History Main / EarpieceConversation

A person is coached through a conversation by someone else who feeds them with lines they need to repeat. The conversation is often with a [[PlayingCyrano romantic love interest]], interviewer/interrogator, or authority figure, which will have serious implications that are dependent on the character precisely answering with the right phrases.

The lines are usually delivered over a [[HiddenWire hidden earpiece]], connected to a cell phone or walkie-talkie. However, low-tech variations also exist.

Inevitably, the prompter is distracted by something on their end and says something not meant to be repeated, but the clueless person on the other end [[RepeatAfterMe faithfully parrots it anyway]]. Even worse, the phrase will not only be nonsensical, but completely rude or offensive when [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption paired with the context of the remote conversation]]. Alternatively, the connection may go bad, causing the message to become distorted or cut out intermittently, turning what ''would have'' been the correct thing to say ''into'' something rude or offensive; or the earpiece starts picking up signals from another source altogether, and the person starts reciting commercials from the local radio station.

The promptee never seems to consider even for a second that their friend may have been interfered with and that they should disregard their transmissions, as screaming out [[NotInTheFace "OH GOD! NOT THE FACE!"]] might not be the best thing to do while you're trying to impress your dream date in a crowded restaurant. The prompter also never seems to catch on that they are worsening their helpless friend's situation and that they should mute their mic (though admittedly it ''can'' be rather difficult to remember such things when somebody is punching you in the face).

->''"Won't you sing us a lullaby, Mother? No, Dennis, speak with feeling! No, don't repeat that, you idiot!"''

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' episode "The Pink Candidate," Brain coaches Pinky through his presidential campaign speeches this way. While Pinky is holding a press conference, the wireless earpiece fails and starts picking up random transmissions (from an ATM, a drive-thru, a sports announcer, etc.), but by coincidence the answers still please everybody.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' episode "The Pink Candidate," Brain coaches Pinky through his presidential campaign speeches this way. While Pinky is holding a press conference, the wireless earpiece fails and starts picking up other random transmissions (a bank intercom, a drive-thru, a sports announcer), but by coincidence the answers still please everybody.

%%[[folder: Fan Fic]]

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

** For example, in the pilot, Sophie is pretending to work for an African consortium that wants to buy a bunch of airplanes from the mark of the week:
--->'''Sophie''': I represent a group of investors who are looking to start an airline for short tour flights in Africa.\\
'''Dubenich''': Out of Johannesburg?\\
'''Nate''': Okay, he’s testing you. You want Bloemfontein.\\
'''Sophie''': Keep away from the hubs. Revitalize the regional airports. In South Africa Bloemfontein for example. But really it’s Nigeria we’re focused on.\\
'''Nate''': Yeah, perfect.
** See "The Stork Job" for one of many incidents of this leading to hilarity:
--->'''The mark''': Where are you from?\\
'''Nate''': Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta\\
'''[[CloudCuckoolander Parker]]''': Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta.\\
'''Nate''': No, pick one, Parker.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': The episode "The Moose" had Hawkeye playing poker against a soldier who had a Korean woman in subservience. Hawkeye had an earpiece into which Radar would relay what hand the soldier had so Hawkeye could play and wager accordingly.

* Parodied in ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS6E11ModernEspionage Modern Espionage]]" in which the various characters use obvious bluetooth headsets while talking. [[StageWhisper They also encounter the obvious problem of being overheard.]]
* Used in the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo." Sam & Dean are parked in a van outside an office building, using an earpiece to communicate with Charlie as she tries to access Dick's laptop. Charlie, a lesbian, does not feel up to flirting her way past the male guard; Dean feeds her pickup lines to coach her through it. It works, more or less.
* Used in the ''Series/BreakingBad'' episode "Open House". Since Walt and Skyler aren't able to get Bogdan to sell his car wash to them at the price they want to buy at, they have Saul send his henchman Patrick Kuby posing as an environmental inspector, with Kuby naturally wearing an earpiece through which Skyler feeds him lines.
* Several instances in ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', given that [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Harold Finch]] usually communicates with John Reese via a hidden earpiece, often feeding him information while Reese is giving some cover story (including a PlayingCyrano scene in "Bury the Lede"). In "Prisoners Dilemma", Reese is being interrogated by [[FriendOnTheForce Detective Carter]], who is wearing an earpiece so [[InspectorJavert FBI agent Donnelly]] can feed her the questions he wants answered. Finch secretly hacks into the earpiece so he can also talk to Carter whilst providing a fake background on the internet that matches Reese's answers.
** The Machine and Root pull off a couple of time-delayed versions in "Mors Praematura" thanks to PrescienceByAnalysis, providing Shaw with the correct responses before the relevant conversations have even begun.
* Parodied by Jon Stewart on ''[[Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart The Daily Show]]'':
-->''(holding one hand to an ear) I'm being told... I'm being told I'm not wearing an earpiece.''

