23. How to do an amazing radio interview by phone

Regardless of what you might have heard, radio can be a great way to grow your business. I know a lot of people argue otherwise, but I beg to differ.

As I have said in a prior episode, radio and podcasts are the only media where you can reach people while they are driving in their cars.

128 million people drive to and from work in their cars each day. This is a huge captive audience that you can tap into to help people and get more customers, clients and patients.

Now for a small number of radio shows, you will go into the studio to record them. In my experience, these are almost always pre-recorded interviews. But most radio interviews you will do will be done live and you will appear by phone with the host.

In this episode, I want to share six tips to help you sound great on your next radio interview. Audio quality is key since there is no visual for the listener to see. If your audio quality is bad, the listener will focus on that and not what you’re saying.

Plus, these tips are all easy to implement, so you can focus on the topic and the host’s questions, knowing you will sound great.

Radio interview tip #1: Use a landline.

I’ve discussed this tip before on this show, but it’s so important that it’s worth re-emphasizing.

Your audio quality through a cell phone is terrible. Remember, the host is most likely in a studio (unless they are on location somewhere). That studio has a professional microphone, sound insulation and more. He or she will sound great. You need to sound as good as possible too.

You want the listener focused on your message and what you’re trying to explain to them or offer them. If they struggle to hear and understand you, your message won’t land. You’ll miss most of the benefits of doing the interview in the first place.

Plus, cell phone calls drop. All the time. The signal quality can be unpredictable.

Use a landline or Voice over IP line like Skype or a line from your internet provider to call the radio station.

Radio interview tip #2: Use a phone with a headset but test it first.

Some very sensitive landline phones can pick up sounds of the phone rubbing against your face, or your beard if you have one. A headset can eliminate those noises. Plus, if the interview will be a longer one, a headset can keep your hand from falling asleep.

I have a cordless phone that has a headset, but I don’t use the headset. The first time I tried it, the producer told me it sounded like I was in a tunnel. Having said that, some headsets sound really good. Test it first. Have a conversation with someone using the headset part of the time and without it part of the time. Make sure to record the conversation so you can see for yourself which sounds better.

Radio interview tip #3: Use sound padding.

The goal here is to eliminate or minimize echo. There are a few ways to insulate your room for sounds to prevent echoes.

You can create soundproofing board. If you are watching the video version of this episode on YouTube, you won’t see them. But there are 4 boards behind the camera and lights that absorb the sound of my voice before it hits the walls and bounces off.

They are easy to make. I got four pieces of plywood – 4 feet by 3 feet – although the size isn’t that important. The bigger, the better, as long as it works in the room. Then I covered the pieces of plywood with 1 foot by 1-foot pieces of foam soundproof padding I got on Amazon. Just search “soundproof padding” on Amazon.

That kind of soundproofing works really well, but you might not even need them. But please beware of hardwood floors. Make sure there is a carpet or rug on the floor. Otherwise, the hardwood floor will cause an echo.

Radio interview tip #4: Stand up.

Standing up will give you more energy, and you will sound more energetic and enthusiastic. Plus, in my experience, it helps you focus a little more on what the host is saying or asking.

Radio interview tip #5: Turn off the radio or internet feed for the station.

There is a delay between you and the host speaking and when that signal reaches your radio. It can be a couple of seconds if you have a terrestrial radio station playing, but it can be 30 seconds or more from the internet feed. Turn those off and talk to the host through the phone. You will eliminate the echo, the awkwardness of a delay, and you’ll be focused on the host and the questions.

If you want to record the interview to listen to it and evaluate yourself later, record it with software like Audio Hijack.

Radio interview tip #6: Turn off caller ID.

Even if you don’t answer the incoming call, the listeners can hear a click or other noise when that call hits your phone. Plus, it will distract you and interrupt what you are saying or what the host is asking you.

If you are calling the radio station, dial *70 and then call the number. This disables call waiting for the duration of the phone call. As soon as you hang up, it will be reactivated.

Better yet, call the phone company and cancel call waiting.

And many producers will want to call you instead of you calling in, especially the bigger shows. I haven’t tried this trick, but I hear it works. After you have answered the phone, ask the producer or host to hold on for a second. Then click over to the other line just as you would if there were a call on the other line. You will hear a dial tone. Then click back over and do your interview. Now any incoming calls should receive a busy signal because you just tied up the second line.

Work with me to get radio interviews and master them

One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I decide if radio is a great medium for you to grow your business. If it is, then we work to find shows that might be a good fit for your message. Once we pitch those shows and land you interviews, then we work together to help you deliver an amazing radio interview.

Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation.

If you want to learn more…if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don’t even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO.

Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you’re trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more.

Pick up my FREE eBook – The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.