Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [116]
The following is a sample list of some of the on-camera distractions—both visual and spoken—that we have pointed out previously and that you may now notice as you watch TV:
• a bold striped or patterned tie that shimmers with a moiré effect
• a plaid jacket
• a striped shirt with a white collar
• a black suit, white shirt, and/or too-red tie
• a gold watch that catches the light
• a shiny lapel pin or insignia
• a woman in an overpowering red-and-white-striped sweater
• a black-and-white printed dress
• a red dress or jacket that bleeds outside its true borders
• sparkling sequins on a dress
• a blouse with a large, bright, printed pattern
• crossed legs in a tight skirt that hikes up and is too short
• earrings that dangle and move and catch the light
• shiny earrings larger than the earlobes
• beetle blue or green eyeshadow
• a slash of bright red lipstick covered with gloss, which almost makes it look like the madeup mouth moves independently of the natural one
• a performer who fidgets constantly with the hair
• hair on a man or woman that constantly flops down over the forehead and eyes
• an obvious hairpiece or wig
• a mustache that obscures the upper lip line
• a scraggly beard
• big bare ears that pull the eye away from the face
• the broadcaster who shifts the eyes slightly off-center while reading prompter copy
• body language that expresses hostility
• a turned-down, negative facial expression
• excessive facial or head movements
• hand gestures outside the TV screen ratio
• someone who slouches over a microphone
• an interviewer who asks four- or five-part questions that are impossible to answer
• a harsh or too-shrill nasal placement of the voice
• a person who says “uh” or “well-ah” in every sentence
• a fast talker who ignores pronunciation of the consonants
• pronunciation of the soft “a” through the nose, in words such as “fact,” “Africa,” “matter,” and “action.”
At the end of the evening look at your list to see how you have become a knowledgeable critic of what looks and sounds good on TV. No doubt you will have added some pet peeves of your own. You will marvel at how seldom you see the perfect media image on the TV screen. People who have mastered sound media techniques are among those who endure and become highly acceptable as on-camera personalities.
SIX
SURVIVING PUBLIC LIFE
As a public person, the odds are that you normally maintain a strenuous schedule. You may be constantly exposed to stress, pressure, and heavy responsibilities. You may experience a lack of privacy and rehabilitating downtime. The vicissitudes of public life require extraordinary coping skills and a strong physical constitution. All of this means that you need to take extra good care of yourself in order to meet the requirements of an active life.
Former president Ronald Reagan is a man who has survived public life with flying colors. Despite being America’s oldest president to date, he survived eight years in the White House in apparent good health and good humor. Mr. Reagan did this despite a potential assassin’s bullet, several bouts of illness, and a number of stressful events that occurred during his terms in office.
One reason that he may have weathered his years in the White House so well is that he understood the benefits of downtime—insisting, for example, on small but frequent periods of relaxation. Although some members of the press may have criticized his frequent trips to Camp David and his California ranch, he may have actually improved his ability to withstand the rigors of the presidency by such activities.
This chapter will discuss briefly some of the factors that affect your health, including smoking, food and drink, dealing with stress, and travel fatigue.
No matter what the nature of your career, if you are in the public eye you probably cannot afford to be ill, since your voice and body language