What I learned

I’m still somewhat giddy over my experience at Musique Plus last week (a week ago today, in fact), so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on what I’ve learned so far from all of this. First, I need to invest in a digital camera. Presuming I manage to continue on with my weird and wacky attempts at interviewing Quebecois celebrities, I would like to have something more personal to remember it by, as well as to provide proof that I did, in fact, do the interview.

Second, I’ll really have to reconsider the style I use for presenting said interview. On the one hand, I like being able to provide, verbatim, exactly what the person has said. That way I’m not taking anything out of context or painting my own image of the person. I allow them to do that, themselves. It allows fans (or even just casual readers of this blog) a glimpse into the personality of the person I’ve chosen to interview. On the other hand, it’s a royal pain in the butt to transcribe the full contents of a half hour interview. I have no idea how long it actually took me to get the thing done, but the fact that it required 3 instalments says something.

Perhaps it was easier for me to justify a full transcript of my conversation with Chéli because she said a lot of interesting things. Somehow I doubt that future interviews will go as smoothly or provide me with the same amount of content. She speaks her mind. I like that. A good interview is a cooperative effort between the interviewer and the subject and, let me tell you, she made my life SO much easier by being so easygoing and down to earth. On the off chance she decides to come back and read my postings again, I would like to sincerely thank you, Chéli, for everything. You rock!

Third, I learned that I have to work harder on my French. The fact that I lost any semblance of a vocabulary during our introduction shows that I’m not nearly as comfortable with the language as I had hoped. I suppose that would be the same for anyone during times of stress, but I still found it embarrassing. By the end of the hour together, I’d somewhat regained my composure, though I think it’s pretty obvious that I stammered and babbled my way through the questions. If I’m dealing with someone whose first language ISN’T English, then I should do my best to be clear and concise with my questions. Actually, I should be clear and concise, regardless of their first language.

In terms of the content, itself, I was surprised that she discussed her insecurities as candidly as she did. I never would have thought she’d get grief over her accent. Sounds pretty darn good to me! But then again, I’m just une tête carrée, right? I find it ironic, considering the Quebecois have such an inferiority complex over the fact that they don’t speak “proper” French, that they would give a fellow francophone grief over their accent. In a twisted sort of way, it makes me feel a bit better about how potential employers had reacted to me over the course of the past several months. At least I know I’m not alone.

If anyone out there has any feedback they would like to provide, please feel free to do so in the comment section. Til next time…