So You Want To Be A TV Presenter?

Kathryn Wolfe

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781780010571
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Acting & Auditioning

A practical, vocational guide to starting a career on TV as a presenter.

The demand for presenters in the television industry has never been higher. But, although it's seen as a glamorous job and a step to celebrity, being a TV presenter is also hard work, and demands a varied range of journalistic, technical, performance and personal skills.

With a background in TV directing, working with professional presenters and training new ones for the TV industry, Kathryn Wolfe takes you through the techniques and skills required to become a successful presenter, including:

• How to read from a prompt and use in-ear talkback
• How to talk to camera and talk to time
• How to cope with live, recorded, studio and location shoots
• How to present for specialist channels (children's, shopping, weather)
• How to create a successful CV and convincing showreel

Hands-on exercises and checklists will guide you through improving your posture, developing correct breathing and good diction, evaluating your performance, and much more.

The book is also packed with accessible advice and top tips from dozens of experienced and new presenters currently working on TV. It tells you what happens in auditions, and, above all, how to go about getting a job as a presenter.

With a foreword by Chris Tarrant.

'This splendid book covers every aspect of the job... I look forward to seeing you on my telly!' (Chris Tarrant, from his Foreword)

PART ONE

Why?

Why now?

“As I got older I went on to pursue a more sensible occupation as an administrator and now at twenty-nine and knowing myself more, I felt it was time to do something I really wanted to do and pursue my dreams.

Charmaine Line, presenter, local-news.tv

So you want to be a TV presenter? It’s a growing market and there’s never been a better time to enter the industry. In recent years we have seen a huge expansion in the number of broadcast programmes and opportunities for presenters on digital TV, internet channels, web videos and other media.

TV channels are developing so quickly that current figures are hard to pin down, but the statistics speak for themselves: in 1982 there were still only three TV channels, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. In October 2009, according to Ofcom, there were 831 cable and satellite services available in the UK.

You can find a channel for almost every niche and genre from education (Teachers TV) to paranormal (Psychic TV), online jewellery (Gemondo TV) to Asian entertainment (AAG TV), religion (Gospel Channel) to football (Liverpool FC TV), finance (Bloomberg Television) to lifestyle (Horse and Country TV) – and presenting for the less mainstream channels is a popular and more approachable route into the business. These three presenters are typical of those who have entered the industry via the lesser-known channels:

“I went part time at work to give me more time to pursue presenting. I took a big pay cut but it has definitely been worth it. Presenting is my passion and I feel like I actually have a balanced life now, as opposed to trying to squeeze everything into evenings, weekends and days off.

Cate Conway, presenter, The Seven Thirty Show (UTV), Cooking in the Community (Northern Visions)

“I have always enjoyed performing – or being the ‘front man’ – having spent many years acting, dancing and singing. I have a passion for the performing arts and I saw TV presenting as an extension of that. I wanted to combine my work experience with my performing skills. I enjoy the TV world and being in a position to entertain or inform an audience. I take bizarre pleasure in putting myself in pressured situations, having to think on my feet or deliver in a live environment. It also offers the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life.

Howard Corlett, winner, Sky Search for a Presenter, 2006; presenter, The Seven Wonders of the Weald (Sky)

“Presenting is an exciting, diverse and flexible profession. You never know where your next project is going to take you.

Nicci Brighten, presenter, Love Your Home Show, 2008, Radio Wey 87.9 FM

There are hundreds of channels that could be described as ‘minority’, but that is the way television is heading: it has become a hugely fragmented market. Whether you are presenting on a mainstream or a smaller channel, your work is still classified as a professional engagement and you gain a screen credit – it does not matter if the audience figures are high or relatively low. In some ways it is actually better to start off presenting on the smaller channels, so as to gain experience before you launch yourself on the mainstream ones.

TV presenting is also more accessible now than it used to be, with more opportunities for different kinds of presenters. In the past, presenters traditionally came from a journalistic or performance background, whereas nowadays if you have the right personality and some training you can look for a TV-presenting job to suit your individual interests and hobbies.

It’s never been easier to enter the industry, especially if you have access to the internet. You will find dozens of TV-presenter auditions advertised online, sites where you can seek work, upload your own video material, advertise your skills and experience, and organise your career. Showreel footage will be necessary for some job applications, but not all.

There are plenty of presenter training courses available, ranging from one day to one year. Some courses include showreels, and some don’t, but as the equipment needed to make showreels has become cheaper and more compact, many presenters make their own reels – or at least one to start them off. It is possible to shoot and edit showreel pieces without going to professional studios and edit facilities, and you can apply for auditions with your homemade reel. I know hundreds of TV presenters who have started this way, even one who waited for her husband to leave the house, set up the camera herself in the kitchen, recorded a cookery item and sent it off for a screen test – she was successful!

For a few pounds each year you can set up your own website to market yourself and stream your items; alternatively, use an existing free site such as YouTube to play out your material. If you can’t find a channel to suit your passions and interests you can even set up your own, like Karen Ridgers, who set up veggievision.tv, an internet TV channel for vegetarians.

“People have always said with my natural and bubbly personality I should be a TV presenter. I love meeting people, talking with them and seem to have a natural ability to help the interviewee feel at ease. It’s great fun!

