Tiger’s Troubling Talk

Dear Tiger,

First, you must have read the PS in my December letter to you. The part about not bringing your wife to your national public apology. Elin was nowhere to be seen at your first statement event, while your mom was present in the front row to show support. Although her non-verbal body language invited more speculation, but that’s another topic.

You missed many key Crisis Management Skills in my previous letters to you, including how to deliver a sincere apology. We’ll get to that point in a minute.

People are troubled as to why the audience attending your first TV appearance included only family and friends, and no media. Some people think you didn’t owe a public apology. I disagree. You are the world’s top golfer, an influential person with thrones of fans and supporters. You are a person the world looked up to and you messed up. You don’t have the option of ignoring the fact and then one day appearing on a golf course, business as usual.

Is a public apology good for rebuilding a tarnished image? Yes. Are we drawn to curiosity about public figures? Yes, but by now even the gossip mongers must be over the what, when and where of it. The train crash aspect that people “can’t stop watching” is over. You don’t owe the intimate details between you and your wife to anybody. Now it’s about you and how you are handling the damage. Your staged event was better than those early online written stilted statements,  but it lacked specific skills to manage your brand image.

Second, whoever is advising you isn’t helping you.

From day one, this has been a Public Relations nightmare for you. Some people are calling your first public appearance a disaster. Ouch! No need to go that far, but we know you can afford the best advice and the question is, why are you not getting it? We know you are coach-able, at least about golf.  A professional media coach will teach you exactly what you need to do to repair you brand-image and win back public support. The skills and advice of a pro might even help you with your family.

It is not only because media coaching is my expertise, that I encourage you to get professional coaching. The reason you need it should be easy to wrap your head around;  crisis communication is not your expertise. You need a media coach who understands how the media works,  crisis management and brand image.  Your coach must be strong enough to make sure you “get it.”

Now, out of nowhere, comes this staged mea, sans media, culpa. You’re not through with therapy. You or your wife aren’t saying anything about your marital status. Shots of you on the golf course are not a reality anytime soon. In other words, no announcements, no news. The question has to be asked, what was your controlled event all about? Why now? You’re back in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons, Tiger, creating more controversy.

Third, it’s about the timing. If you want to get this thing behind you, get in front of it. The public apology you delivered on Friday was expected shortly after the accident, when your sexual transgressions began to roll out faster than a spilled bucket of golf balls. At the time, it was about a statement and your physical presence, not necessarily questions and answers. Now, almost three months after the fact, questions from the media are expected. In fact, they might have helped you come across less robotic and scripted.

TIP: You prepare for the kinds of questions you anticipate and take control of your answers. You rehearse until you can talk without a script. Rehearsals are a good thing for anyone. They help people seem more natural in an uncomfortable situation—particularly when handling tough questions—and bring clarity to the message. Rehearsals also help people move from the “I can wing it,” rambling or repetitive statements.

While we’re on the subject of timing, your over thirteen minute statement was way too long. Your brave words, including cheating and “I’m sorry,” painted a picture for your national audience. You apologized publicly to your wife, your family, friends and your sponsors. You confirmed you were in therapy with no immediate plans to play on a golf course. You could have issued these statements in about half the time, or less. While the public sensed your embarrassment and shame, something was missing.

You must have skipped over the advice about apologizing in my previous letter.

How to deliver a sincere apology: Don’t read it. No matter how sorry you are, a statement read gives the perception of insincerity.When remorse is genuine, people will see it and feel it. Emotion trumps word-for-word perfection.

Which brings us to the fourth challenge. You’ve heard this before, “We are a forgiving society.” Many of your critics, as well as fans and supporters, felt your monologue lacked emotion. Expressing emotion is a huge factor in winning back public appeal. The prepared, scripted statement and your incessant looking down to read it, sent a mixed message, don’t you think?

Unlike John Edwards, who looked sorrier that he got caught than for his actions during his long overdue apology on ABC with Bob Woodruff, your pained expression provided a glimpse into your misery. This is important, Tiger, words combined with corresponding emotions create the impact and connectivity you need to be believable. The meshing of the right words with the right emotion is never more important than in crisis damage control.

Your strongest emotion was anger directed to media for speculating about Mrs. Wood’s clubbing you that fateful night in November. See, you didn’t take the opportunity to tell us yourself right then. Remember that part in my earlier letter about “speculation and telling your story” before someone tells it for you? No one’s children are fair game for anyone in the media to follow around snapping shots of them, but on some level you had to know your mistakes would be a nightmare for your family when your other life exploded. It comes back to that being a public figure person of interest thing. You know how it works; money, power and fame. Did the headlines of some other folks including Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, John Edwards or Elliot Spitzer publicly confessing their sins ever cross your mind?

That takes us to my fifth and final point. If  you’re thinking about any more confessions on national television, and this is important, keep it real, show some emotion, allow yourself to feel it so we feel for you. This is probably an easier concept to grasp than to exercise. Being free to show emotion might be the basis of  some of your therapy sessions. Coming to grips with letting yourself down could be your biggest hurdle yet to overcome. Ah, but these statements are only speculative aren’t they?

Stay tuned!

Judy Jernudd

Startegic Media

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