Much like perfect is the enemy of good, a comma is the enemy of a good media interview. When a reporter asks you a question, answer it. Period. DO NOT start talking again just to fill up the space. If you have a hard time remembering that, try and think of your interview as a telegram:

In a telegram, the writer types a sentence and then adds the word “STOP” after it to signal the end of that particular idea. In other words, they end each thought with a hard stop. A period. Not a comma.

Have you noticed how your press person/handler looks like she is nervously squinting into the sun every time you speak with the media? She knows that your inherent desire to talk non-stop during an interview is the most common way to stick your foot in your mouth, have that error emblazoned in cold, black print and pixels, and end up as blog/TV fodder.

The more you talk, the higher your chances of veering off into uncharted, stormy message waters that have very little to do with the actual question. I don’t do a lot of math, but clearly, the more words you put out there, the more likely it is that some of them will be wrong. Folks who consistently do great interviews practice sound message discipline. And that means saying what they came to say and nothing more.

Maybe silence makes you nervous, or maybe you think if you do all the talking you’re in control. Don’t be; you’re not.

Failure to end your answer with a period, boys and girls, is where embarrassing and/or random quotes come from. Don’t blame the stork for that scathing story on your doorstep—blame the comma.