Conan O'Brien

Critically analyze the communication skill of the personality which you admire the most

CONAN O’BRIEN

Conan O’Brien is a talk show host at TBS, Primetime. Aside from his incredible comic wit and timing, he is an intelligent and observant man.

Reading a script from a teleprompter does not need any skill but to craft a witty sentence on the spot? that improvisation demands good communication, observation skills and a captivating personality, everything that our tall Irish host has.

Conan O’Brien is a master of improvisation and sensing the mood of the audience. He delivers exactly what you need and at the right moment.                                                                  

He was born in 1963, contrary to what one might believe, his audience consist of mostly 17 to 25 year olds; his communication his words, its construction have evolved to the taste of the younger generation.

One example is the legendary speech he gave at Dartmouth graduation. A 50 year old man in front of critical, pessimistic young adults; a storyline for Disaster. But O’Brien managed to win the hearts of all, from students to professors. Analyzing the mood, he choose self-depreciating humor and made fun of the show business he was in. He brought himself to the level of common students rather being a pompous celebrity.                                                                                                                  

 Highlight of the speech was that not once he mentions that he himself was a valedictorian, a Harvard graduate and President of Harvard Lampoon. He knows when to act superior and when to bend and be humble.

This appearance was in striking contrast to the interview and audience interaction program he gave at Google. Here he was surrounded by best software programmers  in the country instead of being intimated he choose to make fun of arrogance that employees at Google were infamous for having. The result? They loved it!

O’Brien knew the common procedure by which these professionals were used to being treated, he analyzed the way his communication was to take place and he was casual with the audience and they appreciated it.

Conan O’Brien has been a talk show host for 20 years in the 'Late Night' format. Since his show was aired around midnight, the channel’s censoring was a lot less concerned with whatever their channel host was talking about. He would improvise skits, his communication, his connection with the audience became a lot informal and he developed his own style.

Through a screen Conan has a very sanguine persona but this is only because he doesn’t let this façade fall. The only time he could be seen faltering a bit was during his Interview on ‘60 Minutes’.

Conan O’Brien’s ‘Tonight show’ on NBC was snatched away during a corporate betrayal. A position he had been waiting for 6 years. He was close to a nervous breakdown with his voice cracking during the interview. But even in this position he managed to complete it with not even once mentioning a word against the people who had double crossed him. Trying to joke around he made his point like a gentlemen. He was not in his element, still his words, his answers to questions that were trying to provoke him to say something controversial, all were perfectly balanced.

During his ‘Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop’ tour (after losing his talk show) he used his unemployment as a joke and made songs about it. For him anything in his life positive or negative, it is a way to communicate with people around him. In 2013 he started working with TBS with a new primetime show and has had a cult audience ever since.

During the tenure of the show at TBS, US President managed to speak some unflattering words against the poor island country of Haiti. As a result Haitians stared resenting Americans in general. O’Brien then shot an entire episode in Haiti depicting its beauty, culture and its people. During the shooting there was a protest against the crew’s presence and it was beginning to get violent. Conan then spoke translated Haitian and stopped the protest made the locals laugh and within 3 minutes the same people were smiling at the stupid American making fun of his own heritage, they were hugging and clicking pictures with him. Same happened with his trip in Israel.

For Conan O’Brien, language is certainly not a communication barrier.

With his interview with Principal Faust of Harvard he was a bit sarcastic but without being rude. As he was a graduate of that Harvard he used his personal experiences to connect with the students there and showed a new side to his personality by being terribly honest and deep, something which he rarely shows, given he is required to act funny and irrational all the time.

In 2013, He was asked to give White House correspondents Dinner speech. This was a very Formal event. O’Brien was going to be surrounded by Members of Cabinet, The President and countless news network heads. His strategy here was not to be intimidated by their presence. Conan pressed down onto the fragile egos of the politicians and for not even a second allowed them to think that he was a mere performer present there for their entertainment, he turned the tables and now the members of the house were at his disposal. Conclusion? He left the stage with a standing Ovation from the audience plus a heartfelt handshake from President Obama.

One highlight of Conan O’Brien’s speeches is the research done prior to it. He knows as a 50 year old man the young audience is going to be pretty skeptical in accepting him. And to be identified as someone who relates to them, he often uses social media references and makes it quite clear in the beginning that he is jealous of the young generation and he would love to exchange places with them. Conan often drops names of celebrities and popular places with whom young adults relate with and this helps in winning hearts of all.

As for his Farewell Speech at NBC, he made the whole scenario about the support he received from his audience. Not once he mentions his problems, his anxiety because he knows that he exists because of the audience. That’s called sensing the mood of the people. The audience was expecting a sob story but he surprised them that by thanking everyone for the love and support they have given him. His communication is extremely witty because Conan is skilled in the art of understanding people and giving them not what they want, but what they need.