Here is an interview about Wendy Williams career from 2005 from New York Metro magazine

"The Real You on the Radio and on Your Podcast"

Here are some Tips.....

1. On your daily quest to becoming a world-class radio/podcast performer: - A. Drop the fake front. It is more painful to be fake than real. The constant pressure of putting on a front is exhausting. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to be yourself. Study yourself and believe that you have what it takes to be yourself in all circumstances. - B. Just own everything that you are. Be willing to be rejected. - C. Be willing to take a hit for being yourself. People can smell insincerity. - D. You were not meant to get along with everyone. It is impossible, so stop trying. - E. The day you are liked by everyone is the day you are the most fake person alive. - F. When you speak, don't sacrifice clarity. - G. You are the mouthpiece of your beliefs. Be a good spokesperson for yourself. - H. Learn how to command the pause. In other words, be comfortable making your statement and then let there be a pause of silence. After you have clearly stated what you want to say, allow space for the conversation to settle. - I. Eliminate filler words. Avoid using empty words. Just imagine if each word you used cost $100—how much of it would you waste on empty, useless jargon? Make sure your words have weight. Erase Um, Ahh you know, like um, you know what I'm saying from your vocabulary. It show that you are insecure and have to use a filler word in place of pausing and silence. Pro's pause, Amatuers say umm, and ahh and like. Stop using filler words it is unattractive. - J. In conclusion, being a person who talks for a living must master the art of communication. And I implore you to practice, practice, practice, and practice every chance you get. There is no subsitute for being aware of what is coming out of your mouth. Be intentional when you speak. Mean what you say, and speak it with world class clarity!

If You Want To Be A World Class Radio Performer Read This!

You can’t control time; you can only control how you use it. When you don’t use it wisely, you are intentionally interfering with your own success. You aren’t allowing yourself enough time to do your best work. The 3am Rule is a time management hack: remove obstacles to getting your work done by waking up at 3am and begin to get your work done. People are drawn to the 3am Rule because they want to fix their time management issues. Stop cramming your work together and causing unnecessary anxiety. Use the 3am Rule to create your unfair advantage in the business world. This is a power play in your life if you can discipline yourself to wake up and begin working at this sacred hour of the morning.It will make a big difference in your personal development.

Read This Classic Article from 1994 on Show Preparation

I was reading through my diary from October 1994 about show preparation. It is a classic article about preparing for your show on a daily basis, It has been a blue print for me on how I have prepared for my show for decades. I hope you get some takeaways from this article.

Talking for a Living is a Complex Skill

What is the most difficult thing about speaking? It’s the ability to recall meaningful words in a timely and confident manner—to select words from your vocabulary, from deep thoughts, words with weight that help people understand how you think and offer a perspective that may or may not resonate with them. That is the complexity of communication. Your brain is a great computer, full of experiences and a deep, untapped reservoir of powerful words and emotions. But how can we tap into this reservoir of words—words we might rarely use yet to articulate our ideas powerfully to others? I believe there are exercises that can train the brain to recall words more effectively. There is no replacement for reading and writing if you want to be a well-spoken person. With dedication, you can become one of the most interesting people in your circle, someone worth listening to, if you take the time to develop your ability to speak well. Articulating your ideas well is a complex skill, one that should be honed and crafted, not taken for granted. It’s about finding the right words at the right time to express the essence of the moment unfolding before you. Many people don’t take this skill seriously. Some simply open their mouths and say whatever comes to mind, and often, the result is confusing, off-target, or ineffective. But what we want is to hit the target with our words 10

0% of the time, avoiding the need to backtrack and explain ourselves. We should aim to articulate ideas with simplicity yet with elegance, poise, confidence, and intrigue, leaving others wanting to hear more. When we speak and engage others, activating their minds and stimulating thought, we create an exchange of energy. Our words can turn listeners on with excitement and invite them to think deeply. In doing so, we give them permission to express themselves at a high level. High-level conversation—the highest form of spiritual electricity—is truth. The question becomes: how elegantly, beautifully, and lovingly can you speak the truth to others?

Crossing The Bridge from Amateur to Professional

Here are some notes about your career path that I want you to consider. Think about the fire inside you for whatever it is you truly want to pursue and how that relates to the expression of your unique gift. You have to focus on something that genuinely excites you. What do you want to look back on when you reflect on your life? Can you see what is possible for your life, doing something you were born to do, whether or not you get paid for it? Monetizing your passion can be challenging, as there's often a "difficulty factor" attached to your gift. If this is what you truly want to do for life, you must accept that there will be challenges tied to achieving your ideal life. Anyone living life on their own terms has accepted this reality. I'll say it again: anyone living life on their terms has accepted this reality. You should adopt the mindset, "Either I live, or I die pursuing what my heart longs for." Set aside large, uninterrupted blocks of time to focus—one, two, sometimes even three hours of alone time per day. Your best ideas will come from being in a quiet, still place. When it comes to the rules of success, there are many. But if you think the law of discipline doesn't apply to you, you're setting yourself up for trouble. Stop putting things off; right now is all you have. The next moment, you could be gone. It’s arrogant to assume you’ll be alive tomorrow—you have no control over that reality. Adopt the mindset of *do it now, do it now, do it now. Don’t wait for tomorrow; you don’t know if you’ll have the chance. How you spend your time is incredibly important. Here’s a question to ponder: how can you reach a world-class, elite level in your field? Reflect on this. How can you become part of the top 1% of world-class performers in whatever field you choose to pursue? Here's something else to consider: stop trying to impress others. Don’t let other people’s opinions overshadow your own opinion of yourself. Care more about impressing yourself. If you aim to impress yourself, others will be impressed as well. Hard work—let’s talk about that. Hard work often intimidates average people. But here’s a critical mindset for success: how can anyone compete with me if I can force myself to do what I might not want to do right now, but I do it anyway? If I’m competing against people who lack the discipline to do what’s necessary, they’ll never keep up. This is crucial in your development as a professional. It’s the bridge between amateurism and professionalism.

Eliminate The Fake

In our everyday interaction with other human beings, we must eliminate the fake persona that most of us are comfortable displaying. Being fake is the lazy way to express yourself. It’s a very cheap version of who you really are. You will never have an electrical connection with others because your words are dull and listless. They carry no weight that would make a person ponder over what you have said. Here's a thought on how to eliminate the fake: 1. Be willing to take a hit being yourself. When you speak, you are the mouthpiece of yourself. 2. Be willing to be rejected for being the real you. 3. Know that you were not meant to get along with everyone. It's impossible. Stop trying. 4. The constant pressure of putting on a front is exhausting. 5. When you speak, own everything you say. Own every word and speak with clarity so no one has to ask you, "What do you mean?" The majority of the people on our planet like being fake. I heard someone say that the day you are liked by everyone is the day you are the most fake person alive.