Now we are ready to start.

Interviewer: I might not know her by name, but chances are you have seen her work. Especially if you look through glossy magazines or watch MTV, at least sometimes. Jane Dickson is a celebrity hairstylist who has worked on some of the biggest names of showbusiness. Hello, Jane.

Jane: Hello!

Interviewer: Jane, are you proud of working with the stars?

Jane: Who wouldn’t? My top list includes Whitney Huston, Regina Kean and others. My work has also appeared in "Vouge", "People" and so on. Whitney is my favorite client. And I’m pleased to know that I’ve prepared her for her most successful comebacks on the stage. The fact is, I am ambitious, and have so many more plans to had.

Interviewer: That sounds very impressive. How long have you been working in the hairfashion industry?

Jane: I’m the ten year veteran of the beauty industry and believe me, it’s glamorous and hard at the same time. My job is a lot like psychologist job. A perfect hairstyle gives a client a sense of balance they desperately need. If you change your hairstyle  — you change your life. I also must provide some ingenuity for a new transformation.

Interviewer: What’s your every days like?

Jane: I teach a lot. I love to mentor a young professionals. As a beauty educator teaching across the country. In addition, I’m a passionate advocate for women’s welfare. Working with varies nonprofit organizations. So, it’s not that I’m like that all the time. In fact, I’d love some more of it.

Interviewer: What’s the most rewarding part of your celebrity hairstylist career?

Jane: The most rewarding part about being a celebrity stylist is bringing out the inner beauty, transforming attitudes and looks. It’s a blessing being able to travel the world and live out my passion. Plus, you get to stay on top of all the latest trends.

Interviewer: I’m sure, listeners would like a piece of advice from you. What styles are in fashion this year?

Jane: Fall is upon us and cool natural colours like various auburns, ambers and chocolate browns are always nice for the winter. And long full-⁠body curls are a great textured look. Styles with flare and color are show-⁠suppers and a great look for a holidays.

Interviewer: One more point: sometimes women look the hair magazines and want to achieve a certain look that are celebrity has, but find that it’s hard to do without extensions. Can you explain why extensions are such a huge part of celebrity looks?

Jane: Extensions accentuate the style, giving it the fullness or extralength necessary to create the desired look. So, celebrities use the extensions for the same reasons any women out there might.

Interviewer: All right. As far as taking care of hair, what are some simple thing anyone can do to pamper her hair on a daily bases?

Jane: I would recommend brushing your hair daily, buying a good daily shampoo and using a silk scarf at bedtime to keep you hair smooth and silky. It will first to both men and women basically. You also shouldn’t expose your hair to rain or smell.

Interviewer: OK. The pro has spoken. Thanks so much, Jane.

Jane: My pleasure.

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Hello everybody and welcome to our program "Five minutes with the star". Today we have a well-⁠known actor Greg Jones. Hello, Greg! So nice to see you today. Thanks for coming.

Greg: Hi everybody! It’s mi pleasure to be here with all of you today.

Presenter: So, your acting career is on another height at the moment. To what do you attribute this?

Greg: I think having a happy home really helps. It took a long time for me to archive that. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself and accomplished things: make money, gain experience. And I wasn’t a proper father and husband when I was younger. I learned a lot from my fallers in the past. Now, with my wife Dina I’ve been able to realize what really matters and devote myself to her and to raising our daughter Merlin.

Presenter: I see. And you keep in close touch with your older children?

Greg: Yes. Actually, Dina is the person who gets everyone together. She doesn’t have any resent of my previous marriage. She got anointment with my first wife and it’s been really wonderful for me to see her be very open and want everybody to appreciate that.

Presenter: Is it tough to raise a young daughter in your 60s?

Greg: Absolutely not! I have more time, I understand more about being a father and watching her grow-⁠up has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. She is an amazing girl. Very bright, very spirited. It’s the first time when I’ve been really able to be a kind of father that I wanted to be, but because of my career ambitions I never allow myself a chance to spent that kind of time with my older children.

Presenter: Speaking about your career, what was your first big ambition?

Greg: Well, when I was younger, I wanted to become a jazz musician, which got somehow sided when I was dropped into the army. After that, it took a long time for me to get any good acting roles until I started to doing westerns. It took many years, even after I became quite famous, for me to understand what I really wanted to do.

Presenter: That’s interesting. And you have any thoughts of retiring?

