Star on radio and TV

Make your excitement come through!

Dennis Ashton
Science ambassador, planetarium presenter, broadcaster and educator, UK

I enjoy doing radio interviews, particularly phone-ins, where you have to think on your feet to answer. Here are some tips for astronomy radio interviews:

1. Make sure that you know the subject matter well

2. Find out how much time you have on air (in a news programme two minutes is generous, in a magazine programme you may have several minutes)

3. Prepare a small number of essential information points, like bullet points.

4. During the interview make sure that you communicate these essential points. Make sure that you start the interview where you want, with a short, simple introduction to the subject.

5. The interviewer probably knows little astronomy and may ask irrelevant or plain silly questions. Simply interpret the question loosely and say what you think is important, using your bullet points. With practice you can acquire the skill of ignoring a question but seeming to answer it -and saying what you think the listeners need to know.

6. Keep your language simple, jargon-free.

7. Repeat salient points in alternative ways if you have time.

8. Make sure that your enthusiasm comes through in your voice - if you sound interested, excited, enthusiastic it may help to enthuse listeners.

9. Prepare one or two 'sound-bites', catchy phrases that the listener might remember.

10. Speak to the interviewer as if you are having a one-to-one conversation, keep eye contact etc, then the unseen radio listener will feel that you are speaking to him or her personally

11. Make sure that you finish on a high note with a brief sentence summarising the topic & interesting the listener in possible outcomes.