Smile of the Sun - 太陽のほほえみ
生前ハヤット神父が寄稿されたお話しを英語と日本語で毎月お届けします。
Two Important Principles
Recently I had a conversation with one of most famous television interviewers of Japan.
He was always relaxed, and so were the guests he was interviewing.
The dialogue proceeded as smoothly as if a prepared manuscript were being used.
I asked this man how he managed to handle his programs so well and what technique he used.
"There is no technique," he replied. "You must have a general idea of what information you wish to elicit from the guest, and you must decide on how to begin the conversation before you start.
From then on, to make the program seem natural and interesting, you must proceed step by step, following up on the different things the guest says.
"I pay special attention to two things when I am interviewing," he continued. First of all, I try to minimize my own part and emphasize the guest. The purpose of the program is to make the guest and his ideas known to the audience.
"Secondly, I make sure that I concentart on listening carefully to everything the guest says. If an interviewer pays more attention to what he himself wants to say than to what the guest is saying, the program soon becomes confused."
The interviewer applies two important principles to his work. To these principles he owes his success. Pay close attention to what the other person is saying, and look on him as more important to the conversation than yourself.
