10 tips on how to be a good host

Audiences sure can put anchors to the test. They tend to listen to good friends for a long time, even when their buddies’ stories are rather boring. But when you are moderating, they rarely pay close attention.

Frequently they’re busy doing something else, are impatient and fidgety. Sometimes they even leave you with no word of explanation. And if they do return their attention to you, they expect you to be as friendly and courteous as if nothing had ever happened.

Of course that is exactly what you will do without a trace of resentment. Here’s how:

1. Be a good interpreter. Convey and explain complex subject matter in a way that listeners can easily understand.

2. Be a good spokesperson. Pose questions as if you are representing the listener. You’ll come across best when your listeners have the feeling that they would have asked the very same questions.

3. Be prepared. Being well-prepared is half the battle. Read the newspapers every day and stay on top of the latest.

4. Be firm, but not impolite. Your listeners will judge you by how you interact with figures of authority. Brash impoliteness is equally as bad as servile worship.

5. Be a good “scrounger”. You thrive off the hard work and efforts of others. Respect and acknowledge the work by your colleagues on your editorial and production team.

6. Proceed without prejudice. It is much more productive to help eradicate stereotypes than to introduce your own biases.

7. Be brief and precise, even when there is nothing tougher than omitting something that you consider important.

8. Be a team player. Engineers, technicians and production managers react to the way you behave and treat them. Often they provide ideas that are crucial to the program.

9. Don’t speak from the gut. Opinions shouldn’t be instinctive or emotional, especially if you’re not very familiar with the topic. Expressing doubt or presenting a different opinion in the form of a question, on the other hand, is a fundamental and necessary tool for moderators.

10. Don’t be vain. Modesty is a prerequisite of good journalism and at least as important as curiosity. Experience has shown that whoever starts thinking too much of him or herself is already heading toward their own downfall.

By Oliver Pieper

Translated by Deborah Friedman
Photo credit: LeeLeFever @ Flicker