THE FIRST SENTENCE RULE
“answer first. explain second. never reverse.”
The Lesson
When someone accuses you of something and you want to be convincing in your denial, the first thing you say is the only thing that matters. Everything after discounts to almost nothing. Wrong answers to 'Are you X?': 'Who told you that?' or 'Why would you ask that?' or explaining yourself. The only right answer: 'No, absolutely not.' THEN you can explain. If you don't answer directly first, people's antennae go up. Why aren't they answering directly? Explaining first, answering second will always look like a lie.
Real-World Example
A founder is asked in a board meeting: 'Did you know about the bug before launch?' Wrong approach: 'Well, there were a lot of moving parts, and the QA process was compressed because of the deadline, and technically it was flagged but...' Right approach: 'Yes, I knew. Here's what happened and what we're doing about it.' Direct answer first. Explanation second. The first approach sounds evasive even if you're being honest.
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