Today we're going to share experiences behind the mic in the hope to help our DJ's and streamers on other platforms to be confident and professional when their show goes live and their mic is hot.
Live broadcasts can be full of surprises, just like life itself. As a host, you will be viewed as one with authority - one who is in control of yourself. When your screen suddenly goes blank and you can't see your notes, when the doorbell rings, when something unexpected happens, remember that YOU are in charge of your show. People come for entertainment and education. Take control of a situation by turning something negative into something positive on the air. It's a mind set. It's your responsibility. It's your show.
In order to deliver a worthwhile to listen to show, research your topic. Research your show guests! Most importantly, be authentic - be yourself - and be true to yourself.
Know what's happening in your community. Get to know other show hosts. Chat. Befriend other DJs and share experiences. Listen to other shows - listen to other presenters. Having more perspective can drastically improve your ability to win over fans.
Generally, we are against teleprompter type scripting. It makes a show become unnatural, sterile, without flexibility, missing warmth and the personal touch that creates listener loyalty. However, when reading and article or a script, make sure you read it beforehand to understand sentence construction and to being able to add your own views, coloring the subject with your own experiences. Make it personal!
Preparing and having orderly at hand during the show
Having achieved that goal will allow you to concentrate on your delivery, giving you greater self confidence and providing a professional show experience for yourself and your listeners.
No one likes a faker. And listeners, more often than not, will simply tune out if they feel a presenter is disingenuous. So, be honest but tactful. Defend your viewpoints, even if they may not be the most popular but do so with respect for others.
Take your show and listeners very seriously - but be happy to kick back, relax and laugh at yourself. The audience will love you for it. You will be surprised by how much of an ice breaker it is to laugh at yourself when things don't go as planned.
Even though no one may be able to see you behind the mic during your show, being presentable helps a bunch with self-confidence during airtime. A confident inner smile reverberates like a rainbow in the sky through the speaker of your listeners.
An attitude is formed not out of emotion, but out of a decision we make. How many times have someone not felt like doing a show, because they were down, tired or lazy. Deciding to be prepared and reliable demonstrates respect for the station and your listeners.
Being behind the mic is a great responsibility and it works wonders for a host's spirit when other DJs, MSP Moderators and station staff show their support before, during and after the show.
We here at MSP Waves are part of the community. Supporting one another is in our DNA. And it's a two-way road.
MSP Waves is not just a radio station. It's an interactive social broadcast network with most of our audience being part of the Steem blockchain.
This allows show presenters and guests to interact in near real-time with our listeners through our MSP Waves Discord channel.
This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage questions, thank people by name for listening, and to let your audience take part of the LIVE show production.
It can be often inspiring to let the audience drive part of the show. The listeners will often contribute with articles, suggestions and comments.
Never, however, lose control over the direction of the broadcast -- it's your show.
Treat everyone; listeners, show guests and MSP Waves staff with the same respect as you would like to be treated. It's not only the right thing to do, it's will help your professional presenter image. This is true especially when a listener may disagree or makes an unfavorable or flippant comment.
Knowing what you're talking about will help defend your position and do it in an objective fashion.
As part of our personal development, we want to listen and learn new skills to improve our performances. Listen to constructive feedback. Always let your show guests make/finish their points so you can counter their point with facts. Nothing appears more incompetent than misunderstanding ones point because we only got half the story. Ask questions to clarify their positions. Ask for sources and experiences that backs up their point of view.
Not only is it good to improve our presentation skills, we ought to make ourselves familiar with the Open Broadcast Software (OBS) and its amazing options. There is nothing that can't be learned even if you're not a computer whiz. Take time to master OBS. There are great resources online, and the MSP Waves Operations team is always at hand to help and advise. Knowing OBS and feeling comfortable with MSP Waves Operation procedures will go a long way toward a relaxing and confident Live show.
OBS Resources
MSP Waves Operations Wiki
MSP Waves Operations on Discord
Be personal, take news, articles, content and relate it to your own life. It creates a bond between you as a presenter and it builds a loyal listenership.
