This one time while I was on the road, I happened to tune in to National Public Radio and catch the middle of an interview of Iran’s foreign minister concerning his government’s support of Bashar al-Assad. I will never forget the lesson.
Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, spoke in an NPR broadcast about the situation in Syria, specifically his country’s realpolitik and ethical take. I found the transcript of this interview here. In short, the Iranians support a stable secular government and oppose religious extremists.
As a globalist, the NPR interviewer Steve Inskeep would not, or rather could not, comprehend the idea that a government wouldn’t support terrorists murdering innocent people. Yes, “Muslim radicals” in Iran support secularism while my own country the USA funds, arms, and trains literal jihadists. The irony of this isn’t lost on me.
The reason this episode stuck in my mind was not so much the content, but rather the presentation. As Inskeep grew increasingly angry, Zarif remained calm and collected. His English was impeccable, which certainly helped, but Zarif’s greatest strength was his mindfulness.
In the world of public relations and journalism (they are in a sense one and the same), every public speaker worth his salary knows to pause before answering a question or speaking in general. A little break to take a breath reaps many benefits. Pauses give editors room to work with when cutting the audio into soundbites, but that’s a technicality and nowhere close to the primary benefit to Zarif’s speaking ability on full display here.
A pause gives the speaker time to take a breath, which is crucial to coherency for obvious reasons. More importantly, it allows one to collect his thoughts, give more concise answers, and avoid kneejerk reactions. This is especially crucial in a hostile interview with a reporter who is angry himself and deliberately trying to provoke.
That’s the valuable lesson of the day that everyone should take note of, whether it’s in a public speaking engagement, or simply day-to-day conversation.
See Also:
Ian Kummer
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