Number 48 of 52 Lifelong Communication Lessons: Lights, camera, freeze.
November 30, 2015 |
| Cecilia Walters and Bill Good, 1982 (Photo credit: CBC) |
The year was 1982.
Time Magazine's Man of the Year is given to the computer. Sony launches the first compact disc player. The first emoticon is officially coined to mark sarcasm or a joke :-) In Vancouver, the 255-tonne B.C. Place Stadium fabric dome is inflated - It was the largest of its kind in the world and it took less than an hour.
That was the year I did my first in-studio television interview. I was the Director of Communications at the BC Heart Foundation and Cecilia Walters of CBC fame wanted to interview me. Funny, I cannot remember the exact topic... could have been heart month or the booklet I was flogging about sex after a heart attack. The topic does not really matter, it was the experience that was unforgettable.
It seemed all glam to me. The first stop was to "make up" to get doused in thick pink foundation gunk so you would not look pasty. Then, they sat you in the studio chair and attached a microphone to your lapel. By the time I was seated and the hot lights were on, I started to get nervous. Those big old cameras were focusing in on me. What the heck was I doing here? I had no training and no one gave me any advice before I arrived. I may not have asked for any in my excitement to be "on the air". I was definitely not prepared and beginning to feel nauseous.
In came Cecilia. She was impeccably turned out, uber cool and calm. I was getting warmer and shakier by the minute. She was reassuring and helpful but by that point I was like a deer in the headlights...on an extremely busy highway. Thank goodness the archives don't go back that far. I bumbled my way through and think I gave a few okay answers. But, then she asked something (the question is obliterated from my memory bank) and I went silent. Totally choked. Could not unfreeze my brain. I don't know how she snapped me out of it but she did. Thank you Cecilia, for being so gracious.
As I walked away from the interview, I could feel people looking at me on the street. Surely they could not have seen the interview already. No, that was not why they were staring. I still had the caked-on makeup thickly coating my mug. Oh well, at least they could not see my blushing cheeks. After this experience, I made media interviews a study and created my own training program. I was like a lamb to slaughter and this was not a tough interview. Like Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind swearing never to go hungry again, I swore never to be embarrassed again. I was going to learn this craft and share my learning with others.
We still do lots of media training today and this experience keeps my empathy level high. We do our best to help others avoid communication regret. Media interviews are a huge opportunity to share wisdom, points of view and ideas. There is no point wasting them due to lack of preparation or understanding.
Communication Lessons:
- Never go into any situation without doing your homework.
- It is not vain to check yourself in a mirror once in a while.
- Learning from your mistakes makes you stronger and you never forget the people who are good to you when you screw up.
Fast Forward to 2015:
Cecilia Walters retired last week after 43 years on CBC (I guess she was just starting the year she interviewed me). Check out this tribute (jump to the end for the tear inducing farewell). All class, all the way. Thanks Cecilia.
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