Talking points are...

PR people prepare Q&A docs for spokespersons giving media interviews. It’s a standard, table-stakes practice in public relations. You brief your spokesperson on the purpose of the interviews and questions you anticipate the reporter asking. You give her time to read the Q&A and ask you questions about it before the interviews take place.

As a communications coach, I work with people prepping for media interviews, panel discussions, all hands, board or team meetings, podcasts, keynotes - pretty much any forum where a spokesperson has to say words and handle questions.

What became immediately clear to me is that prepping a Q&A doc (even on the back of a napkin, even in your head) is an excellent practice for ANY communication activity, even if it’s just for your senior staff meeting.

Your expertise shines through when you can fluently answer whatever questions you choose to address. (Answering ALL questions at all times is not required unless you’re in a deposition, but that’s a separate newsletter topic.)

Anyway, back on April 29, Matt Levine’s fabulous Money Stuff newsletter referred to an article from the Financial Times about Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, Stephen Miran, struggling to reassure leading bond investors about the impact of tariffs in a meeting. Here’s the money quote for me:

“[Miran] got questions and that’s when it fell apart,” said one person familiar with the meeting. “When you’re with an audience that knows a lot, the talking points are taken apart pretty quickly.”

Uh. YEAH.

Safety tip: Don’t go into a meeting with a lot of expert people without preparing. Or without being an expert yourself. If you haven't embedded a comprehensive, adversarial Q&A into your brain, you’re not the right person to act as spokesperson.

If you ARE your company’s expert, if you’ll be facing a tough set of questions from your audience, invest time in preparation. Really learn your Q&A. Practice tough questions with someone merciless (like me!).

Want to navigate tough waters as a communicator? Sharpen your expertise. Practice.