By Michael Wadley
Have you noticed how many sportspeople, from
Australia, like to use the word 'look'?
I'm talking about when they are on the telly or
radio, and usually when are are put on the spot from an interviewer.
"Well that was a bad result for the
Australian crew there...you didn't expect that did you?"
"Look, we've obviously got some work
to do, the boys learnt a lot today but they can get back into this..."
Or
"Tell me is this the worst one day
cricketing side ever put out by Australia?"
"Look, England did some real good
work in the field today, but we've got to stick together and dum dah de dum
etc."
Shane Warne does it. David Campese does it. Pat
Cash does it and I notice that swimming pundit Ian Thorpe has been doing it non
stop during his stint on the BBC Olympic poolside coverage. You know, I think
all Australians do it.
And fair dinkum. Because its a good technique
against a tricky question. Saying 'look' puts a big stop in the flow of a
question. It changes the pace, takes control of the subject and suggests an
acknowledgement...but then a positive. In a way, it's very much like the ABC
technique used by many people, who have been media trained, to turn a tough question
into a platform from which to make a positive statement.
I'm not sure if Australians sports stars have
been coached to use the word 'look' as a deliberate ploy? Or is it
just a speech-related characteristic. But whichever – they really are
quite watchable aren't they? Maybe not Campese.
