Allegations that there has been a cover-up always make for a far worse story than the news of the original error. It is much better to acknowledge immediately if you have been at fault and to over-react rather than under-react. This is one area where politicians have often shown themselves to be more adroit than the world of business. David Cameron, for instance, is currently painting the blackest possible picture of the cuts which will have to be made so that people will be agreeably surprised if and when they appear marginally less draconic.

The model for successful crisis handling is the behaviour of Johnson and Johnson in 1982. A madman had laced a batch of capsules of its drug Tylenol with cyanide. Initially three people in Chicago died as a result. The company immediately recalled millions of bottles of Tylenol capsules from all over the country, even though there was no evidence of contamination beyond Chicago. Johnson and Johnson also spent half a million dollars warning doctors, hospitals and distributors of possible dangers. Even after it was demonstrated that only 75 tablets had been contaminated, the company did not relaunch the product until it had come up with new tamper-proof packaging. By behaving so responsibly, the company actually enhanced its reputation.

The lesson is clear. In a crisis, it is always best to anticipate the worst possible outcome and to act accordingly. It is always best to be frank and honest with customers and the media. It is always best to act quickly. The longer the organisation at the centre of a crisis remains silent, the more chance its critics have to put the worst possible construction on its actions.

This is not a point made out of pedantry. The consequences of poor English are practical. Messages appear ambiguous. A point takes twice or three times as long to make as it should. The reader is bombarded with jargon which the writers have used only because they do not really understand what it means themselves.

Suppose the framers of the American constitution has written this:

“There are a number of principles which need to be borne in mind in creating the framework document which this committee has been asked to draw up and which we believe are unlikely to be subject to contradiction. We argue that a basis of fundamental equality should be the starting point for this organisation and that members should be presumed to be entitled to certain basic rights, chiefly among them being protection for their safety, freedom of movement, speech and association, and facilities which will enable them to relax and enjoy themselves.”

The impact would have been far weaker than that of the words which they actually used:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote to a friend that he had made his letter longer because he did not have time to make it shorter. It does take time to find the pithiest, punchiest and most direct way of saying something. It is almost always worth sparing that time.

The skill of using the English language to maximum effect lies at the heart of what we do at First Take, whether it is media, presentation or crisis training or speechwriting.

One of the areas where preparation is most essential is a job interview. Many senior people are very out of practice at being interviewed for jobs. They may have risen slowly but surely up the ranks of the same company and not faced a formal interview since they first left university. Having worked on interview preparation with a number of very able people, we have been struck by how many highly talented people fail to sell themselves properly on their first run-through.

Some are too close to the circumstances in which they have left their last job. If these have been acrimonious, they are too intent on justifying their actions, instead of recognising the qualities which they brought to the job in the first place. Others take for granted achievements of their own which many prospective employers would find exceptional. We discovered accidentally from one client that, faced with an important speech to make in China, she had learnt enough Mandarin to make most of her remarks in the local language. She had not thought to mention this during the formal interview practice session.

Above all, interview candidates need a narrative about themselves. They should paint pictures and tell stories. They need to work up vignettes from their past careers which illustrate their skills and accomplishments. Bland generalities go over the heads of interviewers; specifics stick in their minds. Even when the job requires specialist technical knowledge, there is much to be said for interviewees who can talk in plain language. Often people hide behind jargon when they do not have as clear understanding of a subject as they should. The task is often to help people to change the language they use so that they can describe their attributes more clearly, positively and vividly.

Sometimes the problem is tone of voice and body language. Interview candidates need to show energy, commitment and confidence. Someone whose voice fades away at the end of sentences or who mumbles or who continually looks down will not do himself or herself justice.

Trainers with a media background like ourselves find that journalistic techniques are highly applicable to interview practice. If you have faced a few Humphrys or Paxman style questions in rehearsal, you will be prepared for anything on the actual day. Our pattern is to record a run-through on tape, then analyse it closely on playback with the client and have one or more further goes. We then give the client a “question and answer” document which sets out all possible questions, including the nastiest, with the best answers which we have been able to work out together.

It would be good to list the success stories which we have had with this approach, but of course the service is highly confidential and we never reveal the names of those who have availed themselves of it. Suffice it to say that we have had many satisfied customers.

Central is a centre of excellence that provides quality higher education in, and training for, the performance and media industries. Courses include full time three-year undergraduate programmes; full time one-year and part time two-year masters programmes; and doctoral programmes in acting, design, voice, movement, music theatre, puppetry, drama teacher training, drama therapy and applied theatre.

New for 2010 is a Masters programme in Scenography, which has its roots in stage design and is taught using Central’s unique performance facilities.

The appeal to overseas students has never been stronger:

• British drama, and British drama education in particular, is regarded as the finest in the world and Central has a well-established reputation as a top school in the field.
• London is the ideal city in which to study performing arts because of the variety and quality of dramatic performances in the historic capital.
• Central is unique in combining the qualities of a leading conservatoire teaching practical skills with cutting edge research, facilities, and teaching staff who are active practitioners.
• The MA Scenography course, offered for the first time in 2010, is particularly appealing to American students as this is a subject which is not offered in most American institutions. Central has an excellent range of research practitioners amongst its the staff. The title ‘scenography’ reflects an approach to the creation of sensorial theatre (visual, auditory etc) that involves visual and sonic artists in the instigation of theatre as well as designers working to a directorial brief. Central has a pedigree in this area, through its MA Advanced Theatre Practice course which has produced companies such as Gridiron and Shunt, and through its longstanding relationships with Complicité and Punchdrunk.
• The MA Acting course now offers two options, classical acting and contemporary acting, which widens its appeal.

The schedule of US auditions and interviews is as follows:

• February 4th: New York
• February 6th: Chicago
• February 9th: San Francisco

Those interested in auditioning/interviewing with the Central School of Speech and Drama should register via the website or call +44 (0) 20 7722 8183

Note to Editors

The Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in acting, music theatre, physical and visual theatre, applied theatre, movement, voice, stage management, puppetry, scenography, sound design, theatre design, drama therapy and drama and media studies teacher training, as well as MPhil/PhD research degrees. With over 55 academic staff, together with visiting artists and lecturers, Central contains the largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK, who make a major contribution to research in their various disciplines.

Central is designated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England as the Centre of Excellence in Training for Theatre, the only drama college with this status.

Alumni include the 2009 Linbury Prize winning scenographer Ruth Sutcliffe, award-winning sound designers Paul Groothuis and Gareth Fry, the influential lighting designer Richard Pilbrow and legendary British stage designer, the late Jocelyn Herbert. The avante garde collective Shunt formed as postgraduate students at Central, as did groundbreaking site-specific theatre company Grid Iron. Acting alumni include Nonso Anozie, Peggy Ashcroft, Gael García Bernal, Julie Christie, Dame Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Dawn French, Michael Grandage, Cameron Mackintosh, Graham Norton, Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter, Vanessa Redgrave, and Catherine Tate.