A guest post from Brad Phillips, author of The Media Training Bible.
After President Obama’s lackluster first presidential debate in October, many reporters noted the dozens of “uhhhs” that plagued his verbal delivery and made him appear ill-prepared.
You may think of that type of “verbal filler” as a minor cosmetic issue. But in the case of Caroline Kennedy, it doomed her political career before it started. In 2009, New York’s governor briefly considered her to fill a vacant Senate seat that opened when Hillary Clinton departed to become U.S. secretary of state. But her interviews were disasters. According to The Wall Street Journal, she said “you know” 168 times during a single 30-minute interview. After being roundly mocked by the local press, Ms. Kennedy removed herself from consideration.