What are you supposed to chit chat about when Homeland and Billions are off the air at the same time?
Due to my line of work I'm often asked how I explain what’s happening in the world. Between political strategy, crisis consulting, and being an MSNBC commentator, the implication is what they’re really asking is “how am I supposed to talk about politics without making someone angry?” There perhaps hasn’t been a harder time to explain the news without things eventually getting political. If life were like TV, you’d have the luxury of editing your words, or at least a team of writers to help you find the perfect phrase.
The real word is complicated but what are we to do? We don’t have the luxury to craft our conversations in a writers’ room. What we do have is the ability to think strategically about how we talk about politics in public. I give people the same advice I give my clients: the first thing you need to do is know your audience. Some good news: people love to talk about themselves if you give them the chance.
Next time you’re in a conversation that starts veering towards the going ons in our nation’s capital, ask the other party’s take on the matter. You’ll know pretty quickly whether it's a good idea to televise your feelings, or to smoothly move on to another topic.
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