Never complain and never explain
It must have been fifteen years ago. I was in London with the UK marketing director of the world’s biggest computer manufacturer (at that time). We were discussing that morning’s press briefing with the always-challenging technology press. ‘Never complain and never explain’ he shrugged, demonstrating great calm and insouscience.
The phrase was new to me, but was it right? Surely it was my job as a PR advisor to be ready to challenge the press and to be always willing to explain, justify and defend my client.
Fast forward fifteen years to today. This phrase, credited to British prime minister Bejamin Disraeli, is quoted in Stephen Bayley and Roger Mavity’s Life’s a Pitch… as the confident person’s motto. As we know, confidence is infectious.
So should this phrase be considered good public relations advice? It probably should, but let’s take both parts of it in turn.
Never complain. From that point on, I decided never to complain about ‘bad’ press coverage, nor ever to thank a reporter for some ‘good’ coverage. My logic: it demeans the reporter’s independence to comment on the favorability of their report. So, good or bad, don’t do it. That way, you respect their independence and demonstrate your confidence.
This applies to opinions - but not to facts. If there are factual inaccuracies, then it is our duty to correct them - assertively and quickly. In extreme cases, we should even seek a printed correction. But I would view this as a correction - not as a complaint, and would encourage you not to let it become personal. (I’ve noticed that relationships with reporters are usually longer-lasting than those with clients, so it’s in your best interests to keep channels of communication open.)
Never explain. This doesn’t make sense, since so much of public relations involves explanations (so much so, that other colleagues agree that the move from public relations practice to PR education is not as large a leap as you might think).
Here’s how Disraeli was right. If you spend your time answering questions and explaining, then you’re always on the defensive. You’re always responding to someone else’s agenda. By definition, leaders seek to set the agenda.
Besides, good communicators who use all available channels of communication should always be in a position to get their retaliation in first. ‘Oh, that old story…’ is the best possible way to deflect an intrusive press question - as long as you can point to the place where that particular issue has already been dealt with in public.
So if you communicate clearly and comprehensively and if you seek to set the agenda rather than being a follower, then you shouldn’t need to spend your time endlessly explaining. Some questions, remember, just can’t be answered.
‘We never comment on rumor or speculation’ is a routine statement that says more than the unacceptable ‘no comment’, but doesn’t waste time and doesn’t fan the flames. It contains just enough explanation, hinting even at the old wartime slogan ‘careless talk costs lives’.
Disraeli is from the nineteenth century. Does his advice apply to the social media of the early years of the twenty-first century? Surely the most active bloggers among us are forever ‘explaining’ ourselves in our blog posts and in our patient responses to others’ comments? True. But some good bloggers follow another valuable dictum, ‘less is more’; and Seth Godin doesn’t allow comments.
It’s hard advice to follow, but give it a try: ‘never complain and never explain’.
“So if you communicate clearly and comprehensively and if you seek to set the agenda rather than being a follower, then you shouldn’t need to spend your time endlessly explaining. Some questions, remember, just can’t be answered.”
I think this is the most important part of this post. Being clear and concise doesn’t necessarily allow room for more explanation or complaining. You’ve provided the information in a clear fashion. What more could they want? I understand the advice, and we all know complaining is “fun” sometimes. But I do believe that explaining things clearly the first time means you don’t have to explain again. Thus, no complaining!
Comment by Stephanie — March 5, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
Not just to apply to my PR life, but I am excited to use these ideas in my everyday life.
Just as Stephanie pointed out what she felt was the most important part of the post, I totally agree with her. There are so many times we speak, or hear someone speak, and the words are not clear and we waste time asking questions, and repeating ourselves. I know that I have switched gears, but this post made me think of how much time I waste not being clear with my words. AND, how I can fix those things.
Thank you Richard for your post.
Comment by Christopher — March 5, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
This post just goes to show how much time we waste by attempting to be “clear and concise” sometimes. I feel like people, including myself, try to condense sentences down to get your point across and end up leaving out the most important material. Then you have to go back and explain again what you were trying to get across in the first place. If we would get better at determining how to get our point across to the audience the first time, we would stop wasting a lot of time and not have people complaining. Learning how to use your words carefully to explain a situation will benefit everyone and will prevent you from having to explain it multiple times.
Comment by Dana — March 8, 2007 @ 10:04 am
[…] March 9, 2007 Posted by mpollock in professionalism, networking, advice, Uncategorized. trackback I was catching up on a few of my blogs and I came across some advice — never complain andnever explain. While the phrase is credited to British prime minister Bejamin Disraeli, I believe this phrase can be valuable a lot to PR people. […]
Pingback by Advice from a prime minister « PRSSA Kent Conversations — March 9, 2007 @ 2:37 am
After reading your post, this phrase seems like great advice. I’ve never heard the “never complain” portion of the phrase, but I believe that it could be useful in maintaining relationships with journalists. This is an important part of any pr professional’s job. How do determine whether the factual mistake is bad enough to complain?
I believe that “never explain” could be applied to the current social media, including blogging. When clients visit organization’s Web sites and blogs they want information to be as simple as possible. If a blogger is continually explaining their selves, a visitor may skip over the blog all together due to “information overload”. Bloggers could find it more beneficial to keep posts short and sweet, but still include all of the prevalent information.
Comment by Liz R. — March 11, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
Thank you for this post Richard! Two things really stood out to me in this post: the importance of being a leader in the pr profession and how clear communication plays into that.
Being a leader in the profession goes hand in hand with the ability to communicate clearly. If one communicates clearly and effectively, he or she will not have to waste time explaining. Before reading your post, I had not given much thought to the difference in controlling the situation and having your own agenda as opposed to answering others and attending to their agendas. I am definitely going to make an effort to communicate clearly and thoroughly the first time to ensure a lack of confusion. Thank you again for the advice!
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Comment by duloxetine — November 7, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
[…] Here is another excerpt from Forward Blog that relates to this. It is actually an article I have already blogged about here. […]
Pingback by Dealing with Cristicism as a Christian and a Leader | Tony Steward:. Blog — January 4, 2008 @ 2:21 am
[…] This is great advice, personally, professionally from Forward Blog; especially in regards to how one communicates within communication channels. “Besides, good communicators who use all available channels of communication should always be in a position to get their retaliation in first. ‘Oh, that old story…’ is the best possible way to deflect an intrusive press question - as long as you can point to the place where that particular issue has already been dealt with in public.” […]
Pingback by Forward Blog: Never Complain and Never Explain | Tony Steward:. Blog — January 4, 2008 @ 2:32 am