Live interview on BBC Radio Solent

After posting about speaking to so many clubs and societies in recent months, I can now tell you about a different kind of engagement which I accepted last week: a live interview on a BBC local radio station.

This is an important topic so I am going to write about it in several posts, starting with my previous radio experiences and then how I prepared for this latest interview. Finally, I will tell you how the broadcast went.

Over the years, I have been featured on the radio a number of times:

(1). 1993: 2CR FM. A 15-second sound bite for a minute-long feature about turning a hobby (i.e. writing) into a business. This was years before I enrolled in an evening class in public speaking and even though the piece was pre-recorded, I was still so nervous in those days that my voice was quavering!

(2), (3). 1994: Radio Bedside. I was a guest twice on two-hour shows broadcast live to six hospitals in the Bournemouth area and presented by a local comedian/speaker. In between the records he played, we chatted about comedy and I found these shows easier, perhaps because I knew the presenter a little or maybe just because I assumed that the unseen audience would be fairly small.

After I had completed the evening class in 1995 and passed my LAMDA Bronze Medal with Honours, I made a number of further radio appearances, starting two months later with...

(4). 1996: The (BBC) Radio 2 Arts Programme. This was pre-recorded for national radio at the old Poole Arts Centre (now the Poole Lighthouse) in front of an audience of around 600. I was asked to do a short stand-up spot before being interviewed along with the organiser of the venue's comedy club by George Melly. As I have mentioned before, the fact that I was able to tackle an engagement like this without getting terribly nervous demonstrates just how effective regular practice in a supportive environment such as an adult education class can be.

(5). 1996: BBC Radio Solent. A live interview at the Bournemouth International Centre about speechwriting and political speeches. The venue was being prepared for the Conservative Party Conference the following week and the interviewer and myself had to contend with the sound of hammering nearby!

(6). 1997: BBC Radio Solent. A live interview with my mother and myself at Solent's studios in Southampton to promote a literary event we were putting on in Corfe Castle. We not only answered questions but also gave readings of some of the material we would be performing.

(7). 1999: BBC Radio Solent. A pre-recorded interview by phone from the BBC studio at the Bournemouth International Centre. The topic this time was speechwriting and coaching for speakers at weddings.

(8). 1999: Wave 105. A pre-recorded interview with this very popular commercial station based in Fareham. The subject was wedding speeches again and this telephone interview was recorded using the facilities for the radio production course at Bournemouth University. I was recovering from chickenpox and trying not to wheeze into the microphone. On the day the interview was meant to be broadcast, Sir Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, passed away and, due to his local connection, the whole programme was (quite rightly) devoted to him but a couple of weeks later, I had to phone the presenter and gently remind him that he still hadn't used my interview! When it was finally broadcast, it brought in a decent amount of work.

(9). 2002: BBC Wiltshire Sound. A live interview by phone from the BBC studio at the Bournemouth International Centre to publicise my new leaflet of 'Tips for Terrified Speakers!' but due to some technical difficulties, a planned 10-minute piece ended up being about half that length.

(10). 2003: Vale FM. I gave this pre-recorded interview within a few minutes of stepping off a coach in Mere, Wiltshire, where I was booked to give two talks at their very successful literary festival. The organiser led me to a cafe where a reporter asked us both about the forthcoming events. I remember there being a great deal of background noise from other customers, many with young children, and from the cafe generally.

Numbers (1), (6), (7), (8) and (9) were secured by me through press releases.

(2) and (3) were invitations from a presenter who I already knew.

I was asked to do (4) by the organiser of the comedy club where I had performed on just one occasion.

Number (5) I got on a recommendation from my one-time agent after the BBC phoned him up looking for someone with knowledge of speeches.

(10) was a request from the organiser of the festival where I was speaking.

So, as you can see, these ten radio appearances came about through self-promotion, networking or as a by-product of other speaking engagements. (Nowadays, I have a higher profile thanks to this website and blog and also the fortnightly humorous column I write for the Radio Magazine so this is also likely to lead to invitations from radio programmes).

Public Speaking Tip #124: Once you start conquering your nerves and get used to public speaking on a regular basis, you will discover that there is really very little difference between speaking to a medium-sized audience in a hall and broadcasting to a six-figure listenership on the radio.

Public Speaking Tip #125: You don't have to wait for radio stations to come to you if you feel that you have something to say which will be of interest to their listeners- you can approach them, for example, through a well-written press release.

Your contacts and even your speaking engagements themselves could also lead to occasional radio appearances.

Public Speaking Tip #126: You should seriously consider any opportunity to speak on a radio programme because:

- It is a great challenge for a speaker - especially a live broadcast. Tackling it will give your confidence an enormous boost;

- You can learn a lot from the techniques employed by a good radio presenter;

- It will provide useful experience in getting your message across without the assistance of visual aids, gestures, facial expressions, etc.; your voice has to do the work for you. Of course, you also have to meet the challenge of being  unable to see the expressions and body language of your audience;

- It will give you some great practice in impromptu speaking and handling questions as you will not usually be told exactly what the interviewer is likely to ask;

- Your message can reach a much wider audience in minutes, even if you only have a fraction of the time you would normally have at other speaking engagements. Let's say you give presentations for a charity which you are involved with. You can speak about it in hotels, halls, community centres, etc, for 40 minutes to 50 people at a time - or you can discuss it for 10 minutes on a radio programme and perhaps reach 100,000 or more!

- The interview may provide a useful insight, amusing anecdote, etc, which you could use the next time you speak.

- 'As featured on...' lends weight to your CV/publicity materials or to introductions at your next speaking engagements.

The message asking if I was available to go on the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Solent to talk about comedy was left on the Thursday afternoon that I was delivering the Harman's Cross Village Club talk. By radio standards, this was giving me quite a long time to prepare!

Public Speaking Tip #127: Radio stations tend to ask for interviews at pretty short notice. If the subject matter is something in the news, this can be less than 24 hours as they try to beat other local media in covering it.

As soon as I had finished at Harman's Cross, I left a message for Lewis, the producer from Radio Solent, to say that I would be available.He returned my call the following afternoon and it was agreed that I would travel to the BBC studios in Southampton for a live interview about comedy and some of the 'rules' associated with it, timing, after dinner speaking, etc, with Alina Jenkins who was standing in for the usual presenter of the Sunday morning show, comedian Mike Osman.I suggested including a short, non-controversial monologue of topical gags and Lewis thought this was a good idea. He said the interview would start at around 10.10 and finish at 10.35 so I should be at the studios just after 10.

Public Speaking Tip #128: In my experience, there is very little hanging around before a radio interview so you have to turn up prepared to go on air almost immediately!

So, having committed to this particular speaking engagement, I set about preparing for it. I'll tell you exactly how I did that in my next posting...