Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [85]
Remember that each group will see you only once and that you do not need to wear something different to each event. Carry an extra shirt, a disposable razor, deodorant, and extra socks in your emergency kit.
For women, the same basic, good-quality suit, with a few extra blouses and appropriate jewelry, can be adapted to each occasion. A synthetic suede suit with a solid-colored, matching blouse is a perfect choice. It will look elegant all day, will not wrinkle, and can be washed overnight. Assemble your emergency kit with deodorant and makeup for quick touch-ups in the ladies’ room.
Remember that in all cases, you are not dressing like the audience, you are appearing as the future governor or senator or whomever; you are dressing as the occupant of the office to which you seek to be elected.
Using Gestures in Public
If you are riding in a motorcade or appearing at a political rally, you need to practice in advance the gestures you will make. Think of fitting gestures you have seen made by famous people you admire, such as waves to the crowd and gestures of greeting or farewell. Victory gestures made by heads of state, presidents, and political leaders become a vital part of their images, forever reappearing in photographs and video clips and even popping up in political cartoons. (Think of the two-fingered “V” sign used by Winston Churchill and Richard Nixon.)
Whatever gestures will be required of you should be rehearsed in advance until they become completely natural and right for you. Do not let your gestures block your face, which is your most important feature.
Television Debates
The stakes are extremely high for political candidates in television debates. The very outcome of an election is sometimes determined by what is said at a key debate. The press and public’s verdict of “who won” can influence votes.
Many hours of preparation are involved in TV debates. Participants anticipate every possible area of discussion and questions that may be asked. Many candidates rehearse with their advisers as if they were really debating. The candidates know that the panelists, too, are preparing tough and revealing questions to bring out the issues.
At the actual debate, it is a dramatic moment when the antagonists walk out onto the stage, knowing that so much is at stake.
In the great debates by presidential candidates, it sometimes seems like history could hinge on one chance remark. A major error in clothes, makeup, body language, or timing takes on abnormal significance in the public mind. One little unfavorable episode during these debates is repeated over and over again on video tape.
Cameras limit what the public sees, and at the same time, they enhance the happenings they choose to transmit. Many dramatic political moments that have been captured during debates have become classics.
Making a Political “Spot”
Political television commercials, or “spots,” are a phenomenon of the media age. They carry the message directly to the television viewer in his or her own living room. Commercials can be very effective, depending on their production quality, and they account for a large chunk of many a campaign budget.
Spots employ various techniques, including the negative attack on the opponent and/or his record; the candidate shown in informal settings surrounded by family and friends; the biographical sketch that traces the record of public service; or the issues identified by pollsters feeling the pulse of the voting public.
An entire coterie of producers, consultants, and advisers has sprung up in recent decades whose sole purpose is to bring these ads into being. When you are making your spots, hire the best talent that you can find. Among others, you will be working with your own media consultant (s), one or more producers, a director, and technical people.
After the producer and others have done their advance work, you will have a concept