In my very first blog entry, I referenced A. J. Jacobs’ book My Life as an Experiment – One [Wo]man’s humble quest to improve [her]self and set the book as the aim of my column. This aim still rings true not only for my column but for the way I live my life everyday as well.
Last year, I took up a new challenge/experiment and accepted an invitation from RTHK to co-host a radio show named Vive la France with Sunny Li. This RTHK programme was part of a series initiated by the culture and education department of RTHK. Last year, I made 48 weekly shows with Li. Although I had given radio interviews before, hosting a radio show was a whole new experience for me. Here are some of the lessons I have learned from hosting the show in the past year.
Be Yourself
I remember when I first started co-hosting the show, I met the director of broadcasting at the time, Franklin Wong, a long time veteran of the media industry. Wong told me that what makes or breaks a radio show is the 'on-air personality' of the host. So he suggested that I should find my own voice. I considered different ways to build an 'on air personality', but after some reflection, I decided to be myself and put my best foot forward. I think it is very difficult in the long-run to pretend to be someone you are not. In addition, the audience can tell quite quickly when you’re not being yourself and will consequently be turned off.
Be Short. Be Prepared
Vive la France was a weekly half-hour programme that had a unique topic for each show. Li taught me that since people have short attention spans, there should be lots of breaks in each programme to allow the listeners to rest and refocus. Therefore, in our 30 minutes programme we divided the show into four separate sections. For example, when we had our programme on cabaret, we would talk about cabarets for 10 minutes first and before the second half of the show began, we'd play a French song. And finally, we'd end the show by teaching new French vocabulary. Li and I would both do research for each show. In the past year, I focused primarily on reading French history and culture.
Have Fun and Laugh
I remember a couple of years ago, I accepted an interview on RTHK Radio 2 with Tin Yee and Eric, a programme for youths. I really like Tin Yee's style. She always sounded very bubbly and cheerful on the radio. In fact, most articles on telephone etiquette would tell you to smile while speaking on the phone because people will hear your smile in your voice. So I tried that on the radio show, but I still sounded very serious. So I asked Tin Yee how she managed to always sound so happy on air: she told me that in order for the audience to hear your cheeriness, you have to actually laugh out loud and put more energy into your voice. I took her advice to heart and every time I recorded, I'd try to have fun and put on my happiest self and try to laugh my way through the recording.
Chemistry
I believe in fate, destiny and chemistry. This applies to all areas of life, including work. With the RTHK radio show and work, I think that part of the on-air chemistry comes naturally and the rest, like any good relationship, would require hard work.
Voice
In the beginning, as Li was responsible for the technical side of the recording (such as editing), I only used the microphone but not the headphones. Later on, I realised that using the headphones allowed me to hear my own voice, thereby letting me find my own voice.
In all, I had a blast being a RTHK radio host. I have been a long-time fan of a French radio programme Au Coeur de l'Histoire by Franck Ferrand. It is a wonderfully researched and informative programme on French history and culture. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to do a Cantonese version of the programme.