In baseball, a change-up is a slow pitch intended to throw off a batter’s timing. A major leaguer wouldn’t normally struggle to hit a slow pitch unless he is fully focused on preparing for a fast one.
We pepper media training participants with tough questions. Participants laser in on appropriate answers. Then we throw some change-ups, easy questions. And some participants are caught with their bats resting on their shoulders, staring at a third strike.
When we surprise people with easy questions, they sometimes stumble searching for key messages. Their timing is off. You expect hitting your key messages is tough when reporters throw curve balls. But one of the underappreciated values of media training is learning how to hit it out of the park when someone throws you a big fat one right over the plate. As much as the public depicts the media as ruthless, many reporters throw one pitch: slow and down the middle. Make sure you smack it.