I once saw Charlie Rose speak at a media relations conference. It was packed. Not a seat in the house. Charlie’s presentation was titled, “The Art of the Story: Finding the Heart of the Drama,” and was fascinating. Full of wit and wisdom that is rare. Charlie really connected with the people in the audience. Left them completely mesmerized. And, more astoundingly – all Blackberry’s and cellphones went silent.
Can you fathom?
A presentation where absolutely no one was dorking around with their cellphones? I was worried there might have been a sneak nuclear attack and an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) had blacked out all wireless communications. Not so.
It was the speaker. The Charlie Rose story of story.
I’ve seen a lot of good presenters and speakers over the years. One thing I’ve learned is that being
Good is Not Hard
All it takes to be a good presenter is hard work and practice. Practice and repetition. If you’re not good – you have only one person to blame: yourself. (and don’t you hate to do that – when so many other good people are out there to blame?)
Great Is
But to be great you have to connect with the audience on an emotional level. Connecting like that is pretty special; it’s an art. Maybe a gift. A heavenly endowment say some.
Charlie Rose spoke about what he looks for in stories and guests for his show (he’s done over 20,000 interviews). It essentially boils down to this.
Interesting people actively engaged in the struggle of life coming into conflict with each other; for love, for celebration, for tragedy, for death, or war, for all the possible range of emotions.
People overcoming obstacles and adversity.
Authentic people.
People able to tell their story – the story of the human spirit – with the most eloquent of sophistication … simplicity.
How Does Charlie Rose Find the Heart of the Drama?
Charlie pointed out these keys to find the heart of the drama.
An insatiable curiosity and willingness to be on a continuing and never-ending quest for knowledge.
In-depth research.
Preparation – do your homework. No superficiality.
Genuinely care for the people and their story. And …
Question arcs.
Question arcs? Yes, they’re a series of questions that, depending on the way the guest responds, he follows up on. Not a set, linear-based question, answer, question format. Probing. Thinking type questions that allow flexibility and exploration.
Take Me Back to…
Charlie likes to take guests back to their moment of greatest emotion, challenge, victory, defeat, discovery. To recapture the emotion, the time, the life-altering experience.
The Heart of the Art
When he does that – they go to the heart of the drama. The essence of the story. The ever-changing, moving stream of life.
What Were Some of Charlie’s Favorite Interviews?
Now this was interesting. Charlie Rose has 19 years of recorded interviews – 20,000 of them. A lot to choose from. Barack Obama. John McCain. Bill Clinton. Henry Kissinger. Stephen Hawking. Nobel Laureates, Academicians, and on, and on.
I’ll list some of the ones he mentioned as favorites and include the video interviews at the bottom of this article. Try to guess who was his favorite (answer at the end of the article.)
Ted Turner – A dream for any interviewer. Opinionated. Thinks big. Wants to talk. You don’t have to engage him—just sits down and he’s off and running.
Warren Buffet – Best for long-form interview. Captivating. Charming.
Bill Gates – Enormously interesting. Good as it gets. Brilliant.
Bruce Springsteen – One of the most memorable, talked about interviews ever. Rarely does interviews, but people still mention and ask him about the Springsteen interview even though it took place 10 years ago.
Sophia Loren – Talented. Beautiful. Enchanting. Beloved. Enduring. Engaged. Charming. The Alpha and Omega (Okay … Charlie didn’t say that. But I might have.)
William Buckley – Cerebral. Smart and interesting; he had done everything. Television, wrote a column, he could talk politics, philosophy, music, and he’d written 100 books. Loved him.
Back to the Start
Like I said earlier, being a good presenter is not hard. Great is. But Charlie did one other thing that truly set him apart. Moved him into the all-time “great” status on the Steve-O-Meter.
From Good-to-All-Time-Great
It was what Charlie did after he finished speaking that struck me. Most high profile personalities get quickly ushered out through some high-security, highfalutin steel curtain designed to protect them from the masses. Not Charlie Rose.
Charlie did something totally unexpected. Staggeringly unexpected. He walked down from the stage and chatted with the sponsors, then slowly walked right out the aisle… through the masses.
‘So what,’ you say?
He looked directly at each table as he passed. If someone made eye contact, he stopped and spoke to them. He engaged. Engaged in the drama, the struggle, the stream of life. Okay. Maybe that’s a tad melodramatic. But you get my point.
Never in the History of Business Has…
Recall I said it was a media relations summit? Full of business communication professionals? PR, Marketing and others? Never, since the beginning of time, have so many professional yip-yap-yappers been rendered completely speechless. Including me.
Who Was His All-Time Favorite Interview?
For me, this was a
No Brainer
Sophia Loren of course.
Here are the videos of Charlie’s favorite interviews.
Check them out. Timeless classics.
Warren BuffetBill GatesBruce SpringsteenSophia Loren
William Buckley
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