Even if we take a detour, it's fine as long as we can convey our humanity.
During his time as a broadcast writer, Fujii Seido worked on many programs featuring new idols such as Ran Ito Seiko Matsuda, and has since written the scripts for a number of popular radio programs, including Ijuin Hikaru's Oh! Deka Night and Demon Kogure's All Night Nippon, featuring Ucchan Nanchan and Audrey.
In his 2024 book, "Talk Classroom: How 'Interesting Talk' is Born" (Kawade Shobo Shinsha), he wrote about the art of talking from the perspective of someone who has had contact with many talented people, and it attracted a lot of attention. He begins by saying, "When I started working in radio, the first thing my senior told me was, 'There is no 'everyone' in radio.'"
Unlike television, which is watched by families in the living room, radio is a medium that many people listen to alone. Ever since learning this, I have continued to tell my hosts, "Even when you address everyone as 'everyone,' I want you to approach it as if you are speaking to just one 'you'."
"For listeners, it feels like they're always communicating one-on-one. Radio is always in a closed studio space, and it tends to become like "clubroom talk" where people of the same generation get excited. But since they're speaking to hundreds of thousands of people, I want the personalities to have imagination.
For example, on Audrey's show, I don't go into the booth, but I sit in the corner of the studio so that they can see me. This way, they can imagine that there are people older than them on the other side of the radio.
Since the show is mostly male, we've even had female university students come on board as part-timers. If they frown when a dirty joke pops up during the conversation, you can really tell they've gone too far, right? I'm sure there are many times as many unhappy listeners on the other side of them.
Also, comedians who debuted at a young age are always thinking about how to make people laugh, but I tell them to take an interest in what's happening in the world and current affairs. If they don't, as they get older, the gap between them and their listeners, who are gaining more social experience, will only get bigger."
Always more than a double Masayasu Wakabayashi and a strikeout or home run. Toshiaki Kasuga
In 2024, Audrey's All Night Nippon celebrated its 15th anniversary since its first broadcast. In February of that year, they held an event at Tokyo Dome, thrilling approximately 53,000 people, making it the largest comedian event in history. Tickets were hard to come by, and live viewing was also held. The foundation of this overwhelming popularity, unusual for a radio program, was their sincere attitude.
"In 2018, we went on a 10th anniversary tour, visiting Aomori, Aichi, and Fukuoka, and ended with a performance at the Nippon Budokan. I personally think that being able to show that we're thinking about each and every one of our listeners at the time has led to the support we've received so far. Most of our events are held in Tokyo, but as our show is listened to by people all over the country, I think it was a big deal that we were able to clearly convey our feelings on tour."
How does Seido view the communication styles of Audrey's Masayasu Wakabayashi and Toshiaki Kasuga, with whom he has worked for many years?
"To use a baseball analogy, Wakabayashi-san is someone who always hits a double or more, including a home run. He always produces a certain level of quality, and he always puts his own feelings into it. Sometimes the conversation will take a detour into reminiscing, but that's a good part of him, and it shows his humanity.
On the other hand, Kasuga is a strikeout or a home run guy. He talks without being picky and just talks about everything, and while it can sometimes be hard to understand the main points, I think that's what makes him so interesting. In the early days of the show, we had meetings with each of us, but Kasuga is a serious person, so whenever I say something, he takes my advice seriously and reflects it. When that happens, it ends up not being very interesting. That's why I think it's better not to shape Kasuga's talk (laughs).
He's the kind of person who can make people laugh even when he makes a mistake. Yasunao Yoshida of Triple Fire, who I co-host on the podcast "Life is Scary," is the same type. His unique timing is what makes him unique, and even though our dialogue sometimes doesn't quite click, that's what makes him good."
Words alone cannot convey the message. The attitude of trying to communicate is important.
He started his career as a short story writer. He later became responsible for writing scripts for TV dramas and also began working as a television writer. Because of this, he has developed the habit of constructing talk segments for TV programs as if weaving a story. When he was a novice writer, his mentor Shinichi Hoshi, would repeatedly tell him, "Even if you're a baseball player, if you hit .300 you're considered a great hitter, so just write as much as you can."
"Not just in writing, but also in talks and program production, if I can get a clean hit once in three times, that's enough. It's more important to get up to bat a lot than to mass-produce hits. If I try to hit a home run every time, I'll get too scared and won't be able to swing the bat.
For a regular radio show, you don't have to make people laugh every week. Even if you mess up one episode, you can make up for it the following week, and if you can be incredibly funny every once in a while, it's okay to be just average otherwise. For those who feel they're not good at speaking, it's probably a good idea to keep in mind the premise that "basically, what you say doesn't get across." Even if you try to communicate perfectly with just words, it's impossible.
For example, try to explain the shape of a plastic bottle in front of you using only your voice. Even if you add words like, "It's a regular 500ml size, but it's a little thicker, or chunkier...", you still end up leaving about half of what you're trying to say to the listener's imagination, and it doesn't really get the point across. But at least you can tell that you're trying hard to communicate something. If you're not good at speaking, it's okay to speak slowly or chew on your words. I think what's important in a talk is the attitude of trying to communicate, rather than being sure to get the message across."
Fujii Seido's Rules for Creating Comfortable Radio Talk
-Speak to "you" instead of "everyone."
- Don't over-plan the talk and make the most of the speaker's individuality.
- Show that you are trying your best to communicate.
