I made my TV debut as an author on Wednesday night, as a guest on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” with Phil Ponce. Watch the segment here.
Host Phil Ponce and segment producer Faith Okpotor were fantastic… they went out of their ways to put me at ease and make me look good, with a line of questions that was on the money, good-natured joking in the green room, and a string of compliments right before we went on the air that let me know I was amongst company that wanted me to be successful. I hope I returned the favor by giving them a show that they can be proud of! Sam the Intern and Amy in make up also deserve mention… thanks you two!
Some fun facts:
- There’s actually ice water in the coffee mugs, which I needed because the air on the set was a bit dry.
- The last thing that happens before you go onto the set is that a guy comes meets you at the door and clips a wireless mike to your belt, just above your butt. From the video work I’ve done so far, one thing has become very clear: there is no space for modesty in this line of work.
- The set is a busy place; I took my place during the segment that preceded mine by winding my way through the coils of cables that snaked out from behind the cameras, literally following every move the director made so as not to interfere with the camera movements.
- What looks natural on TV actually requires some awkward positioning in person. Specifically, Phil and I had to stare at each other the entire time in order to make sure that eye contact looked natural during the camera cuts from him to me and back.
- The interview is not entirely cold; I did a pre-interview with the segment producer Faith. She was awesome. My conversation with her itself would have made a great interview. And while my conversation with Phil was very different, I could tell instantly which of my answers she had liked and I much appreciated the way she strung them together into a compelling and unique story. Phil is also very good at what he does… he rolled with the interview and wove prepared questions with some off-the-cuff comments that made the interview flow very naturally.
- Everyone I worked with was enjoying themselves; everyone except the director was even smiling. (Mr. Director was all business, but clearly in his element, with a relaxed, professional authoritativeness.) This made my job very easy.
- At one point in the interview, I say that people may want to “fight” me. Someone in the control room, listening with half and ear, asked if I had dropped the f-bomb on live TV. Ha, ha.
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I'm Jason. I make people shine. My mission is to help 1 million people tell their stories better. 