How to Be a Great Radio Talk Show Guest
Being a guest on a radio show can be grueling. Depending on your area of expertise, your main job is to cram as much information into the shortest time possible without being excessively general. This is no easy task and often requires a great deal of preparation. Remember, you have been invited on the show because you have a specific area of expertise. Keep your comments and ideas focused on that.
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Instructions
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Talk to the host beforehand. This is crucial. You need to figure out what kind of questions the host will ask. It is equally important that you get a strong feel for the host's personality. Many like to play devil's advocate for the sake of testing your ability and to increase the tension on the show. Other hosts are very laid back and let the guest do the work.
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Get a strong perspective on the biases of the host. As you speak to the person, try to ask some questions that might reveal a personal bias. If you don't get a sense of your host's views on the subject, you might be in for an unexpected battle. You will always be at a disadvantage as a guest, since this is the host's home turf. Chances of you winning an argument here are nil.
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Speak in a conciliatory tone once the show has begun. This is important if you are invited as a guest on a controversial subject, or if the host does not agree with you on the basic issues. Do not raise your voice or get personal with the host or callers. Do not so much argue with the host or callers as lay out your own positive position on the issues. Constantly put out your own views rather than arguing with the views of others.
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Focus your comments on two or three main, general points and do not deviate from them. Callers and hosts, especially those without expertise in your field, will often wander into irrelevant details to camouflage their ignorance. Force them back to your main points.
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Expect the worst from callers. Experienced radio hosts and guests realize that very often, callers have very little to say but only want to get on the radio and hear themselves. Use the caller to springboard into your areas of expertise. Unless you are asked a direct question, treat the caller as audio office furniture. They are there to lend ambiance but are not central to the show. You are. Interpret a caller's comments in the way that is good, evocative or convenient for you, not them. Use them to expand on earlier comments rather than getting off into tangential details.
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Tips & Warnings
Think in bits of information that you punch the audience with. You will not have time to expand on complex points. Radio appearances are, for better or worse, about sound bytes, not complex ideas.
Your job is to be evocative, not provocative. Get people thinking.
Remember that callers represent a small portion of the listening audience. Do not judge the show by its callers.
Do not let callers call the shots. If necessary, ask the host to silence an obnoxious caller so you can respond.
