Please answer the following questions based on your understanding after you watc
ID: 410332 • Letter: P
Question
Please answer the following questions based on your understanding after you watched the video in this link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/03/17/ceo-mary-barra-gm-recall-suvs-switch-general-motors-apology-update-suv.cnnmoney
Question:
Apply your knowledge of the rhetorical appeals and of bad news messaging to analyze Barra's delivery and message. Discuss two aspects of her delivery (voice, appearance, gestures, etc.) and two aspects of the content of her message that make the overall message effective. You must connect your discussion directly to rhetoric of bad news messaging. Your reply (initial post) should be about 200 words.
Explanation / Answer
Barra's Delivery
Barra's delivery was really good. Her body language, the way she dressed and carrier herself her tone and intonation conveyed a sense of honesty , accountability and sincerity. Her verbal cues, tone , gestures and intonation were apt for the situation and makes her intended audience to take her seriously. It also conveys a sense of urgency and concern when she stresses on the urgency of the situation but is quickly balanced by a sense of reassurance in her voice. Her intonation was the best part. She didn't over exaggerate the situation but at the same time her voice does not convey a lack of seriousness or complacency.
Barra's Content
Her perfect delivery was followed by well balanced content. She addressed the issue by being transparent about the situation. After that she proceeded to offer a macro view of the situation to her intended audience about all the stakeholders involved in trying to resolve the problem. Once she addressed the issue at hand and all the stakeholders at hand. she proceeded to take full accountability both personally as well as on a macro level for an organisation as a whole.
Her content encompasses two key factors in damage control communication.
Owning up to the mistake up to a certain extent help : Evasive action only breeds more curiosity. Whenever your mistakes in social media blow up in your face, always confront the problem, without evading or deflecting the issue when questioned about it. Transparency Builds trust and this point of time, being transparent about what happened and owning up to your mistake and trying to reason with the public and institution or an organization that everyone is human and vulnerable and equally susceptible to make such mistakes could win some sympathy. Because a lack of dialogue eliminates any benefit of doubt and more ambiguity only allows false reports to seep in.
If the situation goes out of hand take accountability : There are times where the actions and the consequences that follow are so grave that the only solution to minimise damage and to save face for future opportunities is to take accountability in the present. Taking accountability before being expected to also shows character as long as you've already owned up to your mistakes and have separated your intentions from the institution.