Overtalking

Chance meeting crossing a street…

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William: Professor Goldman. I say, Professor Goldman!

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Prof. Goldman: (under his breath): Discovered! William, didn’t realize it was you. How you doing?

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William: OK. OK, I guess. Well, maybe not OK. Just been to my GP and he said I have this cancer. HUGE, he said. HUGE.

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Prof. Goldman: Oh, so sorry. Where?

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William: In here. What you call it? Easy way. O solo mio.

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Prof. Goldman: Oesophagus?

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William: That’s it. I googled it but the computer broke.

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Prof. Goldman: There are computers in the city library.

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William: It’s closed. The virus.

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Prof. Goldman: Sorry. Of course. Look, try the National Cancer Hospital. Central Station.

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William: They’re good?

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Prof. Goldman: They’re a research hospital, have the latest equipment, good doctors.

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William: You’re a life saver.

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Prof. Goldman: You’ll need a referral from your GP.

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Voice-over

A conversation edited down from 30 minutes. William is an overtalker as Professor Goldman well knows. Overtalking is often due to anxiety or being overactive. Enter into labyrinthine anecdotes. Sometimes mix words up. The speaker is often not aware of their problem, although William was self-monitoring. “I’m probably talking too much,” and “Thanks for listening, most people are just in a hurry to leave.” But sometimes they need to be listened to, especially if there’s something you can help them with.

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One more thing

Larry and Bill discuss conducting.

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Bill: I think interview film directors can learn something from Hollywood.

Larry: Hollywood?

Bill: Interviews are pretty boring if they are talking heads. Smart editing, archive footage, text inserted, this all helps move the story along.

Larry: It’s not always about stories.

Bill: Well, you as an interviewer, and the conductor of an orchestra, you’re both trying to control unruly sounds.

Larry: Right.

Bill: So I’m just saying, sometimes you have to control what happens at the beginning, and in the middle, and how it all finishes.

Larry: Right again. BME. Know what you mean. Garrot the garrulous.

Bill: What do you do when someone grabs the mike and won’t let go? And they keep saying, “Oh and one more thing.”

Larry: Conductors have their baton. An interviewer has that cut dead question ready.

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Voiceover

A well-structured story generally has a beginning, a middle and end (BME). An interview may also have these components. It is however, more difficult to get the BME balance right in a live interview. Indeed, too much concern with structure can lose you those revealing remarks that make your audience suspend their breathing. Conducting an interview: having that instinct for knowing when to listen, knowing when to break in.

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