How to Engage Callers as Radio Host

Being on air on the radio as a host or deejay can be thrilling since it gives you the opportunity to speak to hundreds or even thousands of different people without having to face the fear and anxiety often felt when you get up on stage in front of the same amount of people. If you do serve as a radio host one of your tasks is to interview and talk to people that call in to the radio station and are broadcast live on air. This can be difficult sometimes since some people don’t know what to say, which is why it is important that you know how to engage callers as a radio host.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Make them feel comfortable. You can do this by having a really friendly and upbeat tone of voice when your answer the phone. By greeting them as though they were a long last friend rather than a stranger you were just introduced to you can make them feel welcome and excited to be calling in to the radio station.
2. Ask open-ended questions. When you ask closed questions some people will only give a direct answer and not elaborate more than that, thus creating dead air and leaving you scrambling for the next question. A better thing to do is ask an open ended question that requires more than one word to answer. For example, rather than asking someone if they had a good time at the sponsored event last week, you should ask them what they enjoyed the most and why.
3. Engage people in topics they are familiar with or feel passionate about. For example, if a teacher calls in, you can open the dialogue up by asking questions about her school, what she teaches, her students and more. Chances are she feels passionate about what she is doing and will be more than willing to talk about that subject. Of course it is important that you steer away from some topics that are highly controversial unless it is the main subject of your radio program.
4. Sometimes as a radio host you must engage the caller before they even reach for the phone to call you. This can be done by sometimes playing the devil’s advocate when discussing an issue. People often become passionate about the subject simply because you are disagreeing on the air. While they would have had no reason to call in to your show before now, you have pushed their buttons enough that they will and do. However, it is important that you don’t offend anyone when doing this either.

Tips & Warnings

• You may find it beneficial to keep a list of random questions on or near your workstation in the event a caller is simply not engaging in answering questions or talking on the air at all.

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