I’ve always been the person who got no entry for the singing competitions, but the love for words and the art of making others listen to me thrived in me since childhood.
Soon I realised the power a radio set possesses. The little box is adjusted, set up just to listen to the bulletins read by the favourite voices. These voices are not always the most melodious, the speakers are not always singers. All of them prowess few qualities that shine even when one can not see them.
What are the major qualities an employer look for in a Radio Presenter?
There are few essentials compartmentalised into 7 P’s for radio presentation. The basics to getting that job is simply to make sure you possess these qualities.
A perfect Posture. For a radio artist to produce a good voice, one needs to sit in a position comfortable enough to allow good breathing and movement. For instance, you can try, stand up straight, keep shoulders down and relaxed. Positions like such enable the artist to produce a voice without pimples.
Cramped or slouched posture does not generally make for uneasy alertness, says McLeash in 2005.
Next is Projection. It is essentially the amount of vocal energy being used aptly. Differently programs need different levels of energy, to get the desired effects. You can not put in a lot of energy because that might seem like shouting on the microphone. A sports program needs a different amount of vocal energy than a news bulletin.
Pace is the speed at which a word is spoken. A higher rate, speed or rate might cause errors. Make sure your speech is delivered correctly.
Another point is Pitch. Pitch means the rise and fall of tone, the variations of tones while presenting. Many times this variation adds meaning to the expression of words. Pitch is determined by the rate of vibration of the vocal fords, sometimes referred to as the vocal cords; the faster they vibrate the higher the pitch.
The most ignored, yet the most essential are the Pauses. This is what skips the mind everytime. These are suitable silences used intelligently to give a breather, separates ideas and allows understanding to take place.
The words uttered have to be clear and crisp, and for that you need to keep Pronunciation in mind. It is pivotal to take care of the elocution to learn how to pronounce words correctly to avoid misleading the audience.
Last in line is Personality. Radio doesn’t involve visuals, hence the persona of the presenter is communicated through the microphone to the speaker from which the listener hears.
Anybody can become a radio presenter if they possess or are ready to inculcate these points.
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Have a great day and hope to see you at a radio station soon!