Shelagh Rogers Sounds Like Canada Lisa Leblanc, OP Contributor helagh Rogers is the award-win- ning Radio Broadcast host of the CBC morning radio show Sounds like Canada, She conducts conversational interviews with Canadians in a live radio- program broadcast across the country every weekday morning, in Canadian town. Following one of her every shows, one Print Futures Professional Writing class at Douglas College enjoyed the privilege of meeting Rogers in her stu- dio to learn the art of interviewing from a broadcast icon. Rogers’ Cheshire cat-like smile is testi- mony to her admission that she loves her job. She has spent more than half of her life at CBC, working in a career that she was invited into. While still an art history student at Queen’s University, she was asked to host a radio music program. An offer to host a daily television show fol- lowed and eventually a position was created for her by CBC as Deputy Host of Morningside, alongside the late Peter Gzowski. Being the host of a morning show is not without sacrifice. Rogers rises every morning at 3:30 to tape her live radio show, which is then broadcast at 10am in every time zone across the country. Possessing an uncanny ability to forge an intimacy with her audience, Rogers explains, “No matter how many people are listening, for me there’s always only one pair of ears. I always use the word ‘you’ to refer to the second-person singu- lar.’ She doesn’t limit her program to showcasing famous or up-and-coming Canadians. Instead she presents the voice of everyday Canadians in everyday situa- tions by focusing on what makes each person remarkable. Her favourite inter- view she conducted was with a woman named Kate Carmichael, who was dying of leukemia. Instead of cocooning with loved ones after her diagnosis, as one might opt to do, Carmichael chose to spend the last few months of her life as a zealous advocate for the rejuvenation of Halifax’s downtown core. Her dogged determination and selfless generosity toward humanity, even in her darkest hours, earned her the respect of people across the country, including Rogers. What prompts Rogers to liken her job as interviewer to “sculpting on-the-air,” trying to create something out of noth- ing? Her philosophy is, “when all voices are heard, yours is in there, somewhere.” She maintains a neutral approach during interviews even when she has a personal bias because, as she says, “CBC presents the voice of Canada. It is not my role to be an advocate for any position or party. As a CBC host, there is no room for my opinion. My job is to get someone else’s story. I am interested in presenting the voice of evety one that represents Canada.” viewee to clam up. Ask open-ended questions. Word your queries in two different ways to access the information you are seeking. “Yes and »” no” questions always produce short “When all voices are heard, yours is in there, somewhere.” Not that Shelagh Rogers doesn’t have opinions. She upholds the belief that our society is plagued by disconnection. She is adamant that dislocation from communi- ty is what leads to addiction, and emphatically extols that as a society we have sadly failed our young people. In this regard “no two stories are ever the same” but, too often, the outcome is. Certainly, no two inter- views are ever the same either. During a valuable question- and-answer session, she imparted the following inter- view tips: Be prepared to improvise. CBC prepares a script for each interview based on copious amounts of research done by people across the country. Rogers once interviewed a woman who refused to talk. The interview was slated for half an hour but was cut down to a five-minute slot because the interviewee only gave one- word answers. All the research was defied when the intervie- wee made a statement that was in complete contrast to what CBC expected her to say. The danger of following the script too closely is that you “miss the juice.” In spite of the best- laid plans, sometimes things go wrong. Warm up the interview to find the heat. To loosen people up, use “throwaway questions” such as “What do you mean? ” ot “What happened then?” Try to incor- porate your questions into the conversation. Ask clear questions. Avoid charged words, which can cause the inter- answers. “Why, what, and how” may not lead to the best-worded questions, but those words can provoke the most informative answers. “Has, does, and was” ate indicators of lazy questions. Stay focused on the issue. Politicians are trained to duck questions and attempt to use journalists as a means to their own end. Journalists should try to utilize politicians by adopting their well- crafted techniques. Use active listening skills. Break down what the interviewee says. If someone seems unwilling to relinquish information about a particular topic, Rogers maintains a respectful approach by asking a question like “Why is this danger- ous territory for you?” Since most people come on her show in order to share their information, they are usually quite willing to respond favourably to their questions. This approach addresses both their hesita- tion and the purpose of the interview. Control the flow of information. When people talk too long during an interview, Rogers occasionally has to break in. She sharply inhales and starts to say “Uh-huh, uh-huh” while nodding her head and lean- ing forward to indicate her intention to speak. If need be, she’ll pick up her coffee mug and point to her name. Always main- taining an air of respect and dignity, she gently reminds the interviewee, “It’s my show. It’s my face on the mug.” This com- mand of the interview explains how Rogers is able to generate discussion with minimal verbal input from herself. You can tune in to Sounds Like Canada on CBC radio, anywhere in Canada, any weekday morning at 10. January = 12/2005