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* This is how [[TheDitz Dennis]] is given his lines in ''Theatre/PeterPanGoesWrong'' (albeit with a large radio headset), as he can't remember them well enough on his own. Unfortunately, he ends up repeating everything that his headset plays back, including FM stations, police radios, and the prompter berating him for doing so.

* ''WesternAnimation/SixTeen'': Catelyn did this once.

[[folder:Puppet Show]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongeBob SquarePants}}'' Patrick coaches [=SpongeBob=] through his boating test by a walkie-talkie hidden under a cowboy hat. Mrs. Puff compliments [=SpongeBob=] on his improvement, joking that it's as if someone were telling him all the answers. But when she mentions that that would be cheating, [=SpongeBob=] freaks out and confesses... and crashes the boat, failing the test once again.

->''"Won't you sing us a lullaby, Mother? No, Dennis, speak with feeling! No, [[StopCopyingMe don't repeat that, you idiot!]]"''

* On one episode of ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' with guest star Cindy Crawford, mumbling security guard Bobo the Bear develops a crush on her. Rizzo the Rat tries to help Bobo by hooking him up with an earpiece so he can feed him the lines to say to Cindy. Unfortunately, at that moment, Rizzo's niece and nephew walk in with balloons they got from the fair, leading Bobo to hear and repeat: [[{{Double Entendre}} "Hey, that's a nice set of balloons you got there. Maybe you'll let me play with them later."]], followed by getting PunchedAcrossTheRoom.
-->'''Bobo''': ''(Head sticking through door)'' I wasn't supposed to say that one, was I?

* A variant in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' has two British Secret Service agents communicating over earpieces while on a mission. Bond has to remind the younger agent not to put his finger in his ear while using the earpiece, a nervous tic which of course gives the younger agent away and spooks the guy they're tailing.
** This gets a CallBack in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', when Bond reminds Eve to keep her finger out of her ear just as they split up on a mission.

--->''(holding one hand to an ear) I'm being told... I'm being told I'm not wearing an earpiece.''

* In the movie ''Film/{{Roxanne}}'' (basically a remake of ''Cyrano De Bergerac''), Charlie (Steve Martin) talks to Roxanne (Daryl Hannah) through the [[TheDitz ditzy]] Chris, who is wearing a goofy hat to hide the earpiece. They're using a radio on the Fire Department network, so it ends up like this:

** This gets a CallBack in ''Film/SkyFall'', when Bond reminds Eve to keep her finger out of her ear just as they split up on a mission.

--->'''TheMark''': Where are you from?\\

'''[[CloudCuckoolander Parker]]''': [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta.]]\\

* On one episode of ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' with guest star Cindy Crawford, mumbling security guard Bobo the Bear develops a crush on her. The others hook him up an earpiece so that Rizzo the Rat can feed him lines to say to her, only for Rizzo's niece and nephew walk in with balloons they got from the fair, leading Bobo to hear and repeat: [[{{Double Entendre}} "Hey, that's a nice set of balloons you got there. Maybe you'll let me play with them later."]], followed by getting PunchedAcrossTheRoom.

* On one episode of ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' with guest star Cindy Crawford, mumbling security guard Bobo the Bear develops a crush on her. They hook him up an earpiece so that Rizzo the Rat can feed him the lines, but Rizzo's niece and nephew walk in with balloons they got from the fair, leading Bobo to hear and repeat: [[{{Double Entendre}} "Hey, that's a nice set of balloons you got there. Maybe you'll let me play with them later."]], followed by getting PunchedAcrossTheRoom.
-->'''Bobo''': I wasn't supposed to say that one, was I?

* On one episode of ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' with guest star Cindy Crawford, mumbling security guard Bobo the Bear develops a crush on her. They hook him up an earpiece so that Rizzo the Rat can feed him the lines, but Rizzo's niece and nephew walk in with balloons they got from the fair, leading Bobo to hear and repeat: [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar "Hey, that's a nice set of balloons you got there. Maybe you'll let me play with them later."]], followed by getting PunchedAcrossTheRoom.