Greg: Age is just a state of mind. And I’m lucky as retirement isn’t in force for actors and directors. I planed on not working after I was 39. But here I am at 69 and enjoy working on today and I’ve ever done. I think I shall go on while I have all these strength and energy.

Presenter: Do you feel you’ve learned any lessons about life that you would like to share with us?

Greg: Life really goes the way you plan it. There are good things and bad things that happen to you all the time. And you have to be able to admit that, deal with it and move on! When I was younger, I was angry at the world, always full of ambitions, but now, finally, I’ve been able to relax.

Presenter: Ok, and my final question: what do you see as your biggest accomplishment?

Greg: Well, my life now is exactly how I hoped it could be 20 years ago. Lots of things are important: my 4 children, professional success. But I’d say finding a good partner in life is true happiness for me.

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Hello everybody. I’m really happy to greet our new listeners today as well as our faithful audience. We continue to speak about different jobs and right now in our studio we have Nigel our pilot in training. Hello, Nigel!

Nigel: Hi, it’s great to be here.

Presenter: Thank you, Nigel. Well, first I’d like to find out how you keep to be a pilot in training and perhaps you can tell me about what lies ahead for you.

Nigel: Well, I grew up in a poor family in Manchester and I left school early. I wasted years before I realized that flying was what I wanted to do. From that moment and on worked really hard toward the day I would be a real pilot flying domestic routes here in UK. When I achieve that I’ll be happy. I have no real ambition to make transatlantic flights and to fly any big time international roots.

Presenter: I guess, that’s an unusual background for a pilot. So, how did you get started?

Nigel: First I competed my high school education. While I was studying at school and at night I also started learning to fly. I had to work two jobs as well, just to afford it, but I wanted a commercial pilot’s license and I would have run through a brick wall to get there. I had to log 250 hours and all sorts of conditions, learn to do all the maneuvers and then do a written test. I then had to do a flight test.

Presenter: So, if that all you had to do to become a pilot?

Nigel: Oh no, you also need an instrument rating for your air craft type.

Presenter: What is that exactly?

Nigel: An instrument rating is about showing that you can fly by instruments alone. When the weather is really poor and you can’t see a thing. To do this you need to do ground training and then pass another flight test. I’m happy to say that I’ve just got my reading last week. And besides you also have to pass a medical test to show that you are fit to fly. Fortunately I’ve done this successfully too.

Presenter: And what’s left to do before you can fallow your dreams, Nigel?

Nigel: I still need to get experience. First, I’ve mainly flown single engine aircraft while I’ve been learning and I need to get some hours flying mutual engine planes. The days of getting hired just because you’ve got a license a long gone. You know, most successful pilot applicance at major airlines have thousands of hours of fly experience.

Presenter: So, is that just time in the air they want?

Nigel: Oh no, there’s more. Much more. The three main factors are the type of aircraft you flown the amount and complexity of flying you’ve done and which crew position you’ve held. But original or commuter airlines may not need as much. I work for Peanuts that’s what it takes for me to get my first flying job. Of course there is a lot of water to flown under the river before I get there. But I can say my training period has been really exciting, I’ve met lots of different people and learned so much.

Presenter: Well, Nigel. With the determination that you have, I’ve got no doubts, you gonna make it as a pilot. And I bet you end up doing exactly what you planed.

Nigel: Thanks, I hope so.

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Our program about extreme sports is on and today we’re going to learn about scuba diving. Our expert is Barbara Green who owns a diving school.

Barbara: Hello everybody.

Presenter: Barbara, what’s the difference between diving and scuba diving?

Barbara: The word scuba stands for a self contained underwater breathing apparatus. That’s the basic difference. Knowing how to scuba dive opens up an entire underwater world of corral, fish and other creatures. You can even say hello to a shark! That’s a joke though.

Presenter: People say when they trying scuba diving they’ll never forget it. Is that true?

Barbara: Imagine swimming in clear blue waters as you look at brightly colored fish and striking shapes of coral organisms. The underwater world is quite, except the sound of your breathing. Can you ever forget it? Would you like to go back and see it again?

Presenter: I guess, that’s the answer to my question. I heard scuba diving needs a lot of… stuff and can be expensive.

Barbara: Scuba diving requires several pieces of important equipment which can be relatively expensive. Scuba-⁠divers must wear a mask in order to see underwater. Te mask creates an air space that protects the eyes and nose. Divers wears scuba fins on their feet. Without them it’s impossible to move easily and quickly through the water. Any divers also wear a wet suit to stay warm underwater.

