On Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists asking if I would be able to/would like to go on BBC Radio Newcastle the following morning as they had asked for an SLT to talk about what we do (as the OT and SLT services in County Durham and Darlington are going out to tender).
I was excited and nervous about the idea of talking on live radio but I always welcome new experiences to talk about speech and language therapy. The main disadvantage was having to be in Newcastle for 6.45am and thus out of my lovely warm bed at 5.30am (a time of day I never usually see!)
RCSLT were extremely supportive over the phone on Wednesday and I felt equipped to go on air and talk about how Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives.
On Wednesday evening I received a phone call from the radio station to have a chat about what would be talked about on the show and where I needed to go etc. The lady also recorded a short interview to use in the news bulletin before my interview (which I heard in the car on the way to the studio yesterday morning!)
I left the house early, with very little voice (having had a cold all week) and kept my fingers crossed it would return by the time I was live on air. Upon arrival I signed in, got my visitors pass and was taken along to the studio where I waited to be called in. I was excited and nervous but everyone was really friendly and I was chatting to another guest speaker who was going to be on about something else, after me. I drank lots of water to keep my throat hydrated and tried not to talk too much before going live.
When I went into the studio, I sat down and was handed headphones and told how close I needed to be to the microphone. I was a bit nervous once I was in the room and tried to concentrate on talking to the presenter (Charlie) rather than think about the fact I was on live radio. I feel the interview went well, but as always with hindsight, there was a lot more specific things I could have said and I have a bruise on my leg now from where I kicked myself after the interview(!!)... Concentrating on the position of my mouth from the mic, balancing my headphones, controlling my speed of talking (something which is usually MUCH too fast!), trying not to concentrate on my tickly throat AND thinking about what I wanted to say and the best way to say it proved to be quite a challenge!
As always when I am put in a different communicative situation I realise just how much I take my own communication for granted every single day. Being on the radio was an exciting experience and certainly something I would do again but I don’t think being a radio presenter will ever be a second job for me (the professionals make it sound so easy!)
Before I left I gave Alfie and Charlie each a Giving Voice pen and they said I’d be welcome back again (so hopefully there might be opportunity for this in the future)!
All in all an interesting experience, listen here from 1 hour 7 minutes if you want to hear the interview (please forgive my hoarse voice!)
Speech and Language Therapy Transforms Lives!
