5 qualities a TV presenter should have

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

"Evening Urgant", "Field of Miracles", "Minute of Glory", "Vesti" - the success of these and many other popular TV shows largely depends on the presenters. Therefore, the producers of new programs prefer to invite truly talented and hardworking people to this role, who can interest the audience. Kristina Kuruma, a journalist and TV presenter of the Moscow 24 channel (The City, Night shift), told us about what qualities a person working in the frame should have.

Confident speech

In the first years of journalism, they scared me that the TV presenter could not have the right to make a mistake. In fact, this is not the case, reservations happen even among professionals with vast experience. However, what the presenter cannot afford is to sound insecure, weak. Talk softly, swallow sounds, do not intonate, pause too long, do not pronounce the endings.

Speech work takes time and regularity. At the beginning of the journey, it is better to engage in the development of this skill under the supervision of a competent specialist. I started my classes with teachers of acting schools. Three years later, she switched to an independent regime with one-time consultations with a speech and breathing specialist.

Fast reaction

This primarily applies to those who work live. On TV, force majeure happens every day, many things go wrong all the time. For example, shooting breaks down, equipment breaks down, urgent news arrives. For the viewer, the broadcast should look as if everything is going according to plan, everything is as intended. If the prompter suddenly breaks down, the leader cannot wait silently until it is repaired. You need to instantly orient yourself and keep talking. If the program structure has changed due to breaking news, you cannot just read the old eyeliner. It is necessary to use all the input that the editor prompts in the ear. And keep talking. Even if a fly is flying in front of your face, which can land on you, you need to smile and keep talking.

Curiosity and zest for life

There are situations when communication with the editor disappears, no one can tell what to ask or answer next. It is impossible to predict such situations, which means that it is impossible to prepare for them. Therefore, it is great when the presenter can support the conversation and knows something else besides the setting of intonation stress. Curiosity helps broaden your horizons. I am in constant development of both my professional qualities and personality. For example, I am currently studying at the Editors' School of the Gorbunov Bureau, visiting exhibitions, taking a great interest in film photography, singing, sports, studying French, and traveling a lot. In the near future, I plan to learn how to play the piano.

Willingness to work in a team

The principle “if you want to walk fast, walk alone” practically does not work in this profession. The leader is never alone. In order for the television picture to turn out the way the viewer sees it, it is necessary to unite many specialists. During the broadcast, the production team and the editor are in touch with the presenter. And the quality of the TV product depends on how all these people interact. The same basic principles of communication apply here as in any other team. For example:

• show empathy;
• ask questions that involve detailed answers;
• express your opinion so as not to offend the interlocutor;
• speak in simple and understandable language;
• respect the right to "no" of each member of the team.

Listening skills

It is critical to be able to listen in interview or talk show formats. Without this skill, you will have to read questions on a piece of paper or rely on tips from the editor in your ear. Pay attention to the book "The Ability to Listen" by Bernard Ferrari. This skill is able to direct the conversation in the right direction and get the most useful information from it. Here are the basic rules for "active listening" from this book:

• remember the purpose you are pursuing in the conversation;
• filter the flow of incoming information and be able to highlight the important;
• direct the course of the conversation to get all the useful information: focus on the content of the conversation, ask the right questions and pause in time;
• collect information for judgments and imagine how to sort the data in order to fix it in memory and, if necessary, quickly apply it.

Another book that I advise a novice TV presenter to read is Alchemy of Communication: The Art of Hearing and Being Heard by Rami Blekt. The book teaches you to find the essence in what you hear and accumulate the most valuable information in order to later properly dispose of it.

In the profession of a presenter, just sitting out the allotted working time will not work. You need to be in love with television, constantly evolve, be “greedy” for everything that surrounds you. The TV presenter must have his own "trick".