Presenter: Is scuba diving dangerous?

Barbara: Basically, no. But the ocean demands respect. Divers wear a BCD or buoyancy control devise to control how much they float or sink. A pressure gage devise tells divers how much air is left in the air tank. Or a dive computer can calculate how much air is left as well as the diver’s depth and the length of time, they can stay underwater. Scuba divers breathe with the regulator which brings air to the mouth when they inhale. The regulator is attached to the air tank that is placed on the diver’s back. There’s also an extra regulator called an octopus. It’s used in case of the emergency situations.

Presenter: I know the compression sickness is a great problem for divers.

Barbara: You are right. It is a major concern for divers. The deeper the diver goes, the more pressure the surrounding water puts on the volume on the air what is inside his or her lungs. And the deeper a dive the more nutrition gas goes into the divers blood.

Presenter: Do you teach it in your school?

Barbara: Of course. To learn how to use all this equipment it helps to go to dive school. Becoming a certified diver requires thee serious of lessons. New divers must learn about the physics and safety of diving. And practice the diving skills first in the closed water area and then in actual beginners dives. Several organizations offer official diving certifications.

Presenter: New people dive alone, far from the instructor?

Barbara: Another important aspect for diving is having a body system. Having a diving partner you can watch one another and help if there is an accident.

Presenter: Any final comment from you?

Barbara: One important diving rule: is to never touch any of the sea life. This rule is to protect both diver and the underwater environment. For example there is a reason fire coral received his name  — he causes a painful burning feeling if touched. The diver can also be cut by touching the sharp pieces of coral. It may seem hard like stone, but it’s actually a very fragile organism. It can be damaged if divers touch or stand on it. To protect the beautiful coral reefs divers must treat them with care. Sorry to say tourists often forget about that.

Presenter: Thank you.

Presenter: Today in our studio we have a Brazilian-⁠born actress Alice Jones, who made her film debut at the age of 18 in the Oscar-⁠nominated "City of God". Good afternoon, Alice!

Alice Jones: Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: Your biggest achievements are connected with Hollywood and even your surname now is English. Do you still have any connections in Brazil?

Alice Jones: Well, my roots certainly remain firmly in Brazil. I own a production company in São Paolo, the city in which I was raised. Many of my family members are in the film and television industry, and my aunt and mother are both actresses there and my sister is a producer.

Presenter: What inspired you to become an actress?

Alice Jones: I can’t say I’ve always been interested in stardom. Once as a teenager I saw a performance at a theatre, and I loved the play. For me, it changed my perspective on acting and theater. I was 14, and I was enchanted; I completely fell in love. Then I finished school in São Paolo and started attending a university for the performing arts. When I got the invitation to come to an audition, I remember exactly when they told me who was going to be in the film. These were the same actors as in that play. I thought it was written in the stars.

Presenter: Are you currently into any project?

Alice Jones: I am. It is based on a novel by a wonderful Spanish writer. I read the book eight years ago. A really good friend of mine gave me the book, and she said, "You need to read this book because it’s a beautiful, strong story about this woman. Maybe she’s a nice character for you to play, so just read it". Years went by, and now they want to make a version of it in Spanish, and I was happy when they called me because I always thought it was such a beautiful character for a woman to play. When they called me, I couldn’t believe that eight years after I read the book and fell in love with the character, they came to me. It was very special.

Presenter: As far as I remember, it’s not the first time you’ve worked on a book you love.

Alice Jones: So true! One of my films, "Blindness", is also based on one of my favourite books, so when they invited me, I had the same feeling. For "Queen of the South", again, my main reason to sign up for it was the character and the book, because that was a role I really wanted to play. So right after I got cast, I went straight to the book and made notes, getting all the little details about what people say about her, who she is, what type of woman she is in the world that she’s born into, how she manages to survive  — all that. I was just trying to honor the book and have a better understanding of it.

Presenter: How do you prepare for your roles?

Alice Jones: I have an acting coach that helps me. He works with me on preparing  — running lines and having ideas and developing different ways of approaching characters. When it’s a story, based on a book, I basically work off the book. The book is my main source of material.

Presenter: I think now you’ve worked more in English than in Portuguese. Is it still difficult for you to work in another language that’s not Portuguese?

