(AP Photo/Science Museum)
You wouldn't think being a talk radio show host would be all that tough -- just read a few newspapers, magazine and Web articles others have slaved to produce and then riff about them.But here's the hard part. It's just you, your voice and the microphone. You are giving a monologue in an empty studio. You can't see your audience or sense their engagement. It felt like being locked in a sensory-deprivation chamber. Time seemed to slow, the awful way it does during a car accident.
Man, I feel his pain. And then some. As an occasional guest-host of the "Kojo Nnamdi Show" on Washington, DC's NPR affiliate -- most recently, last week -- I can vouch for Lobdell's experience. Hosting a radio show is a thrill, but it's a little more involved than you may think while listening.Here's what's going on in a radio studio that you don't hear:
The clock. The clock rules all. It's a bit different on NPR, where the breaks are more flexible, but you always have to know what time it is and roughly how much time you can budget for. And the commercial breaks where the clock actually counts you down to the moment? Do you know how many words you can say in 12 sec-- Exactly. The calls. You keep your eyes on the call screen -- a computer monitor with a list of names, places, factoids. You see where they're calling from and what they want to talk about. Does their exact question fit in with where you are in the conversation? Does it restate a point that's already been made? The e-mails. E-mails are coming in all the time. You read/skim them (while paying attention to the guest/caller) and try to figure out if/where to place them in the broadcast. Your notes. Okay, let's be honest here: The Producer's notes. They're a step-by-step summation of the guest's book or the issue you're discussing. And they're like oxygen. You can't do anything without them. Find the questions that are most appropriate for each given point in the show. The booth. Whether it's your producer piping up with suggestions – roughly the media equivalent of an air traffic controller, trying to make sure you don't crash and burn – or the board operator reminding you of time limits, you've got a few extra voices in your head that you're not used to.Aside from that?
The guest. Or guests. With the other things going on, you've got to make sure the guest knows you're paying attention all the time. You've got to be engaged. You've got to be ready to ask follow-up questions. If there's more than one guest, you've got to be a little bit of a traffic cop. And if one or more of the guests are joining you via phone, you must keep them involved in the discussion. The listeners. The conversation can't sound labored. It needs to feel like a chat at a coffee shop.Then after all that ... There's You, the host. What should you say? How should you sound? How fast or slow should you talk? How much should you jump in, and how much should you lay off? Oh, and remember those words that you really should avoid.
So yeah, that's it. If you can walk and chew gum, you're golden. Oh, and while you're walking and chewing gum, can you do a crossword, talk to two or three people, listen to the radio and read a textbook? Great.