The John Griff Column: Who are you, right now?

We’ve all been to theatrical performances or concerts, watched films, videos and tv shows. We’re used to taking in information from news bulletins. Depending on what you read (and what you believe) up to 97% of the adult population listens to a podcast, YouTube video or produced social media content each week. But who are we watching, listening to and consuming material from? Just how much acting is going on – and when does the real person show themselves? Can we tell the difference between the actor and the private person, and do we differentiate?

Actors don’t always have to be the kind we pay tickets to see. They’re all around us, acting out different characters in different situations. Have you ever reasoned with someone who doesn’t want to go to school and acts the invalid clearly not well enough to sit in class? Me too. How about someone arguing their case in the office and trying to convince their audience that theirs is the only course to follow – language including ‘…let me tell you…’, ‘…I can assure you…’ and ‘…from my own experience…’ can be a powerful influence, whatever the truth might actually be. Add an awareness of body language and how to use it to amplify a point, and the actor becomes assertive to the point of having the only reasonable view, which is exactly what they want you to believe.

It isn’t only a case of arguments being made. Years ago, I worked in an office with a manager I rated highly. Stuart taught me an invaluable lesson. ‘Perception is everything’ he said. ‘If you can manage a person’s perceptions about a subject, they will look to you over other subjects too.’ It was a great lesson, not because I used perception management to bend others to my way of thinking. Instead, it taught me to take in what I was being told and then consider whether I believed it.  

In many cases to this day I encounter the same kind of acting going on. Almost everyone I interview is selling something, albeit not necessarily in a retail way. It might be an appeal for patrons to a forthcoming event, a request for publicity for a community group needing funds and volunteers, or someone marketing what they consider to be the ‘next big thing’. Sometimes it’s a new book, movie, album or play that demands airtime. Or it could be nothing to do with publicity and be simple request for sponsorship, a donation, or involvement in an event instead. Once the interview (or ‘performance’) is over, the interviewee often shows a different side to themselves and you see a different character emerge. For some it’s uncomfortable to appear in front of a microphone or camera – for others it’s simply part of the job. Some are excited to do it – others appear bored by the process. I appreciate both sides of the coin. Politicians and professional actors are very good at it – many have had training in projecting themselves and their messages. Some can switch on and off again with ease. I once interviewed actor and comedian Lenny Henry. Expecting an off-the-wall, zany encounter, I was instead entranced by a very considered, thoughtful person choosing his words carefully and light years away from his stage character Theophilus P. Wildebeeste. Likewise Graham  Gouldman from 10CC, Wax, The Mindbenders and more. I had expected a rock star with an entourage. Instead, he had walked completely alone from soundcheck at the theatre to my studio on St Edmunds Road, arrived quietly and drank coffee from a very old mug I’d found him in the station’s kitchen. With no airs and graces I found him completely approachable even though he was promoting that night’s gig. We got on really well and I sensed (he’d been everywhere and done everything) that this was the real man, rather than any manufactured entity. I could have listened to him for hours.

We are all individuals – but we are also chameleons, capable of slipping into any one of a variety of characters as circumstances and audiences dictate. Do we always select the right character at the right moment though? Do we take notice of our audiences and adjust?

Maybe we could all do with a little mentoring in perception management in order to get our acts right.