Friday High Five – what’s been in the news this week
As well as providing the business community with news and commentary, TheBusinessDesk.com also produces an impressive range of events.
It was a key element to the business that attracted me to the job back in late 2022.
This week, after a quieter run from mid July through August we’ve now hit ‘event season’ with a vengeance.
So far in September we’ve held the first of many round tables where we pull together people with interesting things to say on key topics of the day, and I went to a private event to hear my mate Jennifer Williams from the FT.
Coming soon we have our Family Business conference in October, a lunch with property pioneer Julie Twist, and a Rainmakers forum featuring the winners of our recent awards.
As print journalists we have fallen into events by accident. I still remember the night terrors back in 1989 before my first ever launch party for a magazine I was involved in, where I dreamt I was stood with a microphone in my hand in front of 1200 people and I froze.
It was actually OK on the night, but it’s fair to say I’ve learnt a lot and honed my event presentation style over the years, and certainly since then. I used to turn up with scribbles on my hand, a clipboard, scripts and pre-prepared questions in expectation of ready made answers.
A couple of years ago though I studied some interviewers I really admired – Miranda Sawyer, now of the Observer, and the BBC’s Nihal Arthanayake.
Miranda and I appeared on a TV show together back in 1990, Nihal lives down the road from me and we both buy baggy trousers from the same shop in Stockport. He’s one of those people I always wanted the BBC to attract when it moved North, people who make the city region more culturally interesting, someone I also enjoy running into, even if it’s just to talk about Spurs and music.
Neither Miranda or Nihal seem to rely on scripts and notes, but immerse themselves in the moment. They deploy active listening techniques to make sure they don’t miss something important that the person they are interviewing is saying. Their preparation is noticeable, and the resulting experience is to create a safe and engaging space, either live at an event or in a TV, radio or podcast studio.
We’re always looking for new ideas, formats and voices to come to our round tables, events and forums. We think it gives us a connection to our readers and makes our stories better informed.
Anyway, Nihal’s new show on Radio 5 starts on Sunday, where he interviews the comedian Stewart Lee, and he’s appearing at the Manchester Literature Festival with author Matt Haig. I’ll be studying his form.
Have a great weekend.
