Saturday 11 October 2014

Trust me to make an arse out of myself during my moment of glory

Last week I was lucky enough to appear on The Bottom Line with Evan Davis from Dragon's Den fame. The new Jeremy Paxman no less.

It's always interesting when you meet someone in real life who you feel like you know already through regular contact, albeit one way, via the television or radio.

In most instances they are not quite the same as they appear on the box. But I'm pleased to report Evan, Mr Davis to you, is an absolute gentleman.

He put all three of his guests at ease. Was humble about his new gig at Newsnight. And was the consummate professional throughout. Even thanking me for my tweets earlier that day.

I have to say appearing on Radio 4 for a full half hour on Thursday evening was the highlight of my career.

In part because I got to rub shoulders with Edwina Dunn of Tesco Clubcard and Dunnhumby fame. The inventor of Big Data thirty years before it was even called Big Data. And I got to compare notes with Robin Grant Global MD and co-founder of an award winning, international agency called We Are Social.

But it was also because for the first time ever my mum and dad were genuinely interested in tuning in to hear me do my thing. They've heard me be interviewed before but only in my previous capacity as a spokesperson for the company I represent.

On this occasion the subject matter was what I do, not who I work for or what they do. And the test was whether or not I could hold my own in such eminent company.

The format of The Bottom Line is very informal which suited me just fine. A round table discussion deftly handled by Evan Davis to illicit the best from his guests.

Recorded in one take and edited down from 45 minutes to the 30 that are broadcast, it flew by in a flash.

I could've carried on for hours. And it would appear Evan was genuinely interested in the conversation. Either that or years of feigning interest make him a great liar.

The only blot on an otherwise perfect afternoon was me inadvertently swearing. I said arse on Radio 4. Can you believe it? And not only that but they chose to leave it in.

Trust me to say arse on The Bottom Line. Oh the irony.

The other surprise was how many people were listening to Radio 4 who happen to know me. Texts were flying in asking if that really was me on the radio. 

A mate from school sent me the following DM which kind of summed it up:

'Came across very well - sounded like you actually knew what you were talking about.'

My degree in bullshit is finally paying off it would seem.

Anyway, if you get a chance take a listen. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Dom. Just heard the replay as I was driving back from Salford. You were great, and it was indeed interesting. A nice smattering of useful facts figure and anecdotes. The other two were a little downbeat - you were the cheerful one!

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