Whenever I share events and experiences from my life, I immediately get positive responses from my listeners.
Unless you utilize visual aids such as graphics, articles or even your own LIVE video on-air (which is easily possible with OBS), your listeners rely on your voice to inspire their imagination. What an opportunity to paint a picture in words. The saying goes: A picture paints a thousand words, but for me, a voice can paint a thousand pictures. How do we do that?
Never assume the audience knows what you know. Always state and restate the context and do it often. Personally, I like to repeat the context of a subject I am discussing at least once during [each segment]https://steemit.com/msp-waves/@msp-waves/msp-waves-broadcast-tips-ep-2-production-and-time-management-dec-7th-2018) - and I also will make key points repeatedly by rephrasing them and then elaborating by giving real-life, often personal examples. Relate a subject to your life, how it has affected you, and what solution to a problem has helped you to dal with the situation.
We know our family members. We may not always like them - but we know them.
While I always relay subjects to my personal life, I go further: Put yourself into your listener's shoes. Walk that mile in their shoes. Understand your audience. Be emphatic. Show emotional intelligence. Point to resources for solutions. But always be careful not to be perceived as someone who is licensed in a particular field and make sure the audience understands that.
For example, @Wipgirl in Hacking Mental Performance (Tue 6 PM UTC) does a fabulous job on her show, but she also ensures the audience understands her background with regard to the advice she gives. Check MSP-Waves for show times.
Use the amazing ability to interact with your audience.
Use Steemit, Twitter, Facebook and any other social network you're part of to send your show announcements and show summaries to. Be Social-Media savvy.
This not only helps your show and listener numbers, but will also bring more users to Steem, which will increase the value of every Steem account.
@adly.jailani
@jerrybanfield
@jpederson96It is intimidating for many to speak in front of a crowd, however large or small. Even giving a speech in front of family can be nerve wrecking. And now broadcast?
Don't worry. There is an easy trick - which works amazingly well:
In my corporate life, I have given presentations to an audience of many hundred many times. I have led meetings with superiors in the panel. I even sang on stage once in front of 20,000. The secret to not fall victim to (self-) intimidation is to talk to only one person. In radio, it's easy. Picture a friend, or a friendly acquaintance - visualize their face. Perhaps have their picture placed where you can see it during your broadcast. Speak to that person, and only to that person. Have a conversation.
That applies to our verbiage, too. Address one person in place of all. For example, you'd say, "I thank YOU for listening and wish you a wonderful weekend. Till next time..."
You will find that it immediately relaxes the voice, and distresses us. An awesome way to calm the nerves. It will get easier with time.
In radio speak, it's called "air check". Air check every show you record. You will be your best critic. How many filler words and phrases did you use? Were you speaking too fast, or too slow? Were you pronouncing the words clearly? Did you pause too long? Did you never pause? Did you let your speaking voice 'sing' with captivating intonations? Was there unwanted background noise? Did you start rambling? How did you react to unforeseen incidents, like a technical problem? Did you interact with the audience? Were you boring or engaging? How was your transition from one segment to the next?
All important question that you should be asking yourself constantly. Nobody is perfect. And over time, if we put in the effort, we will become real pros and improve our communication skills in any life situation.
In whatever we do and say, we ought to add value. To our listeners, to MSP, to Steem - and thus also to yourselves.
In order to add value we need to be able to know what we are talking about. We need to be be able to share our experiences, and when discussing problems, we want to add solutions, those, that have helped us or someone we know personally. This creates value. It creates authority. And authority beckons respect and loyal followers.
I hope you find these tips useful. Please, let me know in the comment section.
Next time, we will look at how to create value - the content production itself - and it's delivery. I hope I see you then, and don't forget to tune in to MSP-Waves for amazing content.
After that, practice makes perfect.
If you would like to become a show-host on MSP Waves, please contact 
Thanks everyone for reading.
MSP-Waves
Minnowsupport Project
MSP/PAL on Discord
Listening on Discord
This updated post appeared originally on Steem: https://steemit.com/mspwaves/@msp-waves/msp-waves-broadcast-tips-ep-2-hot-mic
