Our Perspectives
Letterman-gate: lessons from a master?
06 October 2009
Myra McAuliffe
If you haven’t heard about the attempt to extort $2 million from David Letterman and the public confession that followed on his hugely popular Late Show, then it is likely you are one in a very small group of people. News of the comedian talk show host’s public confession to having affairs with female staff on his show has been huge news in the US over the past weeks. Anyone who is anyone is tweeting about it, the masses are scouring YouTube for clips and as Letterman himself said ‘it seems like people want to talk about it’.
For anyone who has ever had to disclose something uncomfortable in public, refute a claim, manage a difficult situation and put their hands up and come clean, this truly is a fascinating example of how to turn around a situation in super quick time. Not everyone has the popularity ratings or the comedic timing of Letterman but there are lessons to be learnt from his situation which is a true example of taking control in a crisis by communicating your message, to your audience, on your own terms.
Crisis communications often comes down to judging how to contain and then how to control the story. Letterman chose the safe platform of his show to get in there first and tell the nation (and the world) his side of the story. The equivalent to this for the average business person is determining who you want to talk to and the timeframe in which you need to do it. Not everyone has their own TV show – that’s where the choice of platform comes in - and it could be an office floor or the right radio show, depending on the situation.
Then there’s the preparation – everyone, even Letterman has to prepare to succeed. The sometimes breathless and flushed Letterman referred to pre-written speaking notes when delivering his monologue. He took short breaks to gauge his audience’s reaction. Prior to the night of the ‘come-clean’, he took external advice from his attorney.
In terms of the performance itself, he rolled with the punches and played to his strengths. He went with the laughter when it came and played the humour card when he could. This is the same as allowing an interviewer to speak without interrupting if you are being interviewed and adopting and sticking to the right tone, if you are in a humbling situation. Letterman is an expert at this – he aligned himself fully with the audience, he made jokes at his own expense. At one point he said ‘I’m like you’ when describing how he acted when he realised he was in an absurd situation.
Finally, he contained his emotion - if anything he let comedy hide what he must surely have been feeling. This shows the importance of a level head and avoiding emotional knee-jerk reactions.
Celebrity experts are still examining the merits of a ‘defensive’ and an ‘offensive’ approach. Publicists have cried out ‘no rumour will ever again go unanswered’ but for me, the audience provide the verdict on the handling of this crisis. ‘Dave’s handled it the way he should have,’ said one punter. ‘Dave has shown his human side,’ said a woman from Texas. The New York Post ran the headline ‘Audience forgives Letterman’ – now that’s a good outcome to a crisis.
LEAVE A COMMENT