Most Radio People Don’t Practice — And It Shows

Practice in Private

Work on your communication skills every day. Don’t wait to hit the airwaves to say some of the important things you want to say on your show. Rehearse it in private. Hear how it sounds coming out of your mouth. Record yourself saying what you feel about a certain topic and ask yourself, does this sound interesting enough to put on the air?

1. How quickly are you recalling the words you want to use to make your points?

Are you searching for words between your ums and you know what I’m saying? Is it coming out of you effortlessly with no brain fog? If not, it may not be as good as you thought it was going to be. If you are using a bunch of filler words to make your point, you are not clear about what it is you want to say, or you are afraid to speak straight words.

2. Are you saying it from your own perspective?
Did you hear something on CNN that you want to repeat to make you sound smart? Stop regurgitating what other people have already said.

3. Be original. Be brave and say what you feel inside about this topic or issue.
You may think you are weird, but I promise you other people are thinking the same thing, but who will say it. Say to yourself, "If I don't say it, I don't know who will say it". And it's true. Be original!!

Rehearsing in private removes the fear and familiarizes you with your content. There are so many ways to say the same thing. And How brief can you be?

This is something that really frustrates me when I listen to people fumble and bumble through a talk set. For One, you don’t have that much time to capture someone’s interest. It is taking people too long to make a simple point. Read my article:
https://insideurbanmedia.blogspot.com/2025/10/get-to-point-its-more-important-today.html

I can promise you one thing — by doing what I am suggesting every day, you will become more articulate than anybody in the room. If you take pride in paying attention to detail, you will stand out on the air. I am hearing too many lackluster performances on the radio these days. Set a new standard for yourself when you open the mic.

People will hear the difference.