Football season is upon us and this Patriots fan could not be more excited. As fans we all love watching Brady throwing touchdowns to Gronk and Hightower sacking the opposing quarterback, as publicists we love Coach Bill Belichick’s press conferences.
In media training, we teach our clients to “pivot” their message when they are asked a question they don’t wish to answer. Coach Belichick is the KING of pivoting and he manages the situation with a straight face and succinct answer – nothing seems to rattle him. The Patriots motto is “Do Your Job” and when reporters are asking questions they are just doing their job. Unfortunately, Coach Belichick isn’t much help to them unless they ask what he considers relevant, smart, educated questions.
The post-season was full of controversy with questions like Why didn’t you play Malcolm Butler in the Superbowl, How’s your relationship with Tom, and Is this your last season coaching? Below are examples of how Coach Belichick answered these questions this past week. He consistently pivoted his answers to get his message across and what he is focused on – Training Camp:
Why didn’t you play Butler in the Superbowl?
In this exchange with the reporter, Coach Belichick addresses the question and then moves on. The reporter is obviously still speaking about Butler, however Coach Belichick is focused on training camp and that is what he focused his answer on.
Q: What about the fact that everywhere we go, folks want to ask about Malcolm Butler?
BB: Yeah, we’ve talked about that. That’s multiple months ago.
Q: Is there going to be any more explanation about why he didn’t play?
BB: I’m focused on training camp.
Q: Would you do it any differently?
BB: Training camp? We’re getting started. We’ll work on that right now. We’ll do the best we can.
How’s your relationship with Tom?
Coach Belichick never answered the question, he made a general statement about his relationship with his team.
Q: So, is the relationship between you and him (Tom Brady) all good right now?
BB: I feel like I have a good relationship with all of our players. I hope so.
Is this your last season coaching?
With this Q&A, Coach Belichick pivots right back to the topic on hand – training camp – he once again doesn’t even address the question.
Q: How much longer do you think you’ll coach?
BB: Again, I’m focused on getting ready for the team, getting ready for training camp and for the regular season. That’s what we’re doing right now.
Here are my five takeaways from Coach Belichick’s press conferences and recommendations for someone speaking to the media:
- Stay on message even if you are asked a question that you are not comfortable answering.
- Stay calm – don’t let the interviewee see you sweat or get nervous.
- Control the interview – stop talking once you have completed your thought.
- Be polite even if you don’t like the question. Bring your answer back to your message.
- Smile when appropriate. While Coach Belichick doesn’t do it often, he will crack a smile if a reporter asks a good question.
