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Two Simple Things The Best Talent Understand
July 29, 2020
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There are two simple truths all on-air talent should to be aware of. Despite their simplicity, they’re often missing from the repertoire of many. If you’re a voice behind a microphone, recognize and appreciate that these two simple truths are the very foundation upon which everything else is built.
#1. Your level of authenticity determines whether you are engaging or not. To form an emotional bond with your audience they need to feel some affinity toward you. For someone to like you they first have to get to know you. That means you have to be willing to put your true self forward. To put your whole self on the line. This is harder to do than it may seem; we’re wired to be a little reserved as choosing to put ourselves “out there” means we’re opening ourselves up to the judgement of other people - and we’d all prefer to not be judged. We want everyone to like us, but the reality is that most of us are not liked by everyone we meet! Overcoming that instinctive self-preservation is the most important step for any performer. Spotting inauthentic talent isn’t difficult as they usually show up in one of the following ways: (1) they only showcase their positive attributes, never brave enough to show (or admit) their inadequacies (“super human” syndrome), (2) they shift into “performance” mode and begin communicating in an unnatural and exaggerated way (“overacting” syndrome) or (c) they try to be something they’re not, either imitating someone else or constructing a character of who they’d like to be (“playing a role” syndrome). The audience is never fooled when they hear someone behaving in one of those ways. We have an innate ability to sense when something doesn’t feel quite right. To be comfortable with who you are - the good, the bad and the ugly - is the first step to being an authentic personality. It takes courage and self-awareness.
#2. Your content selection directly correlates to how relevant you are. Talk about the topics that are of interest to your audience and their lives. The audience seeks you out so they can be entertained and informed. They don’t seek you out to hear you amusing yourself or your team in the studio. You will start entertaining your audience when you talk about things they already care about, are already interested in, or can already relate to. So, the very first stage of show prep is identifying the big topics of the day as defined by the audience. It’s often not the content selection that distinguishes the best talent, it’s how they innovate around the content. Relevance is a key component in your success. If the target audience can't find any shared interests with you they simply aren't going to listen. They'll quickly move on to something...oh wait they’ve gone!
No matter who you work for, what format you work or in which daypart, these two simple truths are universal. Be authentic. Be relevant. Sounds simple right? So how good are you at it?
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