It’s not a good sign when your friend sends you a message on Facebook that says “Saw you on TV!”
An acceptable message would be, “Saw you on TV and you looked great!”
The lack of “you looked great” means that your friend noticed the area below your right eye was twitching spasmodically as you answered the reporter’s questions. Probably you said “um” too many times and glared at the reporter when he asked a question that he knew you couldn’t answer.
I had my turn in front of the camera’s bright light last week when the personable Matt Scott of WTNH Channel 8 showed up to talk about an unfortunate incident that occurred in a residence hall the previous evening.
Someone with a gun had robbed a student in his living quarters. That kind of thing doesn’t happen at WCSU so although I was already home when I got the call I headed back to campus (after getting dressed for work again, including a tie in case the TV stations were on scene). No reporters showed up and I didn’t have much to do except eavesdrop on snippets of police conversations. I tried not to be obvious as I listened in because the State Police seem to hire officers who look as if they could snap my neck like a twig, and wouldn’t mind doing so.
At any rate, it wasn’t until the next day that the reporters and cameramen got to Danbury with their questions. Scott of Channel 8 was the only one I spoke to. These guys make it look so easy. They are relaxed and smiling and appear to be able to speak spontaneously on any subject. I have been trained in public speaking and I teach a writing course each semester. (The first day of class is like facing down a room of prisoners as the students size up the teacher and I try to pry conversation out of them.) So I have more experience than the average stiff when it comes to talking in unusual or stressful situations. Still, when that camera comes on, with the light so intense my skin becomes transparent, I get a little tight. My main thought is “Try to avoid embarrassing yourself and everyone you know.”
Matt played dumb at first but when I didn’t provide every detail he asked questions that revealed he had done some research – cleverly trying to rattle me.
He asked why the victim in this crime had so much money in his room, just sitting there waiting to be stolen. My first impulse was to chatter like I was the kid’s father and we were in family therapy. Luckily, I instead was able to croak out something about how the State Police were investigating and they would let us know the results at some later date. And so it went for 90 long seconds.
I never saw the interview on TV myself, but I did get that message on Facebook. I wrote my friend back, subtly fishing for a compliment, or at least some indication that I hadn’t flopped completely.
“No, you looked good,” she wrote back. “Nice jacket.”
Nice jacket?
I guess I’ll work on getting rid of that twitch.
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Well, it WAS a nice jacket.
Comment by Liz Healy — December 23rd, 2009 @ 3:21 pm