When Adrian Chiles first started out as a journalist, he worked in business news. This wasn’t out of choice; it was the only work he could get.

When I first started out as a journalist, I worked in business news. This wasn’t out of choice; it was the only work I could get. I had no real expertise in business or economics, so I had to tailor my approach accordingly. I was blessed with two character traits that served me well. Firstly, I was, and am, curious. If I don’t understand what somebody is banging on about, I ask them to clarify things for me. Secondly, I am unbothered about revealing my ignorance on any subject; I find this the most honest way of going about things.

In those early days I asked a lot of questions. I had to; financial matters seemed terribly complicated. The jargon was bewildering and the journalese we delivered it in didn’t help – you know, the kind of thing where the second time you mention something in a story, some unwritten law has it that you must use a synonym for it. An example: on World Service Business News, every day I told the world that the pound was up/down against the dollar and sterling was up/down against the yen. A listener from a far-off place of which I knew little wrote to me at the BBC. “Please, Mr Adrian, what is difference between sterling and the pound?”

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