Spin Is a Sin

Ed Barks

Nov 8

One sure way to alienate an audience or a reporter is to talk past them. If you flat out disregard their question, you're toast.

The bottom line: Spin is a sin.

You can witness this classic transgression by watching the Sunday morning talk shows (Meet the Press et al.). This can be an exercise in frustration for all involved — the hosts, the guests, and the viewers. There are occasional bursts of candor, yet the main style too often favors spin.

Don't Be This Person

That bull in the china shop approach is for amateurs. They wind up looking like:

A rude individual who doesn't care about issues that impact real people.
A greenhorn who fails to grasp basic communications strategy.
A dunce who is incapable of mentally processing a simple question.

I'm not suggesting you need to blindly follow a reporter's off-point or hostile line of questioning or buy into a loaded broadside from an audience member. But there is an art to guiding your communication back onto turf you choose to tread upon. Part of that process involves acknowledging the question, then bridging to the message you are committed to delivering. I covered the notion of bridging in a recent post, so will not detail the technique now. Suffice it to say the practice can help you avoid the dreaded accusation of spin.

Your next media interview may not occur under the bright spotlight of the Sunday morning talkers. Your next presentation may not take place in an auditorium packed to the gills. No matter. In any professional exchange, you need to acknowledge every question and skillfully build that bridge to your desired message.

Deft and Diplomatic

How does spin manifest? Someone asks whether it is day or night; the presenter launches into a dissertation on how much they like the color red. The respondent hasn't really succeeded at evading the issue. They have managed only to place themselves on a separate, parallel plane that will never intersect with the questioner's interests — a perfect means of alienating their conversational partner.

Spinning top Remember, spin is a sin. Show respect for those who seek out your expertise by acknowledging their questions, no matter how off the wall they may be. You score no points by being a smart aleck and attacking someone in the audience or treating the reporter as an ignorant lout.

For Losers Only

Regardless of the nature of any question, you must acknowledge it before you bridge to your message. Fail to do so and you will rightly be accused of spin. Journalists, audience members, and policymakers can smell it a mile away. You will lose their respect if you try to play them for suckers by ignoring issues they raise.

One final factor: After building your bridge, it is imperative that you delve right away into the portion of your message that best addresses the inquiry.

Spin is for amateurs. Spin is a loser's tactic. Spin is a sin.