TV presenters work in television, introducing and hosting TV programmes, reporting on events and issues or interviewing people.
To be a TV presenter, you need to have:
- An outgoing personality
- A good, clear speaking voice
- A love of working with people
- A good memory for facts and people
- The ability to improvise as necessary
- A good sense of humour definitely helps
- The ability to engage the audience and maintain their interest.
Tasks can be varied - besides presenting they may also be involved in:
- Meeting and liaising with the production team
- Meeting with researchers and preparing scripts
- Preparing interview questions
- Rehearsing (this may include using autocues, interviewing guests, working with studio audiences)
- Carrying out several “takes” of the same segment of the programme
- Reacting to any instructions given by the director or floor manager.
Opportunities
Presenters can work on national, regional and international TV, satellite and cable channels. They may work in:
- News
- Current affairs
- Sports
- Children’s TV
- Weather
- Games shows
- Sports shows
- Music shows
- Special interest shows, such as travel, history, science, gardening
Risks and Challenges
The hours can be long, unsociable and irregular. They can require late nights and weekend working. Sometimes you can record shows to be seen at later times, but live shows will be recorded at the time they are on TV. Some work will require outside work. For example, a TV presenter may be outside talking about harsh weather conditions, so will need to be outside in that weather.
How to become a TV Presenter
There are no set qualifications to become a TV presenter. There is also no set route. Some presenters can move into TV presenting from other areas, such as radio, journalism, media research. They may have gained a lot of knowledge in a particular area, such as science, property development, crime etc and move into presenting as a way to share their knowledge with others.
Personality and skills are definitely important. It is essential to be a good people person, as well as being organised and punctual. Competition is extremely fierce for television jobs so it is important to network, promote yourself and to remain persistent and determined.
As with radio announcing, you can gain work experience by undertaking voluntary work or internships, student radio, hospital radio, community radio, work placements and so on.
Acting or drama lessons can be useful to help people to learn presenting skills.
Other Related Jobs
- Radio announcer
- Weather man/woman
- TV announcer
- Voice actor
- Journalist
- Researcher