Alice Jones: Even now, it’s still a challenge. Because I’m so close to my family and friends and I always speak Portuguese, my heart and mind go to Portuguese. Once I’m on the set, after three or four months doing the series working hard every day and only speaking English, it becomes easier. Your mindset is there and you’re dreaming in English. But it is hard; in a way you keep translating from one language to another.

Presenter: Thank you, Alice.

Interviewer: Hello everyone and welcome to our daily program "Stardom". Today in our studio we have Jessica Summer, a young promising musician. Hello, Jessica.

Jessica: Hello, it's so nice being here, thank you for inviting me.

Interviewer: Your new album has been warmly welcome by the public. Have you got any critical remarks about it?

Jessica: I've got a couple of remarks. They are about me being just another pretty girl singing about love and relationships. I can't say it was a massive take down, but I found it personally offensive. I think the reason that stuck with me was because I found it so frustrating, but actually, that's kind of the only proper negative feedback that I've had. Then, in terms of compliments I just can't really remember them because you always tend to stick a bit more on the negatives, don't you?

Interviewer: Would you consider yourself a self-⁠critical person?

Jessica: Yeah, massively. I'm self-⁠critical, I don't want to show anyone anything until the work is done, I self-⁠edit so harshly at the beginning. I would never let anyone hear something that I wasn't happy with, but then once I've made it I'm also not going to turn around and go. If I'm putting it out, anything creative that I do, I think that it's good, otherwise I wouldn't put it out, but I am self-⁠critical across the board and in other areas of my life, I think.

Interviewer: How fully formed are your songs by the time you bring them to a producer, show someone lyrics or play them for someone?

Jessica: Like completely finished. Lyrics are usually the last things that I would do, so a couple of the lyrics I will be finishing in the studio last minute, because we've got to get the vocals recorded. I sometimes find lyrics quite difficult towards the end, but it's done musically in terms of the structure and terms of the arrangement. So it's awfully formed. I have no one else involved in the writing process. I would hate to feel that I was going into the studio with something wishy-⁠washy and not done. It's because I'm a control freak, so I want to know that everything is sorted and what's going to come out in the end, obviously with a bit of leeway.

Interviewer: What has the experience been like playing these songs live?

Jessica: It's just been really fun! It's the music I always imagined myself playing when I was a kid. It'd be nice to use my instrument a bit more rather than just propping just a whole song with a guitar and my vocals. There is so much more energy in the crowd as well, and it's nice to feel like you're a part of something in a room rather than just performing for a crowd. So I've enjoyed it loads and it's also been an exciting challenge, because recently I have been taking all the material and basically giving it a bit of a second life, and making it sound like it could potentially belong on this record, which has been really fun.

Interviewer: Are there any particular shows that stand out in your mind?

Jessica: On a tour the big London show is always going to be very exciting. A couple of weeks ago I played in London, which is the biggest show I've ever headlined, that was a real moment and it was playing all the new material. It was amazing to see the shift and seeing everyone singing everything back, but there have been smaller shows in my life that made me happy, but bad shows... It's always the support shows, isn't it? It's when you are struggling to fight against the noise of the crowd, that's always quite soul destroying.

Interviewer: Thank you, Jessica. It has been a real pleasure talking with you today.

Interviewer: Hello, everyone, this is your favourite weekly program "Writers". Today we are happy to have here Vanessa Silver, a famous writer who has won numerous awards for her short fiction. Her novels are described as extraordinary, lyrical, moving, yet funny. Hello, Vanessa.

Vanessa: Good afternoon, thank you for inviting me.

Interviewer: I've always wondered to know how people understand they were born to write books. You see, writer is not a common profession. When did you first start writing?

Vanessa: I started writing when I was still a child. I produced a newspaper at the age of six. The first edition was written in blue crayon. I wrote dreadful poetry when I was in my teens. I've still got it and it makes me giggle. I didn't write much apart from comedy, skits and sketches until I started writing fiction properly in late 2002.

Interviewer: How did you go about starting your first novel?

Vanessa: I remember I was once shopping in Brighton during a thunderstorm. I dashed into a bookshop and I picked up a random book. I drove home, sat down with some tea in my wet trousers and I didn't get up again until I had finished it. 400 pages! I have to thank that man so much! That's when I turned from someone who had bought a book to someone who would become a writer. It pushed the switch, it unlocked the feeling of "I want to do this".

Interviewer: Apart from being a writer you are also a lecturer. How did you get into teaching?

