All the Pages Are My Days

I've been creating a 2 minute radio show that covers upcoming Lindsborg events for over a year now. Despite my complete lack of training and experience for this role, I think I'm doing a reasonable job. Except in the dead of winter, I can usually knock out my copy in an hour or less, and hopefully my presentation is more natural than at the beginning, when it was clear I was simply reading from a prepared text.

I've only done live, interactive radio 3 times, and today was the third time. I'm really not very good at live radio, which is surprising to anyone who knows me and knows I can talk forever, about most anything. On the air I get stiff, and my thoughts don't flow naturally and, overall, it's just not good radio. Still, like many things I'm not good at but want to be, I keep trying.

So for today I had my notes all ready, my key talking points lined up, a blue pen to mark the things I'd covered so I wouldn't repeat myself, and what happened? Well, that's where the learning comes in. The time went by more quickly than I anticipated, and I allowed myself to waste precious minutes engaging in "happy talk" with the host rather than getting my message out. Next time I get an opportunity like this, I won't be rude, but I will minimally engage in the banter and mostly stick to my message and my key points.

For all that, it was a blast, and thinking back to my early teen years, when I was part of an Explorer Scout group that focused on communications and daydreamed about becoming a DJ, I guess in some ways I've met that goal.