by Marika Flatt, Co-Founder, @marikaflatt
These days, even radio programs are online. You can get a pretty good overview of what a radio show does if you visit its website or Google it. Just a few seconds on their site will give you all you need to know to make sure you’re talking about something relevant to the station’s audience. These days, the Internet is your best friend. Here are some additional tips for working with radio:
Guests need to be able to speak at length—and illustrate with real examples/props.
What works best for TV doesn’t necessarily work for radio interviews. There are a lot of guests on a TV segment and it’s moving all the time. “For talk radio, what we do is more about having a guest who can be on topic for an hour. Make sure your source can be available that long and has a real opinion on topical issues,” says a senior producer at Fox News Talk. “Realize we need guests who can tell first-person stories about what’s happening to real people,” she advises. “Your guest needs to be someone who can provide what either the host or callers can’t—that often comes down to offering some context on a larger issue or trend, offering specialized knowledge or proving case studies and real life examples and stories.”
Be a breaking news junkie—have the radio on in the background.
Radio is about being topical and addressing what is happening at that very moment. For example, if you’re an expert on mass shootings like our client John Matthews, national radio wants that person on the show right then to talk about what listeners can do in such a situation.” In addition, sources should be up-to-date on all news and know what is breaking that very second. If you aren’t aware of the moment’s headlines, then you’re going to look bad.
Create vivid word pictures.
“The most impressive migrator is a little tiny bird called the Black Pole Warbler. It weights less than one-half an ounce. You can mail two of these things anywhere in the U.S. for a regular stamp. It’s about four inches and, of course, most of that is feathers,” explained nature expert Scott Wiedensaul. Isn’t that a great description? Both simple and concrete you get a real visceral sense of the size of this bird.
Tell stories, stories, stories.
People remember stories. If there’s one thing and one thing only you learn from being on radio it is to tell stories. Radio is an ideal medium for storytelling. Your listeners are tuned into the purity of your voice. They don’t have any other distraction, hopefully, so they actually focus in on your words, tone and expression. While they hang on every word, they can get hung up on every “uh,” so work to eliminate any non-words from your conversation.
Quote from your book, business, product or cause.
Tag the pages in your book or materials and rank them in priority. Give the audience a tasty bite of what it would be like indulge in the banquet of your services, buy your book or product. Think of it an auditory sample that your audience can take home with them.
Prepare and rehearse 10-30 second responses that include the crucial information you want to impart about the topic of the interview. NOTE: You want to make sure your 10, 20, and 30 second soundbites are not only fascinating but relate to the product or service you’re there to sell. A great story for its own sake is just that.
Be friendly with everyone you come in contact with during your preparation and appearance. The production assistant on one show will probably become the producer of another and looking for people who are easy to work with.
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