Blunt Impressions Whiners & dodgers

It is always fun to watch a grown man losing his mind, throwing his microphone away, slamming the table and leave. It happens to all talk shows all over the world. Imagine this: Stephen Hawkins getting interviewed by a host who never turned a page of a physics book. Yes! It is true that poor Stephen cannot dash his way out of the studio. The disparity between the level of knowledge of the host and the guest matters ­– the audience wants to learn from the show – it becomes nothing but a babbling show if the disparity is not taken into consideration. Also, the gesture and posture of the host tells the audience how the show is going to go down. It goes both ways though. There are guests who are reluctant to stop talking and are often aggressive.
It is no surprise that Bangladeshi audience loves talk shows. We have a knack to talk. Talk shows are easy and easier to produce; it needs a presenter, a research team, an array of guests. TV companies are happy to meet that demand of audience's endless desire to hear people argue and talk. That demand often brings many shows to a level where the show becomes nothing but a time-filler.
We enjoy a lively talk show. Some guests; however, comes with talking points, filibusters and straw-man. An amateur host is sometimes not apt to cope with guests who are skillful orators. Not letting others talk or avoiding a straight answer can make the host looks like a “dumb blonde” (not applicable to female only). We are seeing too many hosts overacting with their aggressive style and trying prove their point of view. Often, it is confusing who the guest is really.
There are different kinds of hosts: the timid ones, the “over-the-top” neutral ones and the aggressive ones. Our local talk shows have all manners of hosts. Some hosts are not well prepared or too aggressive. When an expert on certain matter appears on a show, the host must be aware of the matter through research.
Larry King retired from his famous “Larry King Live”. Piers Morgan, a British host took over, calling it “Piers Morgan” live. Larry and piers are from two opposite poles. Engagement with their guests is of different sorts, but strange enough; that both styles work. The timid and docile Larry gradually pulled the guest into serious talk. On the other hand, Piers jumps on the issue at hand and often forces the guest to talk. There is also, the great Bill O'Reilly, a political commentator of Fox News. His stature and loud voice intimidates the guest to deliver their point out.
There is a lot to learn from the masters of talk show hosts. Whatever the method of conducting a talk show is, the host must always be knowledgeable on the issue at hand, and be prepared to let the guest talk. Let the guest dodge away a vital question, but at least make them admit that they are dodging.