Being a radio presenter is not just about having a great voice and dynamic personality, there are many skills required to make sure you have the best chance to make it in the radio industry
Working in an on air studio requires a certain amount of tech savvy.
Some presenters are blessed with the benefit of working with a technical producer, but in the absence of a trusty side kick, a presenter has to manage all aspects of being on air.
In what resembles one of those rub your tummy, pat your head games from childhood, managing the on air studio equipment means juggling several tasks at once.
Operating the mixing desk, microphones, on air operating system, telephone and SMS lines, not to mention any live reads or potential in studio guests, and that’s all before you’ve even thought about the presenting. Get one of these tasks wrong and your show flops like a bad soufflé
Knowing how the studio works and being able to run it yourself effectively is an invaluable and necessary skill to help you get ahead in the industry.
If you’re just starting out in the industry you probably don’t have access to the kind of equipment you'll find in the on air studio, but here are two simple tips to help get you started.
The free tip. Every radio station works with an on air operating program, this is like a fancy app which is used to schedule music, adverts, station drops and then there is a stop pause function for presenters to talk. South African radio stations lean towards two of these systems depending on budget. One of the programs often uses by community stations is called Jazler. What the lovely people at Jazler have done is give us an awesome demo version, so you can practice until your hearts content. Practice and when you're done practising, practice some more. You can download Jazler demo for fee here. http://www.jazler.com/demo/ . You’re welcome.
Practice, and when you're done practicing, practice some more
The investment. You can watch YouTube video’s on how to use equipment until your eyes are square, but it will never compare to doing it yourself. Radio gear is also super expensive and it’s not like you need a handy mixer and microphone for everyday use. So what’s a person to do?
Invest in yourself by checking out some of our radio courses. We have been doing our thing in sound and radio training for over a decade, and we really know our business. What’s more is all our facilitators are working in the industry. Sign up for a workshop, skills program or if you’re really serious a full one year course, and choose to learn specifics of on air presenting, or all aspects of radio
And once you know how, who knows maybe you’ll end up presenting on The Wireless sometime
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