Every now and then even the best of us suffer from a bad day at the office. But if you’re a CEO you’re expected to perform well more often than most, especially during media interviews. Accepting expert PR counsel not only helps to establish key messages; preparedness should make for a somewhat smoother media interview. In a nutshell: preparation, preparation, preparation is key and will prevent head honchos from broadcasting insurmountable gaffs.

Just this week, Football Association Chairman and FIFA vice-president Greg Clarke was forced to step down from his roles following his car-crash appearance at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee. Clarke, originally sought to explain why there are no openly gay male professional footballers in the game, but went full on kamikaze and decided to use outdated language when he chose to refer to black footballers as ‘coloured’.

Clarke was asked by Labour MP Kevin Brennan whether he wished to withdraw the use of the word ‘coloured’, which he did. Perhaps his use of the word was down to a slip of the tongue, a hangover from his years in the USA – where he was required to use the term ‘people of colour.’ No matter. Despite the swift apology the damage was already done.

Not content with one foot in his mouth, Clarke decided once again swayed in a direction at odds with the FA – as the organisation tries to embed inclusivity in the national sport – when he added Blacks and South Asians have different career interests, suggesting the former focus on sports whilst the latter prioritise academic success.

And the PR disaster only got worse when Clarke appeared to suggest that being gay was a lifestyle choice.

Clarke’s anachronistic terminology and unhelpful views are out of sync with those of his employers. Ultimately, Clarke was backed into a position where he had few options other than to resign.

The moral of the story is, of course everyone has bad days but can you afford for a single bad day to ruin years of good work? Reputations are difficult to build but easy to destroy.

If you want to avoid your CEO from making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, then you should get in touch.

Why go Seroto?

Seroto Communications is a fully integrated PR and Communications agency and we specialise in providing expert media training, with plenty of practical media interviews, playback analysis and media interview. Don’t rue the day didn’t take expert PR counsel.

Call us today on: +44(0)7399796934 or if you prefer why not email us at: info@serotocommunications.com