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My night with Michael Parkinson - the man who shaped my career without knowing it
Laughs and lessons from a broadcasting legend.
OPINION
I was just a wee babe when Michael Parkinson was at the peak of his career, and he was the one journo I would look to constantly to develop my own interviewing technique. With his at-ease approach, he knew that by allowing his guests to do the talking, a great story could segue into an even better one.
On a few occasions, I was lucky enough to meet the man whose calm but calculated interview technique stuck in my brain since watching his show every week as a kid. He was one of the most elegant, classy, sports-mad and funny people ever.
I was first introduced to Parky by his brilliant publicist Patti Mostyn when he was on a publicity tour of Australia. Patti was always keen to call on seasoned journalists, the ones who could get a story in a big newspaper or on the evening news, but she also welcomed a new breed of journos, including myself, into the fold.
Patti was tough and never suffered fools, so I was quietly chuffed that she didn't have me kicked out of Sydney's Sebel Townhouse for harassing one of her biggest clients. She trusted me enough to slip away for a phone call, and while she was gone, I recall Parky cracking some very naughty jokes, talking about cricket and actually asking about what I did with genuine interest.
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When Patti came back to her usual corner seat, she found Sir Michael had also "picked up", in the nicest possible way, entertainment impresaria Helen Montagu, which meant another few hours of fun and stories that rolled into dinner. The next morning, I returned to the office with a brilliant, exclusive story.
Parkinson created the tools that so many lesser interviewers dared to borrow, and I can happily say that my early fixation with him is what has stood me in good stead throughout my career. Thanks to Parky, to this day, I hardly ever refer to a list of questions when interviewing someone, instead reading up on the person beforehand and then letting the conversation authentically take me where it needs to take me — and never cutting off someone's train of thought.
The many things I learned from Parkinson — from watching him on TV and then having the amazing fortune of meeting him — will remain with me forever. I really don't think there will ever be another Parky.
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