a real impact.” [Italics for emphasis mine.]  Click here to read his 12 juicy and really easy-to-digest tips featured in a recent edition of the Houston Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/how-to/growth-strategies/2014/11/12-ways-to-stand-out-at-work.html?page=all

Vocabulary Expansion Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

Have you looked at the latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, which has been online since early October? The six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3^rd Edition”):

1. métier

2. valorize

3. puerile

4. citadel

5. verbosity

6. winsome

Executive Communication Skills: Video Clips Showing a Top Exec Looking Feeble & Uninspiring Thanks to Abysmal Body Language; Sample Solution

Click on the two short video clips below (43 seconds and 7 seconds respectively) which are excerpts from NBC interviews with former 4-star Gen. Shinseki a few weeks before he resigned as head of the Veterans Administration. Facing a big-time crisis of confidence in his leadership, the general should have come across as highly determined and confident when replying to questions such as “Are you willing to accept full responsibility” and “Do you completely understand why there is…?” Instead, you see responses that are weak and uninspiring thanks to body language that borders on the pathetic.

In my opinion, the singular reason why Shinseki appears so lackluster and diffident in the clips is that during all of his leadership training in the Army, he never got to appreciate the extraordinary significance of nonverbal skills at key moments, especially when an executive’s image and projection of leadership are of paramount importance. Indeed, as an executive communication coach here in Houston, I am unfailing in stressing with my clients the vital role of body language.

Sample Solution: So, what could Shinseki have done differently? In the interest of brevity, let’s examine the shorter clip in which, after being asked “Do you completely understand why there is that level of outrage right now,” the general’s feeble and somewhat equivocal response is: “Oh, I think I do--I'm a veteran myself.” Out of the dozens of different combinations of word choice, vocal variety, facial expression, and other body language, here is just one specific example of how Shinseki could have responded much more inspiringly and projected gravitas:

1. choice of words: something like “I absolutely do—I too am a veteran” or “There is no question that I do—I too am a veteran”

2. body language:

(i) with reference to the words in Italics: uttering them slowly, giving weight to each syllable, followed by a split-second pregnant pause in the case of "no question";
(ii) saying the word “too” loudly;

(iii) a more serious or intense facial expression;

(iv) torso leaning forward;

(v) gesticulating with right index finger pointing down during the first half of the sentence;

(vi) pointing toward his chest and displaying a disarming smile while saying “I too am a veteran.”

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal

Answer to the last Quick Quiz (of Sept. 25)

To make sense of this post, you need to first read the previous one, which asks you to identify the mispronounced word in a 26-second video clip.

Next, my customary declaration for posts on “mispronounced words”: The objective is NOT to denigrate or ridicule someone. Instead, I feature such posts in the belief that if a highly educated or sophisticated person is mispronouncing or misusing a particular word, there is a high probability that at least a few of my blog readers are making the same error. In other words, these posts are meant to serve as “pronunciation/ usage alerts!” And the reason why I name the radio or TV program and identify the speaker is solely to make this feature credible.

Answer: The mispronounced word is vigilantism which, in the video clip, Hari Sreenivasan is heard pronouncing as vij-uh-lan-tee-iz-um. The correct pronunciation: vij-uh-lan-tiz-um.

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal