On my last birthday, I wrote down 14 things I wanted to do before I was 40, (still got a way to go on that by the way), but one of the things I wanted myself to do was step outside my comfort zone a little more. It’s so easy to stay where we’re safe, but if we’re not always brave then we don’t grow do we?
A Guest Appearance on Mums without Makeup
Which meant, two weeks ago when I was emailed by a producer from BBC Berkshire Radio about guesting on one of their shows – Mums without Makeup, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Having never listened to the show, I then set about having a brief listen to some podcasts to see what it would be like and to check I could do that, before confirming. It seemed fun and light hearted and something that I could manage.
A few hours before the show I was emailed three main topics, which sent me into a bit of a flurry as I’m a bit of a planner! I wrote some notes on a notepad and thought about how I might answer questions based on these topics. They did make me nervous, as they did choose some rather controversial topics! Controlled crying, smacking your children and childminders vs nurseries. But in my head I had some cohesive thoughts on what I would say on each subject.
Early Friday evening I headed off to Thames Valley Park, after deliberating about what to wear – which is kind of ridiculous given it was radio. I arrived with lots of time to spare and sat in the waiting room full of nervous anticipation.
I needn’t have worried, I welcomed by the lovely presenters Anouhska and Vicky with a great big hug and they immediately made me feel at ease. Also my notebook didn’t come out of my bag once, but I was glad that I had done some preparation in advance. So I didn’t just say ‘err..’ when a question was fired at me. Although there was definitely some free form questions going on there that I didn’t know was going to coming up until a few minutes before.
What’s it Like Being on Live Radio?
Being on live radio little strange, but also a bit like having a chat with a large microphone in front of you. You sit in a room with the presenters and lots of technical looking equipment, when you’re live you have to put earphones on so that you can hear what’s going on. Other than that, you basically follow the presenter’s lead.
When the news of music is playing on the radio, the earphones come off and there is light hearted chat in the room. It was all very relaxed. I think if you were going on a more serious radio show, perhaps on a more professional subject, things would be different and I would definitely want to have done more preparation in advance and probably kept my trusty notebook with me, but that that didn’t feel needed on the show I was on.
Stepping outside my Comfort Zone
Was I glad I did it? I really was, I actually really enjoyed it and when they are asked me at the end if I would like to come back, my answer was quite emphatically yes.
It wasn’t just that though, by proving to myself that I could do it, it would give me the confidence to do more things like this in the future. Open more avenues for collaborations and opportunities maybe which is exciting. Also Anoushka and Vicky said I had mermaid hair… totally worth doing it for!
I wonder that the next thing I say yes to will be?