The best way to shut down a heckler

last updated 11 January 2015

What’s the best way for politicians to handle hecklers who interrupt a speech?

Should they give hecklers a forum to express their views, or is it better to embarrass them by mocking their ideas in front of the crowd?

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Responding to hecklers is similar to responding to an ambush interview, Phillips says. In his book, he writes, “If you respond to a media ambush with defensiveness, anger, or shock, the news outlet will run the tape of your bad reaction repeatedly. You win an ambush by denying the media a great visual… By remaining calm, you prevent reporters from getting the compelling ‘money shot’ they desire.”

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won â€” Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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