What *Queer Eye* Can Teach You about the Media

 by: Susan Harrow

1. Show your passion.

The Queer Eye Boys are into what they do. You can tell. Their show has such a different feeling than the spin-off *Queer Eye for the Straight Girl* which lacks chemistry and authenticity. The synergy between the hosts and guests comes through when you connect to the host and audience through your passion. Things come alive. I hate that saying, *If you can't be sincere, fake it until you can.* That's such a cop out.

It's like all this new veneered furniture with one thin layer of real wood masking pressboard or plywood. Yuk. Are you telling me you can't tell the difference between what is solid and what is fake? In *The Practician's Manual of Legerdemain* Ottawa Keyes says, *When it comes to the requirements for pleasing an audience, all the knowledge and instruction and apparatus in the world is worth less than one ounce of soul.* Ain't it so?

2. Be cheeky.

When Carson, the head Queer Eye guy says, *Is it hot in here or is it just you?* and then almost licks some shirtless hottie blond boy we're right there with him. Yup, temperatures are rising. He makes us laugh and sweat at the same time. Loosen up a little and see what happens. Be playful. Say something a bit dangerous. Or better yet, DO something dangerous.

3. Give good tips.

After each segment the boys give their take-home tips. These are little gems that help you remember to properly tame your tangles, manage your manners, or bolt your belt at just the right angle. Provide your audience with saucy soundbites that linger so they can keep enjoying you. Give them solid ideas that they can implement asap. I've come to think that it's not the big idea but the minutiae that is most important. Take your ideas down to the smallest level of detail so they are easy for people to implement.

4. Show tangible visible results.

Visible transformations make audiences swoon. Can you do a before and after? In one show the *boys* helped a balding man who was married to his toupee give it up. His wife and his kids hadn't seen his head without the fake hair for many years. His willingness to finally be *seen* was dramatic. His transformation was both inner and outer. These kinds of transformations keep audiences spellbound. Think about how you can devise one for a show you want to be on.

5. Have fun.

What makes Queer Eye so great is that everyone has such a grand time. What good is all the publicity in the world if you dread it? M. Scott Peck says *The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.* If you can let go of the outcome (no matter how important--because those are the hardest ones to let go of), you will free yourself to have a good time, anytime, anywhere, with anyone. What could be better?

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