Karin Ridgers, founder/presenter, veggievision.tv

As well as training, you will need some good-quality photos of yourself, a presenting CV, the ability to write a good job application and plenty of enthusiasm. This is what some presenters have said about why they wanted to try presenting:

“I like the idea of learning new things every day and having to speak eloquently about a wide range of subjects. The interactive human aspect of presenting and interviewing also really appeals to me.

Hannah McLean, commentator, FINA World Swimming Championships, 2008

“I feel that all the skills I have learnt in various jobs through the years will hopefully come together in my presenting. Experience in front of the camera as an actress and time as production assistant and PA will, I hope, lead to a greater understanding of the production process and the importance of teamwork and, of course, communication. Also, I would love to communicate my enthusiasm for property and interiors to a wider audience.

Charlie Lemmer, presenter, Real Estate Channel, Dubai Eye, Abu Dhabi TV, Current TV

What about you? Are there reasons why you would like to try TV presenting? If so, what are you waiting for?

Why me?

“Competing as an elite athlete has instilled a drive in me to produce the perfect performance whatever that may be. TV presenting is about preparation, and pulling off a polished performance no matter what factors you have to deal with.

Hannah McLean, commentator, FINA World Swimming Championships, 2008 (Bronze Medallist 200m backstroke, 2006 Commonwealth Games)

Why not you? Presenters are only human – they come in all shapes and sizes, an infinite variety of colours, ages, backgrounds and physical types. Each potential presenter is unique with their own set of experiences, skills, qualifications, interests, passions and goals. These are some of the people I’ve come across at presenting workshops: student, graduate, TV extra, college manager, property investor, interiors consultant, receptionist, air steward, overseas holiday rep, entertainer, retired secretary, retail manager, banker, film reviewer, telephone sales operator, TV researcher, waiter, financial consultant, hedge-fund manager, university lecturer, belly dancer, opera singer, plumber, scientist, healthcare worker, teacher, musician, actor, DIY expert, garden designer, ballroom dancer, Commonwealth rifle shot, trampoline instructor, wine expert, children’s author, computer programmer, ice-hockey player, lawyer, civil servant, housewife, artist, vegetarian, catwalk model, Olympic swimmer, shop assistant, dental receptionist, beauty therapist, professional cricketer, journalist, runner-up Miss World, broadcaster, radio producer, art historian, synchronised swimmer, voice-over artist, chef, sales assistant, marketing and PR manager, engineer, IT consultant, hospital ward manager, gospel singer, screenplay writer, bus driver, travel agent, jazz singer, international triathlete.

To become a presenter you do not need actual qualifications, there are no prerequisites or accreditations. Literally anyone from any walk of life can become a TV presenter – what matters is that you are able to engage with the camera, connect to the viewer, have something to say and know how to say it. Even if you receive a certificate to prove you have completed a presenter-training course, in order to gain employment you will need to succeed in auditions, screen tests or interviews, and show that you can do the job.

Some presenters have taken the plunge and given up their former careers:

“I gave up a ‘proper’ job in the corporate world. Having worked for years in travel I thought I would be ideal for Wish You Were Here and the Holiday Programme, only to find it was the end of an era for these types of travel formats. It was still worth it… following my heart, my passion and my dream.

Howard Corlett, winner, Sky Search for a Presenter, 2006; presenter, The Seven Wonders of the Weald (Sky); (and formeroverseas holiday rep, purchasing/product manager for tour operators, entertainer, ballroom dancer)

Jill Kenton, presenter for jnetradio.com, Hayes FM, QVC, Dress My Mate, and contributor to BBC Breakfast, was formerly marketing director at bespoke lingerie company Rigby & Peller. Denise Ching, guest presenter of Italian jewellery for QVC, was previously BA cabin crew, and Louise Houghton, presenter for sit-up channels and SuperCasino, was a TV production assistant when she was given the chance to present.

I taught a varied mix of people in one ‘presenting for beginners’ workshop, ranging from a bus driver to a Cambridge graduate: the former was better at presenting than the latter because the bus driver had more confidence and personality. So, do not feel that your background may not be suitable or appropriate – if you can develop the confidence to talk to camera, then you should be able to present.

Why presenting?

“I work as an entertainer, a circus performer, workshop leader and costume maker. I enjoy the freedom that being freelance gives me, I find fitting all types of work together reasonably straightforward. I have not had a contract longer than two months in the last few years, but have had plenty of work, so at the moment the presenting fits in the same way.

Fiona Watkins, presenter, Holmwood’s English Listening Training

If you are tempted to try presenting, but not sure how it will turn out, you do not have to give up your day job! The way to approach presenting, at first, is to think of it as another string to your bow. You could aim to get experience as a presenter and hopefully start to earn money from it without necessarily changing your career.

TV-presenting jobs are mostly freelance engagements, for varying lengths of time. A contract could range from a few hours to a few days; if you are lucky it could last a few weeks, months or years! As a shopping-channel expert you might be used for years, but your on-screen presenting might only take place for a few hours at a time, with a gap of many months in between.

On the other hand, some presenting jobs can be more full time. A presenter on a daily show or series could be employed for a few days per week for several months or even years. If you are offered this kind of contract, then you may have to put other jobs on hold, or leave your previous employment in order to be available for shoots.

So...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Foreword by Chris Tarrant
• Introduction
• Part One – Why?
• Part Two – What?
• Part Three – How?
• Part Four – Getting a Job
• Part Five – Top Tips and Troubleshooting
• Epilogue
• Appendices
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author
• Other Titles in the Series
• Copyright Information