LIFE LESSONS
TV and radio presenter Evan Davis
Evan Davis has come a long way since he began working as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the late 1980s. After covering economics for the BBC in the 1990s, he went on to host the hugely popular Dragon’s Den from 2005, then replaced Jeremy Paxman on the BBC’s premier current affairs show Newsnight in 2014. Last year, he took over hosting duties on BBC Radio 4’ s PM programme. He was the host of the first Attitude Awards and in 2015 was named our Man of the Year.
MY HAPPY PLACE IS THE ALPS. WE LOVE HOLIDAYS THERE: IN ITALY, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA AND GERMANY. THIS YEAR WE DROVE TO SALZBURG AND WALKED THE DOG UP A HILL TO THE EXACT SPOT WHERE JULIE ANDREWS TEACHES THE KIDS TO SING DO- RE- MI IN THE SOUND OF MUSIC. DOUBLE HAPPINESS
The best advice I have been given is to ignore abuse, particularly on social media. The only negative comments you have to worry about are the ones that are true
The greatest life lesson I have learned is to never assume other people are rational. It turns out they are as muddled as you are, navigating their way through the fog of life as best they can
I de- escalate conflict of any kind by being surprisingly nice to my foes
WHEN INTERVIEWS ARE NOT GOING WELL, I RESCUE THEM BY TAKING A MENTAL PAUSE, THEN TRYING TO ARTICULATE WHAT IS GOING WRONG TO BOTH THE INTERVIEWEE AND TO THE AUDIENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, SAYING SOMETHING SUCH AS, “I THINK YOU ARE RELUCTANT TO ANSWER MY QUESTION, IS THAT BECAUSE YOU FEEL IT IS UNFAIR?”
Always remember to take the blame and share the credit, when you actually deserve them. If you be generous to others in this way, you will ultimately be rewarded. Alas, I often fail to heed this lesson
My 2014 Newsnight interview with Russell Brand was the most difficult. I think it’s still available on YouTube. I tried ( unsuccessfully) to get him to comment on a graph
My greatest achievement has been presenting quite complicated matters of economics on TV and radio in a broadly comprehensible way for several years
MY GREATEST REGRET WAS TAKING SO LONG TO COME OUT TO MY PARENTS, COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS. IN REALITY, I HAD NOTHING TO FEAR BUT I’D BUILT UP HUGE MENTAL BARRIERS TO BEING OPEN ABOUT BEING GAY UNTIL I WAS IN MY MID- TWENTIES
People should follow business news because all life is there: genius, insanity, vanity, humility, recklessness and caution, success and failure. And on top of the good stories, think about what business produces: not just the IKEA table, but the tool that makes the table, the machine that makes the tool, the screwdriver that helps make the machine...
Being the civil partner of a French man has taught me many things. Among them, the value of eating more slowly and appreciatively
BACK IN THE REFERENDUM, I WISH I’D ASKED ANYONE ABOUT HOW THE IRISH BORDER WOULD WORK POST- BREXIT. WE DID DISCUSS IRELAND BACK THEN, BUT NOT THE TECHNICALITIES OF AVOIDING A PHYSICAL FRONTIER I think it made sense for the BBC to appoint an LGBT correspondent. There’s a whole agenda around identity politics and respect for traditionally excluded communities that needs covering. But I don’t envy Ben Hunte having to create a distinctively BBC take on that role from scratch I FOUND PRESENTING THE FIRST ATTITUDE AWARDS PRETTY DAUNTING. I’M A RADIO 4 KIND OF GUY, WHILE THAT NIGHT IS FULL- ON, PROPER SHOWBIZ. BUT IT’S FABULOUS TO KNOW THE TWO WORLDS CAN SOMETIMES MIX