Presenting to an unseen audience? Then learn to act like a radio personality!
On the air
“You’re listening to Laura on the Roadhouse on the Big MoFo, WMFO, coming at you live and direct from Tufts University!”
If you lived in the greater Medford/Somerville, MA, area in the late nineties, you might have caught my radio show, The Roadhouse. I played alt-country, Americana, and roots music at WMFO, a community radio station at Tufts University that boasted a screaming 125 watts of broadcasting power.
You never heard of it? Well, neither had a lot of people. The thing is, I had to act as if I was talking to a captivated audience of untold numbers. If I’d sounded like I thought nobody was listening and that it bothered me, it would have come across in my voice: “Hey, guys, thanks for listening. If there’s even anybody listening. Oh, who cares? sob!”
Remote presenting is like being a DJ
These days, we’re faced with a similar situation. We’re presenting remotely and doing webinars, and many times we can’t see our audience. Is there anybody out there? Are they listening? We often can’t tell. But what we can do is to act as if we’re giving a command performance to an audience of enraptured listeners.
You have the ability to convey your excitement, energy, and enthusiasm for your subject through your voice. Think of your voice as an instrument. When you want to convey high energy, smile while talking and speak loudly! When you want people to feel the emotional weight of what you’re saying, lower the pace and pitch of your voice, adding dramatic pauses where necessary.
Fake it ’til you make it!
It’s important to behave like you’re confident people are out there, actively listening to what you have to say. When you sound engaging, you become engaging! By taking control over your own performance, you’ll be elevating your broadcasts above the rest. So bring your A game to your next remote presentation. Your unseen audience will thank you!