Weary of Words

Weary of Words ©

By Michael Casey

I don’t know about you but I find somethings boring, and what bores me the most is snap, no not the card game we played as kids, but verbal snap. You say the wrong word or misspoke as Americans call it, though LIE would be a much better word as far as some Politicians are concerned, then somebody slaps you down. It’s not clever and kills conversation. Yes the interviewer has to point out mistakes, or errors, especially with Politicians but the net result is you have a battle where none should exist. Just give the Politician enough rope and they will hang themselves. We are all watching Zimbabwe right now, so I’ll leave that there.

An interview is just that, the questioner should just ask questions, and allow the talker to talk. We had Michael Parkinson over here and all the Hollywood stars said he was the best. Why? Because he let them talk and  he did his research. 

Nowadays everybody wants to nitpick and try and prove just how much cleverer than the interviewee they are. I’m doing you a favour interviewing you, you are not worthy of me, I was on MTV talking rubbish for 3 years, I was an ex-bodybuilder who became a star of MTV, so why should I waste my time on you. What if you spent 9 months in space and did 10 space walks. That’s nothing compared to my sex life all over MTV, why am I bothering talking to you?

The interviewer wants to talk about himself, instead of the guest. The guest mis-speaks and the host is ever so eager to pick him up on it, and wastes 10 minutes on it. A simple do you want to correct yourself is enough, just let the speaker speak. Instead of boring us about when you were living in a housing estate for a week on benefits, but you sneaked out to a 5 star hotel once the cameras were switched off.  It’s supposed to be a chat show not a monologue about the Star’s sex life and size of his muscles, who only lets the guest actually speak for 2 mins out of the 10 min slot.

Sadly there are too many Personality interviewers who have no personality nor ability whatsoever. The viewers or the listeners want to hear what the guests say. Maybe it’s because I grew up with radio, 20 years of it, constantly hearing  quality programming 50 to 30 years ago, so I’ve been spoiled. A good host brings out the guests and coaxes their stories from them, they are the story NOT the interviewer. If you watch as much tv news as I do, and I still listen to radio as well, you’ll see the whole spread of ability. We have somebody called Alan Titchmarsh here in UK, originally he is a gardener, yes plants and stuff, but I’m also seen him interview people as well as his tv garden show. Now he is really good, why? Because he lets people talk and he is very gentle, he has patience, why ? Because he lets things grow. Let it grow, let it grow let it blossom let it grow as Eric Clapton sung on 461 Ocean Boulevard. Then like in love, Love Grows where my Rosemary Goes. 

If you like verbal snap then you’ll continue watching and listening to inane rubbish. Me, I’d like to hear the story, whatever the story is, be it about world record for farting, or the latest stink in Parliament. I want the facts and I want the interviewer to be like a breath of fresh air, clearing the air and the noise to give me facts straight between the eyes. Not just being a total bore, a boring old fart, or an even more boring young  fart who is also a body builder.

Words matter and they should be heard, perhaps the Speaker of the House of Commons should have a chat show, now HE really is excellent. You do know he has Mace at the end of his desk, little wonder they do what he says. I would love to hear him, and it would not be on RT either.  Tonight with John Bercow on Radio4 would be great, his catch phrase is Order, Order by the way. Perhaps it should be dinner with John Bercow, well that’s for the future, HE is not available for 5 more years. I am available it could be Michael Casey has a Subway sandwich with anybody who’ll pay for my meal.