Zuckerberg Gets a Crash Course in Charm. Will Congress Care? (bgr.com)

An anonymous reader writes: It goes without saying that no tech CEO ever wants to make the trek down to Washington D.C. and appear before congress. And Zuckerberg -- at a surface level -- seems particularly ill-suited for the task. Though clearly an incredible mind, remember that Zuckerberg is a tech-minded programmer and far from a savvy and political operator. That being the case, many people are curious as to how the Facebook founder, who it's worth noting is just 33 years old, will fare when confronted with hard hitting questions from politicians.

In an effort to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that Zuckerberg's appearance goes off without a hitch, The New York Times is reporting that Facebook recently hired a team of experts and coaches tasked with ensuring that Zuckerberg has the tools to deftly navigate the potentially deep waters of Congress. Of particular interest is that Zuckerberg has been learning how to be charming and exhibit humility in the face of heavy-handed and probing questions. The report says, "It [ Facebook] has also hired a team of experts, including a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, to put Mr. Zuckerberg, 33, a cerebral coder who is uncomfortable speaking in public, through a crash course in humility and charm. The plan is that when he sits down before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees on Tuesday, Mr. Zuckerberg will have concrete changes to talk about, and no questions he can't handle."

Comments

Is he getting the right kind of prep?

[rolias]

"Deep waters?" "Hard hitting questions?" They are giving the US congress a lot of credit. I agree preparation is a good idea. But, perhaps he should be more prepared for a barrage of vacuous, ideological grandstanding than rigorous insight.

Re:Is he getting the right kind of prep?

[dr_canak]

I could imagine that 99% (ok. a little hyperbole admittedly) of his "training" will be focused very much on this. The whole point of the exercise is to grin-and-bear-it given that it will be a "barrage of vacuous, ideological grandstanding". That is a *very* hard thing to do, especially hour after hour, without melting down out of frustration. Especially when he very likely believes he's the smartest guy in the room.

The training will be a lot of how to sit quietly, take it, find one thing to comment on to get your narrative out, and then sit back and take it again without getting amped up.

My model is Loretta Lynch. She was just unflappable.
  Watch some of her testimony before congress to get an idea of what they're trying to do with Zuckerberg.

Re:45 out of 55 congress members got FB donations

[orgelspieler]

Judging from the paltry sums thrown that way, I would imagine the grilling will be pretty intense. Six figures? To the whole group? You might as well not even try. Besides, the guy is as likeable as chlamydia, and still his approval rating is way ahead of Congress's. So they stand a lot to gain by giving him a hard time.