#CBAAconf: 5 Tips from Lex Marinos' Radio Presentation Masterclass

Australian actor, director, writer, voice artist and media personality Lex Marinos gave a packed room of CBAA Conference delegates an hour-of-power radio presentation masterclass.

Here are some tips and tricks he shared:

1. Your body is an important piece of equipment in the studio

From warming up properly, to staying warmed and using your body to help you communicate vocally, Marinos was firm aboutt the inate connection betwene your body and your voice as you communicate with your listeners. 

On his own studio practice, Marinos said:

"Just because I can’t see you, doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing the physical aspect as I can – natural conversation. Using our body can have an impact on how our voice comes out."

Some people broadcast standing up. Whatever you do, Lex urged delegates to not to just sit or stand there. If you’re passionate about what you're talking about, gesture, move and let your body express that – it will come across. In contrast, stay inert and it will feel dull, and sound dull.

Some other tips for in the studio included keeping your voice lubricated - no dairy! Room temperature water or warm beverages are best.

2. Have someone specific to talk to

For Lex, having someone specific to talk to helps him in his broadcasts. In some cases, it's his wife, other times it's a friend. When he's speaking, he thinks as if he's speaking to them. This increases the intimacy of the communication, which, for Marinos, is the nature of what makes radio so special:

"It's far an away our most intimate means of communication."

Doing this, say, by having a photo of a loved one in the studio, can help give you a point of focus and avoid your broadcasts sounding generalised.

"When it works best, I feel like the presenter is talking to me – and I talk back! Radio has implicit in it the notion of the response."

3. Think about your show like a movie

Your show shouldn't be chaotic, nor should it be monotonous. Having some structure around your shows will help you deliver them more easily and create the variety you need to keep it entertaining. 

Lex suggested that you think of it as a movie - it should have characters, a plot etc. 

If a two hour show ends up being the same the whole way through, it ends up boring.

Some things to consider in this regard:

• Think about regular segments, or a theme for your program. Find your program's personality.
• When you're planning the program, make sure you're accounting for the time of day you'll be broadcasting. Lex found when he tried panning a night program at midday, he was programming for midday, and it didn't work out.

4. Remember, it's a performance

Remember, your show is a performance. This means you need to put energy into it - you should be tired at the end of a show.

To assist with this

• Turn down your headphones! If you have them up too loud, you think you’re putting out more energy than you actually are! But what’s actually coming out for the listener? Is it a bit lack lustre? 
• Use some underscore music for your Community Service Announcements (CSAs) to give a melodic bed to your readings. And don’t read them blind – read them before – OUT LOUD! 
• How much do we really ad lib? There's no stronger truism than than the best ad libs are the rehearsed ones! (Even Robin Williams rehearsed his "ad libs). This doesn't mean you need a full script, but at least have some dot points (e.g. back announce the song, give a time call etc). This allows you speak off the cuff - freely, rather than spontaneously.

"If I'm not nervous before a shift, I get worried - unless I have the adrenaline, I know I'm not focused".

5. Listen back

The most painful part of all! But try and learn from it. Listen for what you like, and what you don't, and what your patterns are.

For example, Lex found he would trail off at the end of a sentence, ending up with a falling cadence rather than talking the sentence through. Know this, he can try and focus on it in future broadcasts.

Thanks to Lex Marinos for this masterclass session presented at the 2015 CBAA Conference. You can find out content from the Conference here. Image credit: Greer Versteeg.