Vanessa: I think I found a thing that I loved doing and I wanted to pass on the love of doing it. I'm a totally non-⁠academic tutor, I'm very craft-⁠based and I try to open up creativity in people, literally in every person.

Interviewer: Do you believe everybody has a story to tell?

Vanessa: I think that storytelling is almost innate in us. People sat round fires and caves in the stone age, telling each other stories. I don't think they would have just said "I went off and got a mammoth today". We have an ability to hang on to the important parts and drip-⁠feed people with the important bits. You don't give it up all upfront. You make them wanna know the next bit. Keep them involved by creating the character that draws them in and putting that character in a situation they can empathise with. Make the reader want to find out how they resolve this thing.

Interviewer: What is your advice for writers who are just starting?

Vanessa: Read as much as you can, not just the things you're told to read to parents, tutors and reviewers. Read anything, both good books and bad ones. Whatever genre you wanna work in, you've got to get a sense for when you're improving. Write as much as you can and at some point you will find that the words take on a shape and rhythm of their own. It's almost a physical thing to recognise what it feels like. That moment when you change from being a person in charge of the pen to someone not deliberately creating something. You'll find the point when the character takes off and does their own thing. You need to recognise that and not refuse to let the character do what they want. Don't use the character as the puppet, be a tool to the character, so you're following along behind them. Listen to your own instincts as a writer and then edit. That may mean cutting a huge amount of words or cutting down a story by a third. I think a lot of writers don't do enough, they leave it raw. There is no point in doing things by half.

Interviewer: Thank you, Vanessa, it has been very interesting talking to you.

Vanessa: Thank you.

Interviewer: Hello, everybody. Today we continue our series of radio programs about successful people. How can you become successful in the modern world? Peter Green knows that, he is one of the most successful TV and film script writers in the USA. Hello, Peter!

Peter: Good afternoon! Thank you for inviting me here today.

Interviewer: So, Peter, as far as I know, your parents were not very well off. How did a young kid from Minneapolis end up being scriptwriter and executive producer of Hollywood blockbusters?

Peter: Well, I had an intense desire to be successful, even though, to be honest, I had no idea what any of this entailed. I always had a fascination for movies and television. I was teaching English to junior high school students in Minneapolis and was in my mid-⁠twenties when I decided I wanted to try writing for TV. It was an exciting time for television, Saturday Night Live was the newest show and there seemed to be a lot of opportunities. I was so naive and ignorant. I came to Los Angeles not knowing anyone or anything, never had written anything. I still thought if I didn't do it then I would never have a chance to do it, so I immersed myself in the learning process. I took extension courses, I studied other scripts and just sat down and wrote.

Interviewer: Did it take you long to get noticed?

Peter: In fact, I wrote 25 screenplays before I got my first job. I sent a spec script to Remington Steele. Lots of people say "Don't send spec scripts of the show you want to pitch to", but sometimes it does pay to break the rules. They not only accepted that spec script, they eventually hired me to be on the staff.

Interviewer: Do you remember your first day in a film studio?

Peter: I remember going to the set on my first day, and the crew was readying a huge billboard for an actor to climb up. I turned to him and asked if he was excited to do it, and he replied matter-⁠of-⁠factly "If it's in the script, I'll do it". Then I realised it's in the script because I wrote it that way. It was absolutely thrilling to see and hear that first script come alive on television. Even when it's a last minute change in a script that's requested for the film and we stay up late at night, get it down, send it up to San Francisco, and meet the next evening to watch it on the screen. That level of thrill has never left me.

Interviewer: So you gave up teaching. Do you ever miss the classroom?

Peter: The teaching profession left its mark on me. The staffers call me teacher man, because every single day for the last 15 years, I feel I've been a teacher to staff writers. I'm very good at what I do. Lots of writer producers are just writers with another title, without the necessary management skills it takes to work with writers. Learning how to manage junior high school kids was great training in managing, teaching, inspiring a writing team.

Interviewer: What is your philosophy?

Peter: I believe in raising people up to do the level of work they can do. I feel strongly that the best writing today is on television. We do nearly everything in the house with just a few guest freelancers that we know. It's been very gratifying to give a number of people breaks on the show. I really enjoy my job. TV is a highly collaborative medium. We have six writers on the current show and we team up on every script. It's faster that way, easier to bounce ideas off one another, and that's the way I love to work. Commuting is tough, but for now I can honestly say about my work  — I love it!

