Monday, April 27, 2009

Eyes Wide Shut

Welcome my partner and fellow communication guru Beth Foley as our guest blogger this week. Watch Beth's recent interview with a Chicago news station on image perception and Blagojevich's run at reality television by clicking here.

We all need to be aware of our image. Especially if we know people are watching us. This makes former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s behavior especially odd. In a few short months, a jury will be judging his character, his judgment and his motives. I suspect Mr. Blagojevich thinks that people really like him and when they hear the truth they will see how unfairly he has been treated. Probably because he seems to really like himself an awful lot and he has had good luck persuading people in the past.

You may recall from previous blogs, we are only about 50% right in knowing our own image. So, I recommend that Mr. Blagojevich’s “handlers” conduct a survey of Chicago residents to find out, from potential jurors, just exactly what his image really is because he obviously isn’t listening to feedback. I think a twice-elected governor would pay attention to “polling” results, right? He needs to stop trusting his own instincts about what he feels he’s communicating and get some facts. Then, he can start working round the clock to salvage his image or he can continue on the same path at his own peril. It’s kind of like a pilot who is veering off course in the dark: trust the instrument panel, not your gut.

I would just like the former governor to get a dose of reality, and I don’t mean reality TV.

4 comments:

Katherine said...

You got that SO right, sistah!

Chris said...

My guess is the former Governor is going to be the most surprised by his 'non-appeal' to the masses.

Rebecca said...

Theresa often quotes Cicero "Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable", but I have to believe the more he acts like a fool the less that will hold true in front of a jury.

Oh, Blago, please stop reminding people you are from Illinois. Leave us out of it!

Kristin said...

I think Blago's self-assessment is severely overestimated. If people are only 50% correct in knowing their image, his assessment is probably only about 5% correct. During an election night interview, when his acceptance rating was in single digits, I heard him say that he if the governor's seat had been up for re-election he would have easily one. Really? Its that type of narcissism that got him in trouble in the first place.

Personally, I hope he continues to talk and do outlandish things like reality tv show attempts so that people can see how ridiculous he really is.

Great interview Beth.