When Vice President Joe Biden announced on national TV earlier this year that he wouldn’t recommend taking a commercial flight or riding in a subway car because the swine flu virus can spread in confined places, he touched off a major uproar, particularly among those working in the travel industry. He didn’t mean to say what he did (in fact, he issued a statement a short time later backing off), but the damage was done.
The vice president certainly had good intentions — to warn Americans to avoid restricted spaces if sick. His comments, however, suggested that Americans avoid planes and subways altogether.
An unfortunate choice of words? Yes. Could he have handled it better? Definitely. How? By being more focused and specific in his comments. Whether talking to a journalist or speaking before a group of business associates, one needs to follow these simple, but very important rules: