Finding my voice on radio
All began so well in my work placement on the radio. In the first few weeks, I was living my dream, chatting away and mainly just introducing myself. But then I began speaking less, really struggling to have my say and find something to talk about when I wasn’t leading the topics. This is where I found myself sitting in silence most of the time! I will once again be using Gibbs reflective cycle to analyse and reflect on this experience and for me to fully develop and realise what this placement helped me to discover.
As the other two presenters and their listeners on Belfast 89 are much older than me and the radio station only plays music from way before I was born, I felt like there was nothing I could relate to or say as I simply didn’t understand or wasn’t born for the events and music they would be talking about on air. After this happened a few times, I started to really lose my confidence and struggle to speak at all on the station, as I felt that what I was saying wasn’t enough and I really didn’t want to make a fool out of myself as I wasn’t as clued up on that era of time and what the listeners would have wanted. I also realised that in those high-pressure situations, I struggle to think on my feet for something to say and therefore end up shutting down. This is something I may have not realised in such depth in the past and really opened my eyes to how it could be something that I need to work on especially in those high-pressure situations so that my shows can flow more smoothly and become more natural for the listener.
I think that my main reason for not speaking on that radio station is that I couldn’t find anything relatable or something that excites me to talk about. I also struggle with confidence when speaking to people I might not know very well or whom I feel know things better than I do. So I see these presenters who have a lot of experience and see how naturally they can do the show it makes me feel that I am incapable when really all I need is to keep going and to gain experience and the confidence should then follow.
Image Source: 123RF
“I have found that many people tell me that they lack confidence. I then ask them “Are you confidence at home,” to which they usually reply “yes.” Therefore, they are a confident person, it just that when they are outside their comfort zone, like many other people, they may lack confidence in that situation.” (Powell, 2019) I agree with this quote as I do tend to be a confident person when I am comfortable in my surrounding and this it is something I will take on board in the future as I believe that with more practice and becoming more comfortable with the set-up and timings, I will gain a lot more confidence in my presenting when I am on Air.
Nadiah states that those “who have self-confidence will be able to overcome fears or negative thoughts, so they will be easy to communicate” (Nadiah, 2) this also gives me motivation to have more self-confidence in public as it will help me communicate and therefore enhance my ability in future careers.
Image Source: FreePik
I do agree with this quote, as the more times you do something the more confident and easier it becomes for you, but it just takes that extra push to do it for the first time to get the ball rolling and for the progression to begin.
Image Source:Talksportytome
In conclusion, I will remind myself that I am good at presenting and have been successful in the past, “Recognising what you’re good at, and trying to build on those things, will help you to build confidence in your own abilities.”(ReachOut, 2023) This should make me build my confidence and push me forward in the future. Also In the future, I will do more research on things that happened during the week such as current affairs, as I will find that interesting as well as the listeners, including current affairs they will also be able to relate and if that is the station I will be working at then do more research into that kind of music. But overall this experience has made me realise that for me to enjoy my work and if I was to go into radio when I finish university then I would need to do my research and go into a radio station that I actually enjoy and that I will be happy in when it comes to their content because that is what is going to make me perform to my best ability.
Works Cited
Freepik. “Self Confidence Customizable Semi Flat Illustrations: Pana Style.” Self Confidence Customizable Semi Flat Illustrations | Pana Style, 29 Oct. 2021, https://storyset.com/illustration/self-confidence/pana.
Minute Tools Content Team, Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, Minute Tools, May, 2019 https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2019/05/gibbs-reflective-cycle/
Nadiah, Nadiah. “The students’ self-confidence in public speaking.” Elite Journal 1.1 (2019): 1-12.
Powell, Elaine. “8 Fears of Public Speaking and How to Overcome Them.” Elaine Powell, 18 Aug. 2019, https://elainepowell.com/all-posts/8-fears-of-public-speaking-and-how-to-overcome-them.
ReachOut. “How to Build Self-Confidence.” How to Build Self Confidence | Confidence | ReachOut Australia, 2023, https://au.reachout.com/articles/how-to-build-self-confidence.
Talksportytome. “5 Quotes to Inspire You to Find Your Voice.” Talk Sporty to Me, 21 Oct. 2020, https://www.talksportytome.com/blog/5-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-find-your-voice.
123RF. “2,450 Radio Presenter Stock Vector Illustration and Royalty Free Radio Presenter Clipart.” 123RF, https://www.123rf.com/clipart-vector/radio_presenter.html.
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