1) My heart broke for a lovely young man who was obviously very bright, but he left with $1,000 because he didn't talk himself through the question: How long does an Olympics typically last? He jumped on C) One month and seemed thoroughly sure. I knew it was B) Two weeks, but started doubting myself because he seemed so sure...and he said "Final answer" much too soon.
Read the question word for word. Consider each choice, even if some of them look improbable at first. Always pause and take a breath or two to make sure that answer resonates within you as the right one before popping out "Final answer." Even if it's a $2,000 "easy" question--you just might be reading it wrong or jumping to conclusions. Talk yourself through each answer choice aloud (I never cared if my vamping looked stupid--the point was to be absolutely certain...and they edit out most of it anyway...)
For this one, I just "knew" it was two weeks: I could taste the layout of the TV Guide schedule from a few years ago when I saw it in print...and I got a brick red sort of impression, which told me that the Beijing Olympics last year took up about two weeks of my time--that's synesthesia for you...
2) The next guy used a lifeline on a $4,000 question when he probably shouldn't have, although I always tell people to use them when they need them--but only when they're *sure* they need them...Which country uses the phrase "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" on its euro currency? Two of the choices were not French-speaking nations, so for a question that low, they are out of the running...we were left with France and Belgium. The phrase should resonate because of French history, but if it doesn't at all, a better choice might have been the Ask the Audience or Double Dip lifeline instead of wasting Ask the Expert (if you saw me do Ask the Expert, you know I can only dream of being called in for such a simple question... ;) Lesson: Choose when to use a lifeline very carefully, and choose WHICH lifeline to use very carefully, based on the level of the question and how likely you might be to need it later: Look at the categories coming up...
This same lovely guy--a comedian by trade--has medicine as a hobby, so he knew that the anterior cruciate ligament was in the knee. However, it was a lower level question, so there were references within it that could come in handy: In 2008, Tiger Woods had surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament, which is located where?
If you study for your quiz show as I recommend, you'll be regularly skimming things like USA Today, People Magazine, Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly...these are prime sources. And time them. I've noticed that Millionaire often uses events in politics or pop culture that happened in one year for shows that will broadcast in the following year. If you know your tape date, figure on a scheduled broadcast date a few weeks or months later, assume that the questions are being written at least a little bit in advance (breaking news the week before your tape date is VERY unlikely to be used--I've certainly never seen it) and gather up issues of these magazines from your friendly public library (including their year-end compilations) for one to two years prior. Skim over the stories looking for unequivocal, solid factoids using persons, places and things: A celebrity like Tiger Woods is injured and has surgery; a major sports tournament is held and you see winners and notable things that happened with losers; a famous couple splits; an unusual thing happens, such as pandas visiting the U.S. from China; someone famous blurts out something particularly humorous or obnoxious; you see a list of best or worst dressed celebs; a new kind of car enters the market. Jot down quick reminders in a notebook--I've found that the act of writing them down helps. Just don't spend too much time on them--the chances of any of these particular factoids being among the questions you get is slim. The idea is to pack in as many quick bits of info you can, as systematically as you can, so that if you do get one you'll recognize it, and also to help you get familiar enough with stuff so that you can actually eliminate wrong answer choices...
No comments:
Post a Comment