The SECOND Step to Effective Hosting: Know Where You’re Going

A few months ago, my biz partner Suzanne shared a great blog post about how to be a better on-air host. You can read it here.

Suzanne’s main point? When you’re behind the microphone, whether it’s for a radio show or a podcast or a television production or ANYTHING involving you and a microphone and some kind of storytelling, “take time for mental preparation. Then rewrite your script or show notes as if you were talking to just one, specific person.”

This is GREAT advice.

As Suzanne pointed out, “When we’re in front of a radio or podcast microphone, I think we often confuse it for a public address microphone. We imagine the total number of people who may be listening to us and we speak to them as if they’re all in a room together…We ask rhetorical questions of a group. We imagine a faceless mob. The experience of a radio or podcast listener is the exact opposite. Usually it’s a solitary activity: one person speaking to you in your earbuds, headphones or speaker.”

So, what ELSE can you do to be a more effective on-air host?

Well, lots of things, of course!

Consider this, though, as your SECOND step to effective hosting: Know where you’re going.

In other words, KNOW what you’re going to say – or at least have an idea of what you want to say for every break or every episode.

Now, if you’re not comfortable scripting your show or your break, that’s fine – you don’t have to. In fact, some people hate scripting out their breaks. I’ve heard “but I don’t sound like myself if I have a script in front of me.” I’ve also heard “a script doesn’t let me improvise – I can’t be creative when I have a script.”

So – if you don’t want to write a full script, don’t. There’s no right or wrong here – it’s really whatever is most comfortable for you.

However, keep this in mind: while you might well be a brilliant improviser, when you’re behind the microphone, your listener is depending on YOU to lead THEM along a path or a journey. Your story or idea might be perfectly clear in your head; that absolutely does not mean your story or idea will be perfectly clear to your listener.

So, how do you know where you’re going? You create a roadmap. (Tip of the cap to Julie Amacher here – she’s the one who shared this idea of a “roadmap.” Thanks Julie!)

To start, spend some time PREPARING for your break or your show or your episode. This might involve weeks of research and preparation, or interviews, or a few hours of online research before a music show. Whatever you’re preparing for, just make sure you ARE carving out time to prepare.

Once you have some idea of the stories you want to share with your listener, it’s time to start getting the ideas down on paper (or computer screen or whatever you like to look at).

Ask yourself these questions:

How does your story start?
Who are the main characters?
What’s the crux of the story – or, what’s the conflict your characters are trying to solve (or the question they’re trying to answer).
What kind of sensory details do you want to include?
And finally, how does your story conclude?

When YOU know the order of your story and when you’re familiar and comfortable with the story you want to tell, your listener will have a much easier time following along.

At its simplest, your roadmap can be a simple checklist. It could look something like this:

1. Beginning
2. Middle
3. End
4. Extra details? Imagery?

(I know that looks a little simplistic – but honestly, that might be all you need. A lot of great on-air people rely on their creativity, on their improvisatory skills, and on spur of the moment creativity. AND all of those skills and all of that talent will be well-served by a plan.)

Now, of course, if you’re a music DJ (which is where I have the most experience), your roadmap might look a little different. You’re likely not telling a story about every piece of music. So in THAT case, what does your roadmap look like?

Well, fortunately…we wrote a blog about that, too. Take a look at “The Anatomy of an On-Air Break” HERE.

Listen, everyone’s “roadmap” will look different (because we’re all different and we all have different ways of thinking about our presence on the air.)

Here’s the takeaway: Have a plan. Prepare in advance of turning the microphone on. Know where your story is going and know what you want your listener to really hear and pay attention to.

When you have a plan, when you know where you’re going, you have the freedom and the flexibility to be as creative as you want to be!