29 April 2010

There are several very basic lessons in communication that emerge from Gordon Brown's so-called Disaster day on the campaign trail yesterday in Rochdale.

The first lesson and probably the most obvious is not to be seen or heard to be disingenuous. Tell the truth consistently and say what you believe. If you don't want someone to know something then don't say it. The public are not fools and in the situation where you have been shown to be two-faced, no amount of apologies, back peddling and claims of misunderstanding are going to get you out of a hole. The best thing to do is stop digging! If you have done something you know to be wrong, say so, say it once, say it clearly and then move on.

Second, any time there is a microphone or a camera around, you must assume that they are on and recording. The camera does not need to be on the shoulder and pointing at you with the red light flshing for it to be recording. In fact, camera operators will often deliberately give the impression that a camera is not recording to capture footage that is more natural or in some cases most damaging.

Tape for cameras is cheap and cameramen will do a lot of recording knowing that only a fraction of it will be used. The only way they can be sure that they will record the most useful footage is by recording everything. If they can catch a gaffe it is like gold dust! I accept that it is particularly easy to forget that you are wearing a live tie microphone, but always remember the camera doesn't need to see you to record audio.

The third lesson is don't blame the media for your ills. Trying to claim the media is to blame is a strategy worse than useless. Firstly, you antagonise them and make them more determined to show you in a bad light. Secondly it will not win you sympathy in any case.

How much damage has been done to Mr Brown's personal reputation and that of his party remains to be seen at the polls, but what is clear is that by applying some simple rules a great deal of damage could easily have been avoided.