Interviewer: Thank you for talking with us today, Peter.

Peter: Thank you!

Interviewer: Hello, everybody. Today we continue our series of radio programs about successful people. How can you become successful in the modern world? Peter Green knows that, he is one of the most successful TV and film script writers in the USA. Hello, Peter!

Peter: Good afternoon! Thank you for inviting me here today.

Interviewer: So, Peter, as far as I know, your parents were not very well off. How did a young kid from Minneapolis end up being scriptwriter and executive producer of Hollywood blockbusters?

Peter: Well, I had an intense desire to be successful, even though, to be honest, I had no idea what any of this entailed. I always had a fascination for movies and television. I was teaching English to junior high school students in Minneapolis and was in my mid-⁠twenties when I decided I wanted to try writing for TV. It was an exciting time for television, Saturday Night Live was the newest show and there seemed to be a lot of opportunities. I was so naive and ignorant. I came to Los Angeles not knowing anyone or anything, never had written anything. I still thought if I didn't do it then I would never have a chance to do it, so I immersed myself in the learning process. I took extension courses, I studied other scripts and just sat down and wrote.

Interviewer: Did it take you long to get noticed?

Peter: In fact, I wrote 25 screenplays before I got my first job. I sent a spec script to Remington Steele. Lots of people say "Don't send spec scripts of the show you want to pitch to", but sometimes it does pay to break the rules. They not only accepted that spec script, they eventually hired me to be on the staff.

Interviewer: Do you remember your first day in a film studio?

Peter: I remember going to the set on my first day, and the crew was readying a huge billboard for an actor to climb up. I turned to him and asked if he was excited to do it, and he replied matter-⁠of-⁠factly "If it's in the script, I'll do it". Then I realised it's in the script because I wrote it that way. It was absolutely thrilling to see and hear that first script come alive on television. Even when it's a last minute change in a script that's requested for the film and we stay up late at night, get it down, send it up to San Francisco, and meet the next evening to watch it on the screen. That level of thrill has never left me.

Interviewer: So you gave up teaching. Do you ever miss the classroom?

Peter: The teaching profession left its mark on me. The staffers call me teacher man, because every single day for the last 15 years, I feel I've been a teacher to staff writers. I'm very good at what I do. Lots of writer producers are just writers with another title, without the necessary management skills it takes to work with writers. Learning how to manage junior high school kids was great training in managing, teaching, inspiring a writing team.

Interviewer: What is your philosophy?

Peter: I believe in raising people up to do the level of work they can do. I feel strongly that the best writing today is on television. We do nearly everything in the house with just a few guest freelancers that we know. It's been very gratifying to give a number of people breaks on the show. I really enjoy my job. TV is a highly collaborative medium. We have six writers on the current show and we team up on every script. It's faster that way, easier to bounce ideas off one another, and that's the way I love to work. Commuting is tough, but for now I can honestly say about my work  — I love it!

Interviewer: Thank you for talking with us today, Peter.

Peter: Thank you!

Interviewer: Good afternoon everybody. Today, in our weekly program " Hollywood secrets" we continue to explore the world of filmmaking. In our studio we have Pamela Smith, who is a world renowned mythologist, speaker, consultant, writer, award winning producer and director with over 30 years of experience on features, TV series, commercials, documentaries, corporate and military films. Her credits and clients include Paramount, Disney and Universal. Hello Pamela.

Pamela Smith: Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me here today.

Interviewer: As far as I know, you have recently published a book "Symbols, images, codes in visual media". There you discuss how powerful the silent form of communication is. Can you tell us about it?

Pamela Smith: Communication is the most important aspect of human interaction and it is accomplished in a number of ways, from utilitarian to artistic. Some of the most primitive yet still most effective modes of communication are visual. In a multicultural global village, we speak hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects with diverse and specific cultural backgrounds. How can we communicate effectively across all of these borders? Symbols and images can help us. That is basically what the book is about.

Interviewer: How can it benefit writers?

Pamela Smith: Because there is no particular rational attachment to them, visuals are a universal language that engages our intuition and imagination. The more consciously you use symbols and images in your stories, the more effective your message will be. Using appropriate visuals will heighten the emotional impact of your story and will connect your audience to the rich stream of meaning that flows through humanity and our arts.

Interviewer: Can you give us a few examples?

