Body language expert Judi James has explained how Graham Norton's effortless charm makes A-listers open up on his show, and how anyone can adopt his techniques to become more likeable. Her comments mark the start of the new series of The Graham Norton Show, which began on Friday on BBC One.
Why Graham Norton Stands Out
Judi James, a bestselling author of 26 books who has analysed the behaviour of everyone from Royals to reality stars, says Norton is genuinely unique. “I've worked on a lot of television programmes, and I believe he's genuinely unique. I've never seen anybody as good at it as he is,” she explains.
Unlike many chat show hosts, particularly in the US, who sit behind a desk “as if they’re doing a job interview,” Norton, 63, creates a more relaxed atmosphere. Celebs sit together on his famous red sofa while he encourages them gently from an armchair. “The way that he treats them, I think he makes them feel safe. They know he’s never going to try and score points against them or ask them to do anything that is going to make them look ridiculous,” says Judi.
How to Be More Like Graham
The TV favourite, who rose to fame as Father Noel Furlong on Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, attracts major names, with Tom Hanks making his ninth appearance and Tom Cruise his fourth. Judi offers several tips for learning from the master:
- Have a laugh: “When you get an authentic laugh from somebody, what you want to do is make them do it again,” she says. “It's a kind of psychological thing – like making a baby laugh, you know?”
- Take time to reflect: “Graham uses the reflecting technique,” says Judi. “So if someone says ‘I’ve made 20 movies,’ he’ll say ’20?’ And that just means ‘tell me more.’”
- Make a grand gesture: Graham uses his whole body to show attention, including a “precision pinch” and banter-style “attacks” where he points at people. “It raises the energy and they start to have rapport with each other,” she says.
- Try some old-school etiquette: “He does a very fulsome greeting with his guests – he’ll hug them as though he hasn’t seen them for years. He’s very careful about where people are sitting and what order they’re going to come on in,” says Judi.
- Don’t hog the spotlight: “He’s scrupulous about making sure that everybody gets the same amount of time to talk,” she says.
- Be a good listener: “You see a lot of chat show hosts ask a question, but they don’t build on it,” says Judi. “But he listens and builds from the answer that he gets. And he keeps his questions open, rather than trying to lead people.”
- Don’t rise to bad behaviour: If a guest gets stroppy, Graham never panics. “If you get into the state called ‘critical parent,’ they will go more into the state called ‘rebellious child,’ but he doesn’t allow that to happen,” says Judi.
The Graham Norton Show channel is now streaming 24/7 on Samsung TV Plus. Series 34 is on BBC iPlayer.
