Yesterday I did a short interview about Sweet Meats with Emily and Kyle of The Meat Show. They’re excellent hosts and interviewers and I was particularly excited to be a part of their “Meat Inventions” episode but I was also very unprepared.
They called at noon to confirm a 3pm broadcast (unnerving in and of itself) but our phone connection was not great and our conversation sounded weird and stilted. Was this how the interview would sound? I gave them my home studio number to minimize connection problems for the actual show.
For an hour before they called I felt like I would throw up. I’ve done plenty of live performance and even some on-camera interviews, but radio is different, especially when you’re not in-studio. There are no visuals to help fill in for awkward pauses or inarticulate phrasing. And it’s LIVE. And unedited. I’m not entirely comfortable with my verbal communication skills (this blog is heavily edited) and the thought of having to be informative and entertaining for ten minutes straight was terrifying.
When they called at 3:20, I said “hello?” into the phone but no one replied. Instead, I heard Kyle and Emily finishing up their last segment. Oh crap! Did someone just hear my confused greeting in the middle of the broadcast? No, you idiot. This is how radio works. They don’t turn on your phone connection until they’re ready for you. How would I know when I should start talking?! When they say “Hi, Lauren. Thanks for being on the show. How are you?”, apparently.
Luckily, The Meat Show feels extremely fast-paced for a guest, more so than you would think just listening to it. Kyle and Emily never allow for dead air and always have great comments and questions at the ready (they really do their homework). Everything is friendly and slightly rushed, so you don’t have the time or inclination to worry about how you’re doing.
In the end I think the segment went pretty well and I actually left wishing I had gotten to be on longer. It turns out that if you have great hosts you can have a great show, even if your guests are peeing their pants.
Biz Miss 
Lauren,
I was fortunate enough to have been invited to sit in with Kyle and Emily during the broadcast of The Meat Show that you were on. Fear not, your segment went great and your products had us talking well into this afternoon (the following day). Both Kyle and Emily are just about as professional as they come in the wild world of live podcasting, so much so that I think they top most traditional radio hosts. Between the two they’ve made The Meat Show all at once a quirky and informative show and it’s building a great cult following. That following is enhanced of course by great guests like yourself.
I recently became a partner in the company behind The Meat Show (www.sprnetwork.com) but I confess, the prime reason I invested in the concept was because of Kyle and Emily. You will likely never find two more dedicated and talented individuals – live podcasting, radio, whatever – they’re the greatest.
And let’s face it, they’re great for business too – I’m already planning on picking up at least a couple meat medley sets in the next month to send as gifts (fathers day being one of them). Without The Meat Show, I would never have known about your extremely cool products.
Sincerely,
RobertWagner
Meat Show Groupie
Portland, Oregon
Thanks for the reassurance and kind words. I definitely agree that Kyle and Emily top a lot of analog radio hosts. I’m so glad they contacted me or I never would have discovered such a great show!