Dead Easy – The Negative Trap

Pop quiz – name the single deadliest political quote in the last fifty years.

Just stop for a minute and think about it – what one political quote proved the most damaging to any politician?  I bet you can remember.

(Bit of background: I have been conducting communications training sessions for seven years.  My clients have been in eleven US States and Canadian Provinces, and ranged from farming organizations, politicians, trade associations, manufacturers, charities and public sector organizations.

Every single one of those clients all slips up and creates the same message trap, time and time again.  It’s a message trap that’s brutally simple to slip up on.  I’ll admit it – I teach this stuff, and I find MYSELF making the same mistake time and time again.)

Back to the deadly political message – I bet you came up with one of three examples.

If you’re closer to 50 than 30, chances are good you’ve just thought of this, especially at the 30 second mark:

If you’re younger than 50, (or young at heart), you probably remembered this infamous sequence:

Those are, by far and away, the two most famous examples. There’s one more worth sharing:  When Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin was asked if the Liberal Party of Canada was corrupt, the Conservative Opposition made short work of his answer. (Listen carefully – Martin’s answer is used EIGHT times in only thirty seconds!)

So here’s the relevant question: What do all three quotes have in common? 

Every client I’ve ever had shares the same problem. This one message trap is so brutally easy to fall into, yet so brutally deadly, it’s almost not even fair.

Ready?  In essence, It’s the word “not.”

They all use a negative answer to deny a negative allegation.

Think about the question being asked:

• Mr President – are you a crook?  “I am not a crook.”
• Mr President – did you sleep with that woman? “I did not sleep with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
• Mr Prime Minister – is the Liberal Party corrupt? “The Liberal Party is not corrupt.”

It’s brutally simple to slip up on. Our brains are hard-wired to deny negatives.  What would your first reaction be if someone accused you with “You just drove into that ladies house.”  Of course, you’d quickly respond with, “No, I didn’t!”

Is it true?  Sure.  But here’s the problem.  Negatives sting.  Negatives are memorable.  They last forever. Positives are boring and go away.

Negatives ’stake a claim’ in the negative message. When you respond in the negative, you’re playing defense.  You can’t shake that real estate.

A positive answer tells them what you are. It may not be what a reporter is looking for, but it’s not your job to deliver a soundbite on a stick if it’s going to crucify you.

Even the simple act of denying a negative simply repeats that negative. Which is exactly the last thing you want to do.

Iimagine – how would history be different if the questions were answered like this?

• Mr President – are you a crook?  “I am an honest man, and I’ve done an honest job.”
• Mr President – did you sleep with that woman? “I have been faithful to my marriage, and to the office of the Presidency.”
• Mr Prime Minister – is the Liberal Party corrupt?  “The Liberal Party is full of honest, hardworking people.”

Boring, right?  Exactly.