Raving FAN of a larger-than-life Celebrity & also an ANCHOR who’s all-heart! How did I learn to balance the two?
A) I could first notice it & hence I’m grateful to a Client’s feedback who once told me, “Shikha, control!”😊Yes, those were the words. It shook me temporarily since I always thought I’m doing my best version by creating mammoth buzz before a Celebrity’s arrival in my shows, amplifying audience expectations & moreover to make the Celeb feel celebrated for all his accomplishments, that’s what I am hired for. But No! There’s a subtle difference.
B) And then thankful to my Industry Idol,KaveaR Chavali. We accidentally meditated upon this when she too, while watching one of my videos told me, “Shikha you looked overwhelmed because it was XYZ, however I loved your realness, you were on your own!”. Alarm bells again please!! Did she just mention a synonym of “Control” with “Overwhelmingness”?
Got to address this! Enough.. We as Anchors then discussed & she enlightened me as to what an Anchor’s Job is while hosting Household Names. Here’s producing my Happy Learnings, which I’d like to believe are also a part of my practice:
- The bigger the Name, the shorter is the Introduction.
- You can still be the ‘Gooey Fan’ inside (doing an OMG with he’s sooo awesome, or she’s a real divaaa my God) but on the external you’ve to be the poised ‘Moderator’ because it’s YOU who possess the power to let the Celeb know when to start & stop conversing or the power to steer the conversation based on your expertise.
- Celebs (most of them) don’t like it when you treat them larger-than-life even if they’re.
- Audience too doesn’t resonate with an overwhelmed Anchor.
- Just because 5 looks the ideal number to close the pointers, it’s a great idea to be at par on conversations with the Celeb & balance best of the both worlds, your liking for them but more than that a stronger liking for doing your job accurately well :))