The sound of your voice is can matter a lot or hardly at all. It can be a plus, or neutral, but if you get feedback that your voice is irritating in some way, you will need to address the issue. Remember as the interviewer you should be striving to stay below the radar of the audience in terms of being noticed and your voice can help or hurt this effort.
The sound of your voice can be broken down into a number of factors. One of the most noticeable aspects of your voice is your accent. As a general rule the less of a noticeable accent you have the better off you will be. What is referred to, as the General American accent is what should be strived for. You will hear this accent used by most of the anchors on network TV plus many of the most prominent people in broadcast. In cases where the host’s personality or persona is a driving part of the show, their accent could reinforce their image. In cases where the host’s persona is not a main feature of the show a noticeable accent could be a distraction. Having a noticeable accent could hurt your chances of moving to another show even if it is OK on your current show. Let’s face it, most people in the broadcast industry will be changing their jobs a number of times during their career, and anything you can do to make it easier to move to another position will be in your self interest. So a regional dialect may not be noticeable in that region, but would be a drawback to moving to a spot in another region.
I recommend that you take courses in diction, breathing, voice acting and other related courses. These are generally available at acting schools but may also may be found at schools that train voice over people (voice actors), of lesser value but still useful if these other options are not available would be training by a singing coach or a vocal coach.
Please let me know what you think.
On some shows having perfect teeth, great hair, and good looks is mandatory, on other shows content is king and the physical characteristics are not that important. Being handsome or beautiful seems to fit with entertainment shows where celebrities are interviewed. One the other hand celebrities are interviewed regularly on late night or talk shows in which the host is not particularly attractive from a physical standpoint. The decision seems to rest with the look a particular show is going for.
Also matching the age range of the target audience is usually a requirement. Youth shows generally have younger hosts, whereas traditional news oriented interview shows have hosts that are older. This also reflects the age range of the target audience. At this point in time opportunities for TV hosts start to drop off for men and women, once they reach approximately 40 years old with the trend moving to even younger cutoffs.
So what can you do about this, how much can you control your looks? Quite a bit actually, if you are willing to invest effort and money to achieve it and take the risks involved. Hair coloring and hairpieces are a start if you are fighting an older look. We know diet and exercise can help give most of us a more attractive body, which could move you in the more attractive direction. Further up the line is cosmetic dentistry and surgery. Having beautiful straight, white teeth appears to be within reach of most people having the will and ability to pay for it. Also cosmetic surgery has done wonders for the appearance of some people in the media. At this point there are real risks involved in pursuing cosmetic surgery and it is not something to taken lightly no matter what the ultimate payoff
It has been said that you can never be too rich or too good looking and as a rule I agree with it, but as far as you looks affecting your TV career I honestly cannot form a ridged opinion on it.
What do you think?
Closely tied into the need to be curious, is the need to be a good listener. No make that be a GREAT listener. Good isn’t enough if you want to conduct knockout broadcast interviews. Listening carefully to what the guest says can make you and not listening to what the guest says can break you. You asked a question and have a certain range of expectations regarding the response. You have to know which of the answer options was given or if the response was something unexpected. Whatever the response was it will probably affect the next question and perhaps the rest of the interview. Did the guest try to kick the question back to you, did the guest not answer the question correctly, is there some new information that should be pursued? Only by careful listening can you react the answer and keep the interview on track. The audience is listening even if you aren’t and will know right away if you are not paying attention. Your career can come to a halt if you get a reputation for not listening, as the audience hates it, guest hate it and so will your management. At best you can be embarrassed by not listening, at worst you will lose your job. On the positive side, listening allows you to keep your audience with you; they will see the spontaneity, the flexibility to follow a new tangent and the true interest that you are reflecting in being a good listener.
Being a good listener is something that can be learned but it is harder than it sounds. In today’s fast paced world with short attention spans the norm, many of us are “listening challenged”. As with many things, the key to good listening starts with the intention to listen, the desire to hear what is being said, and the will to truly “get it”. Start by making an effort to truly listen to the things coming at you. Concentrate on them and try to understand them. It helps to keep a mental running summary of what the content is and then to paraphrase or summarize it at the end. You can make this into a sort of game with your friends or associates. You might also consider taking a listening skills course, as this is a crucial skill for your broadcasting career success. A side benefit of better listening will be improved relations with your friends, family and coworkers. People respond positively to being listened to and will be more likely to help you. And of course there is the matter of getting things right as the result of listening to others input, under certain circumstances that could even save your life.
Please share your thoughts on this with me.
Probably only second to curiosity is the need to be flexible. Things in the broadcast industry are usually in a state of flux, what with last minute changes in schedules, length of interview, content, people, etc, but the interview process takes this to its limit. In the interview process, last minute changes are common. Guests may change, a hot new topic may emerge, and so on. But the key thing demanding flexibility is what goes on during the actual interview. You as the interviewer may have created an orderly flow of questions and expected answers, but the best interviewers are ready to change course on a moments notice. As you listen to the answers to you questions, be aware of new avenues to pursue, things not said, unexpected things that are said, etc, all filtered through the thought process of your target audience. Has something jut be said that must be explored because it is more important that what you had planned to ask. If so drop the line of questions you had prepared and pursue the new information. This flexibility will bring you many benefits. You interview will reflect spontaneity, a key thing your viewers love. Also your interview will have better content which is the main reason you are doing the interview.
So how do you become more flexible in your thought process in the interview? Well first you have to want to be more flexible, you need to list the reasons your interviews will be better if you are more flexible and accept them. If you don’t truly believe being more flexible will help your interviews, you will never loosen up your thinking and you will come across ridged and robotic in your interviews. Once passed the mental block on being flexible, practice being flexible when you talk to people in non-important areas of your life. Say for instance you want to talk to someone about their opinion of their car, early in the conversation change the conversation to what type of music they like to listen to while driving. Watch how these shifts in focus on subject matter pan out and appreciate how they could be useful to you during an interview. Also note the effect on the person you are talking to. Most people respond very positively to you taking a new tack during a conversation as it shows you are listening. This same effect will occur with guests on your interview show and results in a more talkative and lively guest, making for a better interview.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Probably the top characteristic common to the best interviewers is a sense of curiosity. They have a need to know, to understand, to probe beyond the obvious. You get a sense they really want to know more about the subject. This sense of curiosity comes through on camera or over the air, just as the lack of it does as well. The audience can tell immediately if the interviewer is just going through the motions or is involved with the subject. Here is one of the keys to higher ratings, be curious, be involved, let the audience know you care about the subject. Curiosity can be developed and brought to a higher level by working on it. Make it a point to approach each subject with the wonderment of a child. Ask yourself how you can look at a subject differently. Create an “imaginary” circle of fans of the show ask yourself what they would want to know about the subject. Have an “imaginary” conversation with each of these fans in which you discuss their what they are interested in. In this way you force yourself to look at things from different angles and gradually this will become part of your thinking and will boost your curiosity.
