Angi Taylor got into radio by doing an internship, answering request lines before sending a demo and landing a presenting job. Meanwhile, Angie walked into Capital Radio on a six-month contract as the Head of HR and got her position after an overheard impression led to a demo request.
iHeart’s Rock 95.5 is Chicago’s rock station and Angi landed her present role with a mixture of ‘courage and receipts’, statistics that show why listeners love her and enough passion for radio to ask for the coveted breakfast position. Greaves’s story is similar. When Global took over Capital, Heart and Smooth, she thought her programme would be replaced with networked alternatives but they networked her programme on drive instead.
Despite their geographical distance, they’ve both heard the lie ‘Women don’t like to hear women on radio’. Both women agree that comfort is the enemy of progress in radio and noted the gender imbalance of listeners and employees, noting that lots of radio listeners are women but not many radio professionals are.
The importance of every listener shouldn’t be underestimated. Answering a question from a conference member, both explain that they present as if they were presenting to a single person, irrespective of gender. ‘People are people’ they say, and that ‘whatever comes out of that mic has to be right for the listener’.
Speaking of advice for future presenters, Angie’s top tip is to know what type of radio you want to get into and specialise in it. To improve your presenting skills and craft your communication, walk around your home and describe things you see. Angi agrees stating that anybody can read but that it takes personality to present.
Perhaps the most important tip of the talk, Angi urges conference goers to ‘find your elevator’, somebody who can elevate you, connect you, and raise you up.
