Report on the Report

Here's the back story of last night's appearance on The Colbert Report. It's funny because about two months ago I said to my wife, there's one show I would be really, really nervous to be on, The Colbert Report. Not only is he quick and funny, he stays in character and really grills people - it can be embarrassing. So when the call came right before their 4th of July break, I was nervous. But Rana and our entire team prevailed on me, so I said, what the heck, give it a go.

Here's a picture of me, Rana, and David behind Stephen's desk.

I have done ton of public speaking and a ton of media interviews, so I'm used to this sort of thing and it doesn't get me nervous. Usually that is. I was plenty nervous to be on Colbert.  I had virtually no background on the show.  Rana talked very briefly to the segment producer in early July, when she said that the subject matter would be "Flight of the Creative Class."  I talked briefly with her while boarding the Acela in DC, where she basically said they were overwhelmed by the first day back, and she'd tell me more when we got to the studio.

David, Rana and I had a nice ride on the Acela.  That is until the electrical connection between the train and the rail went out and they had to switch to a new power source in another car.  We got to NY, I changed and we went over to the studio around 5:45PM.

That's when I learned we'd be the first segment, because Stephen is trying to do more interactive stuff to liven the show straight-away (replacing his usual first-up feature, "The Word.")  I was in a second tiny green room and we had about six people squeezed in.  Rana, David, David's wife Emily, our friend, Chris "Benny" Benfield, and various people from the Report.  It got so boisterous when Bobby the intern came to visit - as it turns out he grew up in the same Detroit area suburb as Rana and Benny and goes to the University of Michigan where David, Emily and Benny went to school - that they actually closed the door on us.  The producer laughed and said I was lucky to have such a hip and attractive, high-energy group of friends.

I was nervous, pacing the dressing room and the hall. They were running late - it was their first day back after all. About 6:35, an assistant producer came over to brief me a little on the segment.  She just started going through Stephen's questions, and I was literally and figuratively clueless and speechless. They must have thought I was the worst possible guest.  Stephen came in quickly to say hello and let me know he would stay in character and I should just play it straight, stay focussed and get my ideas across.

They brought my posse into the studio and Stephen went in, the music cranked up and I could hear loud applause and laughing.  They wheeled me into makeup and out into the studio. The energy was incredible. I could see the end of Stephen's question and answer session with the audience. The whole place was electric. Then the music cranked up to another level.  And as luck would have it, they played one of my all time favorite songs, the Sex Pistol's "God Save the Queen."  I remember the very day I heard that song as an undergraduate at Rutgers - and I told the folks around me - it literally changed the way I heard music.

My energy level was high - really high. The only thing I could compare it to was being on stage (a long time ago) with my band.  I figured it's now or never, I better get centered. I put my feet apart, took several deep breaths, and with the music pumping found the zone. I said to myself you have to do two things (in addition to getting my ideas across), have fun and make sure I let Stephen and the audience know I was in on the joke.  I was literally busting a gut during his introduction to the segment. They pulled my chair up and I followed the producer onto the set.  The audience applause was unbelievable - very different than anything I was used to as a speaker.  I locked onto Stephen and wooosh it was a great ride.  I knew it was OK when he broke a smile and could see that our interaction was  cracking him up.

Stephen is an incredibly smart and kind person. His staff - his entire staff - is phenomenal - the producers, assistants, technical people, makeup artists - every single one of them  - conveys the most incredible positive energy.

I may have been nervous to begin with, but now I am certain that what Stephen is doing to disarm mindless punditry is not just smart and edgy, but incredibly important.

Heck, it was fun. I'd recommend it. And hope I get a chance to do it again sometime.

Comments

[Michael Wells]

I'd never seen this, he's great. Almost as obnoxious as the real William F. Buckley, who he must have studied in developing his character -- the ultimate effite, intellectual snob. But he did a good job of the elevator speech of the creative class tolerance theory, so he didn't distort the message or set you up.

You were great too, stayed right with him line for line.

[john trenouth]

Damn right Cobert is doing an important job--usually the only courtier who isn't a fool is the jester.

Not quite a Charlie Rose interview, but I'll bet it got a lot of people talking afterward.

[heather]

i thought you did a great job. nice recap, and well done!

[Robert]

Anyone got a link to the video?

[John Whiteside]

Is it on YouTube or somewhere? I forgot to set the DVR... ooops.

[Richard]

Folks - Thanks for the comments. The video is right here on the site. Click on the video in this post, or the click here link in the previous post about Colbert. Or on the home page at creativeclass.com.

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