Dragons, Darlings, and Dignity…for a Refreshing Reality TV Change

Dragons, Darlings, and Dignity…for a Refreshing Reality TV Change by Roxanne McDonald

A most engaging and charming reality TV experience is “Dragons’ Den”

I started singing the praises of “Dragons’ Den” the other day, when the first installments aired on FOX Reality TV. I didn’t sing loudly enough.

But first, let me preface this next discussion by saying that I am a writer with one-woman “business” goals–I really just want to write and be paid enough to survive, but I must conduct business as any product pusher might. So in this surreal (to me) sense, I am a businessperson, though I have a visceral aversion for selling, promotion, and all the details that mandate a successful “business”. [Tough sh*t, say the successful writers: you have to sell

yourself… constantly and consistently.] Like the presenters to the dragons who get unnerved, hyperventilate, and even cry on the spot, I get the heebie jeebies trying to boast my talents/services and thereby boost my income.
I have done the public speaking thing many times and with much healthy regard/response (as I was lucky to be a good teacher with a massive following), but on several other occasions have presented with hair and clothes flying, notes and books falling, my frustration coming through in flailing and swearing, and a general reception of looks of absolute horror on the faces of the panel or audience receiving me. I hate to brag as it were, saying “look how great I am” or “look at how many awards and accolades I have earned/collected….”

My philosophy maintains that if you are good, you will get repeat business: and I live on the clients who come back for more of my help, support, and, well, product. But this “build it and they will come” misjudgment works only for a few and only in certain milieux. But to win continued support, a writer or any artistic talent must “sell”—unless he is J.D. Salinger or she is Greta Garbo.

So “Dragons’ Den” shows us how to get through such necessary encounters. “Dragons’ Den” teaches tiny businesspersons like me so so much–about business models, entrepreneurial acumen, and, especially, nobility of character. That is, while the presenters to the dragons have talent and the occasional promise of marketability of a product or service, the dragons offer lessons in salespersonship which they deliver with such confident and kind words and smiles that they represent the refinement the presenters can only hope to aspire to.

Role models, the dragons pay attention to the presenters. They respect the person pitching regardless of how kooky or careless the person presenting may be. They smile. They offer advice and ask interested questions. Oh, sure, on occasion they roll their eyes, snicker, or get frustrated—having to deal with, say, the woman wanting 150,000 pounds who cannot account for the proceeds from her last year in business: when Rachel Elnaugh asks the presenter where the sales went, re-invested or distributed, etc., the woman says she has no idea and wishes she knew. Yet Rachel doesn’t humiliate or denigrate but only explains that she could not possibly invest 150,000 pounds when in another year they would be asking the same thing, asking where the money went….

The dragons also give credit where credit’s due, and acknowledge the presenters’ skills—where applicable. One young man, for instance, has a great product and a problem marketing (and justifying his numbers), but when Doug Richard asks about revenue and projected profits or something, and the guy answers knowledgeably, Doug notes that his answer is a great one.

And the dragons explain their interest, their motivation, and their processes: they discuss with the presenters how they assess the product as well as the presenter. They have clear reasons (and reasoning, of course) for their yay or nay decisions. And they sit serious and smiling at the same

time, leaving the showmanship— despite the presence of the cameras—to the more rambunctious reality TV shows.

“Dragons’ Den” is right on without being righteous, smart without bringing in smarmy, and cultured without resorting to crummy slam tactics.

The only thing crummy about this show is the occasional appearance of the piles of pounds, which in most episodes are stacked pristinely and promisingly but in a couple of episodes appear all riffled through and ragged. LOL. Though there is nothing ratty or ragged about the brilliant concept and execution of a demonstrably dignified process.

Makes scaredy cat salespersons like myself have faith that there are (like my clients are currently) respectable and respectful investors available to respectful and respected talents.

“Dragons’ Den” appears on FOX Reality TV these days (Jan 2007), and will show in marathon-style on Saturday, January 6. I hope everyone gets a chance to watch at least one episode. It will change your life…or at least your way of seeing and conducting “business”.

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