Kafui Dey: I believe strongly in learning by doing.

Anyone who’s worked with him agrees he’s a consummate professional who takes his work beyond the call of duty. Whether as a Master of Ceremony, Corporate Trainer, Author, Broadcaster or Lecturer in the universities he teaches, Dey keeps it 200%. Today he’s the published author who runs public speaking courses and teaches Journalism And The Arts; he’s the engaging event host and lead presenter of The Breakfast Show on the nation’s largest network GTV. But before all that, Kafui was a talented keyboards player in Grammy nominee Rocky Dawuni’s college band, a fixture on local media, and the Ghana host of the international game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Nana S. Achampong caught up with the very busy compere to indulge in one of his all-time past times – talking. Following are excerpts.

Nana S. Achampong: How would someone get your special attention?

Kafui Dey: if you want to get my attention, it’s best you call me. I have over 10,000 people on WhatsApp, every one of them sending messages. And so, the best way to get my attention is to just call me.

NSA: How do you push through your worst times?

KD: I generally have a positive outlook, and my mind is very solution-oriented, so I look for how to go about things, what unorthodox means I can use to get the results. I’m not too hung up on any particular way of doing things. Even if it is unorthodox and it works, I will do it. So it’s the positive outlook and the preparedness to look at things from a different angle.

NSA: How did you get to become this formidable at being a Master of Ceremony?

KD: I started when I was a young trainee sales manager with a shipping company. One day my boss got up and said, ‘there’s a corporate event and you are the MC’. Just like that. He dropped me into the ocean and I had to swim. Then I found out that I liked it. But it took some years before I actually monetized it. It took about 16 years of working in the corporate world doing a lot of volunteer stuff for friends and family. And then in 2012, I resigned [from my job] and did it full time. I still work as an MC.

NSA: Can one learn the skills you have through formal education?

KD: You can learn the theory of the skills through formal education, but I believe strongly in learning by doing. If you want to be a speaker, speak; if you want to be a teacher, teach; if you want to be a presenter, present. Now we have all the technology: we Instagram Live, Facebook Live, we have Twitter Live,  and so you can go live with your show out there and have feedback almost immediately, and you can do YouTube and all that. I went to journalism school for my Master’s [degree] and so I know the theories of journalism: but if you want be an interviewer, theory won’t help you much. You must know how to ask questions, how to follow up, and you must learn that from doing it and listening to yourself, recording your performances and watching and seeing how you did.

NSA: What one failure would you say has propelled you to your present status?

KD: I failed my audition at TV3 when they came to town … in the mid-90s. It didn’t hurt too much, but it was refreshing to know that I could actually be what I wanted to be in spite of the audition that I did not pass. So the key is, if you want to do something, nobody should have an opinion on whether you can do it or not. If somebody has been able to do it, you can do it.

NSA: You’ve interviewed hundreds of personalities: what is the surest way to get the best out of any interviewee?

KD: I’ve interviewed thousands on radios and televisions. Over two decades. 25years I could say. Best way to get stuff out of people? The pre- bit is important before they get on air. Do your research. Also, lots of people are not comfortable especially on TV with all the activities in the studio when they enter, so I always make it a point [of making them comfortable]. If they are doing it for the first time, I tell them to ignore everyone in the studio; ‘look at me. It’s just a conversation we are having’.

And I keep the questions brief; I don’t ask two or three questions in a row generally. One sure question, follow up, listen very carefully, and know that people are there to promote themselves so you give them the opportunity to always say something that will promote their cause. I don’t believe in being aggressive and disrespectful. Don’t disrespect your guest: know that it might be the first time for them. If you do these, you will be good.

NSA: Music/Keyboards: Why didn’t you follow it as a career?

KD: I wasn’t 100% laser-focused as my younger brother who has a degree in psychology and English but since he completed in 2004, he’s been full-time on music. He teaches, he records, he performs, he rehearses every single time I go to his house. He is either working on some music or he is listening to some music. So that kind of 100% dedication, I didn’t make the time to do that. If I’d done that, I would be that good. I used to play piano bars and hotels, and I still do sometimes. I’m still involved in the background. I record jingles. I just recorded two jingles for a client in Kumasi.

NSA: Marriage and family life: how do you parent effectively in a household headed by two work-absorbed professionals?

KD: My wife works harder than me. She’s a doctor: the first rheumatologist to be trained and working in Ghana. She’s very busy: her day starts early with the school run and she comes back late. So Sundays really is when we all get to be at home most of the time and hang with the kids. We go to the book shops, stores, movie nights, and when I pick them from school in the evenings, we chat in the car. We try and eat together in the evenings too.

NSA: You’re an ambassador for mental health: what must we do with individuals suffering from mentally illness?

KD: I have relatives who live with mental illness. It’s not easy; it’s very stressful also on the care-givers. We need to be kinder to those suffering from mental illness. The words we have for mental illness in our local languages are not that great: it’s all about madness; they are not positive things. But once we begin to see mental illness as ‘your head hurts’, ‘your leg hurts’, ‘your arm hurts’, ‘your mind hurts’, and we understand that it is something that is treatable, and people who are living with mental health are contributing to society, going to work, paying the taxes, and doing a bit for the country, things will become better. We need to be a bit more kind, and those who are going through it must know that there is help around, and seek help.

NSA: What is the one thing that makes you feel Kafui Dey?

KD: I’m a curious guy. I ask questions. Did you know that?