Tweener screener

Have you seen him?   He’s an 11-year-old movie critic, who works as “Lights, Camera, Jackson,” and will knock your socks off.

I caught him on television over the weekend and was floored.  This child was as poised and articulate as any adult I’ve heard interviewed.  Even for a child, he’s animated and expressive.  What he can do with his voice and his face are astonishing.  My first reaction was that, in both manner and appearance, he could be a child Paul Giamatti.

He’s been doing movie reviews since he was seven and aspires to be a TV game show host.

I may be late in discovering this preteen prodigy.  Already, he has won a New York Emmy in the category of On-Camera Talent: Commentator or Editorialist.

There is an age-old debate over whether effective public speakers are born or made.  In my consulting practice, I do a fair amount of speaker training, so I’d like to think it’s the latter.  In reality, the truth is likely somewhere in between.

The speakers I work with are typically subject matter experts.  To know what one is talking about is a good start.  But what makes the subject matter really pop is the delivery which, if it doesn’t come naturally, can be an effort to coax—and coach—out.

I doubt Jackson Murphy has needed much coaching.   When asked what was the first movie he saw, he said Mulan, when he was in his “mother’s womb.”  It is evident this child came into the world hip to the entertainment scene.  He talks about story lines, quality scripts and character development as other 11-year-olds talk about Nintendo.

His delivery is remarkable.  Eye contact, hand gestures, voice inflexion, he’s got it all down.  He says “yes,” rather than “yeah,” and uses neither an “uh” nor an “um.”  He finishes each sentence with a crisp, definitive stop.

Just think what he’ll be able to do once he’s old enough to see an R-rated movie.