Last week something pretty cool happened. It started when a friend of mine texted me and said, “Did you know you’re on the front page of Raw Story today?”
Apparently, with all the media coverage about Republican candidates complaining that they don’t get enough media coverage, Raw Story republished a version of my Daily Kos article “15 things everyone would know if there were a liberal media.”
This was cool.
But cooler still was an e-mail I received from William Davis, the producer of The Daily Report on AM 950 in Minneapolis. He asked if I wanted to be on the show and talk about the “liberal” media.
I’d never done this before so here’s a few notes from the experience.
1. Ask for a book plug
I was so excited to be asked to be on the show that I almost forgot to mention my book. Fortunately, I thought, maybe I should see if they’d mention my book.
So I wrote him back and said I’d love to be on the show and asked if the host would do a quick plug for The Little Book of Revolution.
I didn’t think it would be a big deal. But you want to ask. They said it wouldn’t be any trouble at all.
You can also make references to your book in any interview. For example, you could talk about something, say the amount of people in jail in the United States, and say, “I cover this in much greater detail in my book — The Little Book of Revolution.”
If the host will mention your book, however, it takes a great deal of the pressure off. Also, the more you can get other people to recommend your book, the better. Because no matter what I say to an audience, I’m the author. If it comes from a reader or someone other than me, the recommendation is much more of a recommendation.
2. Find out how long you will be on the air
The producer told me upfront it would be 15 minutes.
If you don’t know, however, ask. The amount of time is very important for your preparation. You want to be sure to have enough material to be interesting.
3. Use a land line
I only use a cell phone these days. Fortunately, I get my broadband Internet service through DSL (instead of cable) and this still requires me to keep a land line.
Digging through the box of old technology, I managed to find this beauty.
The producer suggested using a land line for a couple reasons. One, the audio quality is better. And two, there’s much less risk of losing service somehow.
4. Prepare
Some people can do interviews and speak in public without preparing. I’m not one of them.
I have to prepare what I want to talk about.
These are the things I jotted notes down on:
- An introduction, if asked
- A couple stories about the liberal media
- Specific examples from my article (because this was what they contacted me about)
- A closing statement, if needed
- A reminder to thank the host
I was really glad I did this because I wound up using a couple of the stories in addition to a great deal of material from the article.
In particular, one story that I thought worked really well was a conversation I recently had with a friend. He kept telling me that the media has to be liberal because 90% of reporters in the media are registered Democrats. In my discussion with my friend, I found a really good way to explain to him that, even if his stat were true, this doesn’t make the media “liberal.”
I put my notes on a single sheet of paper. This is a trick I learned from conference calls. While you’re talking to people you don’t want to be scrolling through long lists of notes.
5. Use the host’s name
30 seconds before I went on the air, the producer told me the host’s name was Ian.
I was so glad he did because up until that point, I thought I was going to be talking with William. I literally thought that the host of the show had contacted me. It hadn’t even occurred to me that William was the producer and the host was someone different.
Thank god William was a professional and knew exactly the things I needed to know. I made sure to use Ian’s name at least a few times.
This makes it more of a conversation. Like we know each other.
6. Keep an open face or smile when you talk
This is a tip I picked up working from home for 10 years. I host a lot of conference calls.
In conference calls, you will sound like how you feel and how you look. If you are slouching or frowning or looking somewhere else, you will sound low energy, down, or distracted.
If you keep an open face, you will sound warm and caring. If you smile, you will sound happy.
I picked up this tip from a fellow named Arch Lustberg, the author of How to Sell Yourself: Winning Techniques for Selling Yourself … Your Ideas … Your Message. One of the things Mr. Lustberg talked about being proudest of was being one of the first people to talk about the open face.
Also, if you sit up straight or stand, this will allow your voice to come more from your diaphragm than your throat. Your voice is most powerful when you are breathing using your diaphragm.
7. The host is a professional and will have a ‘DJ voice’
People who are on the air for a living tend to have really good voices. This is just something you have to realize.
They’re going to sound really good and it was tempting to want to listen rather than speak with.
At least this was what I found myself wanting to do. That’s why I’m writing this down as a lesson learned. Remember to speak with them like you would anyone.
The good news Is that, as a professional, they’re really used to working with people who aren’t. If you’re struggling, they will help you out. Unless you happen to be on one of those confrontational talk shows.
8. Be yourself
When I was prepping for the show, I thought it might be a really good idea to have an opening joke.
I decided against it. Thankfully.
I think no good could have come from this. It would have sounded unnatural, forced, and desperate.
My natural tone when I talk about politics is very conversational. It’s one of the reasons I’m able to talk to so many people about politics. One of the mistakes I think many people make is that they want to jump right to their position and start arguing. They don’t hear what the other person is saying and acknowledge their concerns.
Listening to people and acknowledging what they’ve said and continuing it is a conversation. This, to me, is natural.
I decided that I would do best if I didn’t try to do something different. It is very tempting, however, to want to do something that is not yourself.
Being yourself is a cliché. It sounds easy, but it is one of the hardest things to do.
9. Have a conversation
React to what the host says.
This is one of the harder things to do on the radio. The temptation can be great to want to cover some specific thing or to want to get to some talking point or other.
The best interviews sound like conversations.
Try to be in the moment and talk with the host.
10. Don’t leave ‘dead air’
The thing that DJs hate the most is dead air.
They are professionals so if you are struggling, they will jump in and help you out. I didn’t want this to happen though.
This is one of the reasons why I prepared several things to talk about in advance (above).
It helped me out because the first question Ian asked I didn’t understand. Rather than ask him what he meant, I decided, on the spot, to pick the first thing that came to mind from his question and talk about it.
It threw me a little bit but he helped me recover.
On the radio, I think this is a better approach than either 1) going silent and pondering the question, or 2) trying to ask the host what he meant. Talk about something and let the DJ redirect you if you’re not answering the right question.
If you can avoid ‘dead air,’ odds are much greater that they will ask you back on. ‘Dead air’ guests are not desirable guests. I know this from the little time I spent on air at my high school radio station.
11. Thank the host
Don’t forget to thank the host. I wrote this down in bold letters on my preparation sheet.
12. How do I get on the radio?
As a self-publisher, this is a really good question. One of the things a publisher will help you with are radio interviews.
You can do this yourself though. What you need are a couple things.
- A press release about your book
- A list of shows that might be potential candidates
- The names and contact information for the producers of these shows.
Sometimes you can find out who the producer of a show is by going online. William Gordon has a list that you can purchase but it’s a little pricey. You can also contact the station and ask to speak to the program manager. The program manager can tell you who produces shows.
Remember though that unless the show is a book show, you want to pitch how what you have to say will fit in with what the show is about.
One of the easiest ways to get on a radio show is if you can position yourself as an expert in some area or field. Shows often bring experts on to talk about current issues of the day.
Another way is to give yourself a local spin. I know many folks here in Cincinnati who have done shows talking about topics of local interest. Whether it’s food, fashion, entertainment, or something else, local radio stations often like to do features on things going on here in our tri-state area.
13. Make sure to get the recording
They podcast The Daily Report. So I didn’t have to worry about having someone record it. Here’s the link to the November 11th show if you’d like to listen.
I’m on at the 30:30 mark.
If I had to rate myself, I think I’d give myself a 6 out of 10. Or, not bad for a first try.
Has anyone else ever done this?
What did you experience? What did you do right or learn?