A Flair for the Radio Mic? – Guest Post

To be able to do all these successfully, therefore, the radio personality must embody a high degree of maturity.

Maturity comes with education, training and interaction. Of course the challenge of radio today requires that anybody coming into it must be sufficiently educated because the audience today is not longer  an ignorant audience, as they too are exposed  and educated.  The difference is that the radio personality is only trying to call their attention in a different way to what they already know.  The radio personality therefore cannot afford  to be ignorant.  He must be continuously updating his knowledge of events  and issues  as they unfold around.

Intelligence and creativity are hallmarks of good radio personalities.  Since most of what a radio personality will be doing will be based on initiatives, he must have an unusual capacity to think through and fast, because he had no time to rest in meeting the audience  demand. He must also be creative to the audience extent that he must be able to innovate in order to sustain the interest of the audience. Radio cannot be interesting  if there is no passion for it or in it. And  if radio is not interesting, it will not command audience listenership  and participation.  The passion that  a radio personality brings  to his presentation defines how personally he is in touch with listeners.  Incidentally listeners love  radio personalities who can connect with them, even without  seeing or knowing them physically.

Despite the intimacy that a radio personality ought to cultivate behind  the microphone, he still has the burden of being both objective  and critical.  Since, his  audience is diverse, he has an onus to ensure that all the  segments are carried along and their  interest  sustained. A radio personality should never give room for a tune off or move the dial”

One single  factor that  guarantees this even if the radio personality has the necessary skills and knowledge  and education  is his mind.  The mental balance and  emotional, stability of the man behind  the mic will reflect on his delivery of a programme.  The man behind  the mic  cannot afford to be down or dead for a moment. As long as he will be behind  the mic, he must be, living and kicking.  He must exude life and happiness – Never a dull moment, because his duty primarily is not to himself but his audience who are waiting for him to spice up their lives. His happiness must primarily come from how well or how much he is able to serve his audience  and not how well life is treating him.  If this is the case, he must demy stify own vicissitudes, and be able to share them with others while behind the mic so that  they can mutually benefit from their experiences.

In summary,  the man behind  the mic must possess a catholic interest that is his interest should be diverse  more so that he will be speaking to a diverse  audience.  The more general or universal his interest, the more he will be inspired  to tackle  or present any issue behind  the mic effortlessly.  And the more he will be able to attract  and sustain listenership and loyalty for his radio.  What this invariably translates into is credibility for his station.