BBC Radio 4's Any Questions

Leading UK political blogger Iain Dale has published a fascinating post about his appearance last night on a live broadcast of the long-running BBC Radio 4 panel discussion Any Questions.

He mentions how he was uncharacteristically nervous in the week leading up to the recording and that although he feels that he often performs better without preparation, he had done a great deal of study of the week's papers in anticipation of questions on a number of major topics (the 'revision' for a media appearance that I wrote about here).

His post goes through the whole process: the pre-recording dinner with the host, the warm-up question and, of course, the broadcast itself:  what questions came up, where he clashed with a fellow panelist, audience reaction, etc.

This is very interesting reading for anyone who has ever wondered about how this type of political debate programme is put together.

Ian's post concludes by analysing his feelings on the way home:

'Much of the journey was spent thinking about how I could have done better, but also wondering if I had hogged it a bit. Sometimes saying less is more. Hopefully I did well enough to be invited back. Time will tell!'

Public Speaking Tip #234: However well a speaker performs, we always agonize afterwards over how we could have made things perfect, don't we? It's human nature. It's also how we consistently improve.