Pamela Smith: Let’s see, like how the elements of air can be used in films and their meanings. Air is the very essence of life itself. You can’t see it, but you can see it’s powerful effects. Air is often given godly status. Wind is the messenger of the gods, the random breeze can bring illumination, and the flight of birds spurs inspiration.

Interviewer: So what is your favourite room in the home and outside environment? Then you describe them and tell us why you like them.

Pamela Smith: My office overlooks a Bougainvillea vine, visited by hummingbirds, past the swimming pool and then to a wall of tall trees and flowering plants. Immersed in the bits of buzy Hollywood and the techno world of the web, it is refreshing to look up and out to see peaceful, beautiful nature.

Interviewer: What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?

Pamela Smith: Besides doing consultations and writing on some very interesting client projects, I am also working on two new books about symbols and images. I’ll be speaking about them at the South-⁠West writers conference in September, and I’m also teaching online classes on symbols at some universities.

Interviewer: Can you tell us about The Future of Story conference coming up in Los Angeles on August 27th on what your role there is?

Pamela Smith: The conference explores aspects of the art and business of media making, offering speeches from the authors, writers and filmmakers with many years experience in

Hollywood. I’ll be on the first panel "Developing the story". As a mythologist, I’m pleased to be able to bring the wonderful timeless tools of story to today’s writers and filmmakers. We know they really work because we’re still telling the stories from hundreds of years ago from many different cultures.

Interviewer: Thank you, Pamela.

Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is Dogs Are Our Best Friends. Our guest today is Bentley, a 7-year-old golden retriever, well-known in our town as an "audience dog". Bentley is accompanied by his proud owner Mark Thompson. Good morning, Mark! Great to see you both in our studio today!

Mark: Hello! Great to be here! And thank you for the toy you gave Bentley  — it looks like he's having fun with it!

Presenter: My pleasure! Mark, while Bentley is playing with his new toy, could you tell us what exactly an "audience dog" is?

Mark: Sure! Audience dogs are used in speech therapy and public speaking practice. Some people jokingly call them "public speaking coaches", which is true to some extent.

Presenter: How can a dog help you learn to speak in public?

Mark: Well, as a radio host, you don't stand in front of your listeners, but you still know that thousands are listening to you. Do you remember your first day on the job?

Presenter: Will I ever forget it? I was so nervous, my hands were shaking the whole day! My tongue and lips wouldn't listen to me. It was a disaster.

Mark: Exactly! Public speaking is scary! Even practicing gives some people anxiety, especially if they're practicing in front of a teacher or even a mirror. But with a calm and quiet dog like Bentley as your listener, you feel more comfortable. Dogs create a low-stress environment. They give you a sense of non-judgmental presence that boosts your confidence.

Presenter: Have dogs been doing this for a long time?

Mark: I'm not quite sure. But I do know it began with little kids who had trouble learning to read. Some had emotional or psychological challenges, and reading out loud to dogs helped because they knew the dog wouldn't criticize or judge them if they made mistakes. The dog would simply sit there, listening and wagging its tail. That helped so many kids!

Presenter: How did Bentley become an audience dog?

Mark: We live next to a university, so, every morning Bentley and I jog on the campus grounds. Then, while I stretch, Bentley watches me. One day, a lady approached us asking if Bentley might like to volunteer in their audience dog program. I was curious, and I think, Bentley was too! We tried and loved it! And the students at the university loved it too!

Presenter: So, it's a volunteering program? You don't get anything from it?

Mark: If you mean money  — no, we don't. But students love bringing treats for Bentley. Treats and friends  — that's what he gets! As for me, it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that we are helping. One student had to give a speech in front of four thousand people on graduation day. She was terrified. But after practicing with Bentley, she did it beautifully! I watched the ceremony online and was happy for her. She later told me that during her speech, she just imagined there were four thousand Bentleys listening. That cracked me up! So, yeah, I get lots of laughs, too!

Presenter: That's wonderful! So, can any dog be an audience dog?

Mark: No. Bentley was chosen by the University Business School psychologist  — the lady who approached us first. She had seen us several times while on her way to work and noticed how focused Bentley was watching me do my exercises. Not every dog has that focus. I bet, a chihuahua or Jack Russel wouldn't have a long enough attention span! There's also a certification process. The dogs have to be safe for students. So, they need to obey commands, be calm in different situations, be focused even when there are distractions, and of course fully vaccinated. That sort of thing. (fades out)