Host Skills Training Manual

Author: Zhao Zhongxiang et al. / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features:
(1) Lu Xun drinking sour wine In one day in 1925, a young student named Yang Shuda, slightly deranged, ran to Lu Xun's house and caused a ruckus, claiming Lu Xun had taken Soviet "rubles." Lu Xun, sensitive, believed it was a spy sent by the enemy. Filled with indignation, he wrote "Record of Yang Shuda's Raid" that night and sent it to the magazine "Yushi." However, soon after, Lu Xun learned the truth and felt deeply uneasy. He visited Yang Shuda to apologize and wrote a serious article titled "On the Rationalization of Yang Shuda's Raid," which he sent to "Yushi." He covered all the costs of paper and printing for the article. Some said it wasn't necessary, but Lu Xun replied, "The sour wine I brewed myself should naturally be drunk by myself."
(2) Famous people experiencing heartbreak In 1841, when 20-year-old Engels was an apprentice at a trading firm in Bremen, his relationship with a young woman failed. Heartbroken, he climbed the Alps to Italy for a trip, pouring out his "pain of love" to the beautiful nature and finding solace "in the grandeur of nature, escaping into warmth and life" (in a letter to a friend). In 1844, Engels fell in love with another young woman, but he experienced another heartbreak a few months later. To ease his pain, he wrote the book "The Condition of the Working Class in England." Many, like Engels, rose from the pain of heartbreak. Tchaikovsky wrote his famous "Pathétique" after a breakup, Schubert completed "Symphony of the Future" after one, and Romain Rolland created "Jean-Christophe" after another. Even Goethe wrote the classic "The Sorrows of Young Werther" after a heartbreak.
(3) Is this "meddling"? According to the "Xinmin Evening News," at about 5 p.m. on November 14, bus driver Du Mingsheng was driving a public bus from Wusong to the North Station. Along the way, people saw a car's fuel tank catch fire, and the driver was helpless. Little Du immediately parked, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the bus, and bravely extinguished the flames, braving suffocating smoke and the risk of an explosion. The foreign driver gratefully held Little Du's hand. Unfortunately, when Little Du returned to the bus, some passengers who had been watching the fire from the other side of the partition blamed him for meddling and causing trouble, and accused him of delaying their journey home.
(4) A Nobel laureate once mocked British physiologist Sir Charles Sherrington, a renowned scientist who won the Nobel Prize. Born in London's slums, he was an orphan adopted by others. In his youth, he developed many bad habits, and people said he was "not good material" and would never succeed. He grew accustomed to others' insults and curses. For a time, Sherrington fell in love with a milkmaid. When he asked her to marry him, she said, "I'd rather jump into the Thames and drown than marry you!" This "blow" woke him up from his confusion. He changed his ways, studied diligently, and determined to completely change people's perception of him. Later, he made significant contributions to the study of the central nervous system and became a professor at London University and Oxford University.
Training Tips: The host's commentary should strive to show "evaluation" within "narration," achieving "showing through form" to reach "teaching through reason." Such narration may lack abstract discussion but is guided by a red thread of "reason" and infused with emotion to reveal the host's inclination.
VIII. Closing Remarks Training
Closing remarks are what the host says when the program is about to end.
(1) The Importance of Closing Remarks From the perspective of reception psychology, people enjoy programs that have a clear beginning and end, not ones that start but don’t finish. Therefore, closing remarks are seen as an indispensable format. As a cultural tradition, even the wording of closing remarks tends to be fixed. For example, in the Song Dynasty, hosts of performance activities (then called "zhuanganzi") were required to compose a poem on the spot when performances ended and conclude with phrases like "The performance is over, let’s go together." However, programs today are no longer just cultural performances. As the saying goes, "Weaving baskets and winnowing baskets depends on how well you finish." A program may be rich and diverse, but the audience’s understanding and reception may still be at a superficial level, requiring further digestion. At this point, the host’s closing remarks are essential to fulfill the program’s purpose and meet the audience’s expectations.
In "Optimal Childbirth and Rearing" programs, after broadcasting clips of documentaries about happy love and family life and the lives of disabled children, host Zhang Yue made the following summary: "What impressed me most from the program just now wasn’t those loving couples and affectionate pairs but these disabled children. Although our producers tried their best to avoid visual stimuli, making those heart-wrenching scenes flash by, they still deeply pierced my heart. I remember when I was expecting my child, I had a secret wish in my heart: to pray to the heavens to give me a healthy child. When I shared this wish with others who had gone through the same experience, they all said in unison, 'Wow, our worries are so similar!' Indeed, having a child is not like buying things. If a piece of clothing doesn’t fit, we can simply decide not to keep it, but a child is our own flesh and blood. Some friends see how pitiful their disabled children are and give them double the care. In reality, these tragedies can often be avoided if we have some medical knowledge and pay attention earlier. Therefore, if you want to be a parent, you must start from the moment you prepare to marry and consciously pay attention to optimal childbirth."
Commentary: Host Zhang Yue’s closing remarks are not optional; they are necessary to reflect the program’s main theme but without any trace of preaching. She uses plain language to conclude from her personal perspective. This closing remarks, written by the host herself, is every word from the heart, enriching and expanding the program’s meaning. It is not only a summary of the entire program but also a deepening of its content.
(2) Pragmatic Strategies for Closing Remarks
1. Summarize. When using commentary to conclude a program, a concise summary of the content can be presented in a broad-stroke manner.
2. Affirm. For conclusions that are undeniable or already widely agreed upon, a confident tone can be used to express them clearly and concisely.
3. Emphasize. When necessary, a comprehensive summary may not be needed; instead, key points can be highlighted through deeper discussion and "masterstroke" phrases.
4. Elevate. By expanding the discussion, posing questions, and provoking thought, or through emotive expressions, the ideas and emotions can be raised to a new level.
Training Design
1. Appreciate the following closing remarks and discuss their pragmatic functions and strategies.
(1) The closing remarks of Shanghai Television Station’s "Good Times, Great Figures" program:
Cao Kefan: This episode of "Good Times" is coming to an end. As we say goodbye to our friends, we will also say goodbye to 1995!
Yuan Ming: Time flies, leading us forward! Looking back, we have so many memories, because in our memories, there are so many sincere smiles!
Cao Kefan: Time passes, joy accompanies us into the new year. In the past year, our "Good Times" program has met and shared with the audience, enjoying joy together. Let the wonderful moments we shared in this year stay in our memories, as we move forward to 1996, tomorrow will be even brighter!
Yuan Ming: Let sincerity and joy accompany us on this journey, forever!
(2) The closing remarks of CCTV’s "Focus Interview" on January 31, 2001, reporting on the rampant lavish spending in poor villages in Chuzhou City, Anhui Province:
"During festivals, weddings, funerals, and children’s promotions, all of these can be reasons for extravagant feasts. This phenomenon in our rural areas is indeed still quite common."