TERRY PRONEdiscusses her new book, the presidential race and how Facebook may come back to haunt you
Your new book is called ' The Fear Factor'. What are the biggest anxieties that people come to you for help with?The fear of speaking in public is a very big one. It's amazing how many people rely on some form of chemical assistance – Lithium, Valium, beta blockers, alcohol, Solpadeine, Rescue Remedy – before they can speak in public.
Surveys suggest people's number one fear is public speaking. Dying is number two. So at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy.The problem with public speaking is that most people have no idea where to start. The father of the bride doesn't want to embarrass his daughter in front of 200 people. So I talk to him one-on-one, put him at ease. The trick then is helping him to repeat the same process when he's speaking in front of a crowd.
Was Sean Gallagher's reference to envelopes in the final presidential debate the single biggest clanger in Irish political history?Yes, and it was infinitely sad. Because in a live TV debate, when the audience laughs at you, you're gone. Sean's campaign was over. It wasn't that he had said something that was objectively false. But he used a word whose negative connotations in our political culture go far beyond what it represents.
If David Norris had won the election, would that have meant that everything the PR industry knew about politics was wrong?I'm not sure I know what you mean.
He appeared less inhibited by PR considerations than any candidate I've ever seen before. And for a while it worked.David Norris is an old friend. When he's in the role of intellectual entertainer, he can say whatever the hell he likes. But when he wanted to be president, he needed to do two things. He needed to go back and check exactly what he had said in past interviews. Second, he needed to figure out what the Irish people were looking for. There was a comment made by Aine Lawlor during the campaign . . .
When she reminded him that he wasn't running for President of Ancient Greece?Exactly. It was brutally to the point. A PR person's job is not to diminish or constrain or confect the character of the person we're dealing with. When I'm working with somebody, my job is to get them out of their own way. Each one of us has different selves. I'm a different person with you than I would be with my husband or my mother. What I try to do is to help people select the best version of themselves.
Given the ubiquity of camera phones and social media, within 10 years time every political candidate will have dozens of embarrassing photos of themselves in the public domain. True?
This is something I would say to every student or recent graduate: be very careful what you put on Facebook. Be very careful what you tweet. Because there is going to be a record of it for a long time. Even if you’re not running for public office, most employers will check to see if your idea of a good night out is to drink 12 pints and throw up in the street. A lot of young people may be putting things online that will not serve them well in the future.
The public tend to be understanding of alcohol and drug-related youthful indiscretions. What offences won't they forgive?Anything that is insulting to people because of their race, their age, their educational background or their intellectual capacity.
Who is the most naturally gifted communicator you've ever worked with?I can't answer that question. I can't discuss people I've worked with.
Okay, let's talk about a group you haven't worked with. The Occupy Dame Street people. . . Sure.
Here is a cause that could have overwhelming public support, but presents itself in a way that, rightly or wrongly, is guaranteed to alienate 80-90 per cent of the population. What advice would you give them?I don't think they want my advice. I don't think they believe they'll change the world. They just want to make a protest. Years ago, I worked on the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality. When Maire Geoghegan-Quinn was appointed minister for justice, we didn't despair. The campaign sent three mothers to speak to her. They talked about how the current law stigmatised and endangered their sons. Six months later, the law was repealed. This is the big mistake people make: too often they start out with what they want to express. Instead they should be figuring out who they need to reach and what they need to reach them.
The Fear Factoris published by Londubh Books, €14.99
