Keep Reading, Keep Talking
Why rolling with your mistakes can save a broadcast and your sanity
Hi everyone
This week I was chatting with a colleague about the tiny moments that can rattle even experienced broadcasters. It reminded me that the habits we build early, often become the ones that carry us through the chaos.
I learned one lesson early in my career that has proved more valuable than almost anything else. When you make a mistake, keep going. Audiences rarely notice. If you stop or call attention to it, you often turn a tiny wobble into a headline moment.
This came back to me during that conversation with a colleague who has spent years on the road but is still getting used to an autocue. When he first started in studio, he felt he had to follow the script word for word. The truth is that nobody speaks like that. Some lines fit you naturally, some feel wooden. Some you rewrite in your head, some you talk around while the camera rolls. That flexibility is what makes you sound human.
The moment that cemented this for me happened in my local radio days. Our newsroom served six stations at once. A breakfast shift meant producing and reading eleven bulletins an hour plus a live read at the top of the hour. It was frantic in the best possible way.
I was midway through pre-recording a bulletin when a red light started flashing. Our studios were completely soundproof so alarms relied on lights rather than noise. I assumed it was a test and kept reading. The light kept flashing. I kept reading. Then the door burst open and the head of news shouted that we needed to leave immediately. I still finished the script before moving. Only afterwards did I realise the alarm had been triggered intentionally.
That habit followed me into television. Autocue slightly off and you are live. Keep talking. Autocue gone altogether. It has happened to me a few times. Keep talking. You are out on the road, your live link collapses and you have no idea whether you are still on air. Keep talking until someone tells you otherwise.
There are moments when acknowledging a mistake helps. Sometimes the slip is obvious, and a quick comment resets the room. It shows you are human. But most of the time a stumble over a word is exactly that, a stumble. It disappears before anyone truly registers it.
That is why the mantra still matters. Broadcasting is built on rhythm and trust. If you keep moving, the audience stays with you. When in doubt, keep reading. Keep talking. Keep going.
