In 'Iron Man 3,' there’s a scene featuring a reporter shoving his iphone in Tony Stark’s face asking him to make a public statement to his enemies. Stark stares into the iphone, makes his superhero threat, then throws the reporter’s phone into oblivion. The press just can’t catch a break these days. Like many CEOs, Stark could use some media training.
In the spirit of heralding the start of summer blockbusters and because this blog can’t really be a movie review, I give you seven practical communications lessons from 'Iron Man 3':
- Keep your sense of humor. If Tony Stark can get kicked, smashed and thrown out of airplanes and still have a sense of humor about it, surely you can handle a disappointment at the office.
- In a press conference, do not give out the home address of your CEO. Repeat, keep executives’ home addresses confidential.
- Look for answers in less obvious places. Clue are everywhere – check the shadows, look around you, ask questions. You’ll eventually find what you’re looking for.
- It’s hard to get close to someone if you’re wearing armor. Shed the pretenses, be yourself.
- Don’t discount the people you meet at parties, on elevators and places in between: they may come back to haunt you, or help you.
- Stay until the end: anyone who has watched a Marvel superhero movie knows to be on the lookout for the Stan Lee cameo and to stay until after the credits, when there’s a short reel featuring another Marvel superhero and a forthcoming movie. It’s the treat you get for surviving all the credits. (By the way, check out the incredible overhead on this movie.)
- Test your piece of work in other markets: Even before hitting U.S. theaters a few days ago, 'Iron Man' bagged more than $500 million at the box office overseas. Success begets more success. If you know you’ll get a great reception from other audiences, start there to increase buzz and confirm the epic quality of your work.
- Kids are cute and lighten the mood when you're trying to beat the competition. Feature them in your next campaign.
- Diane Schwartz