Yes, of course, check the usual sources – newspapers, magazines, web sites… But, one of the best ways of staying relevant to your listener, is to talk about life…your life. Your listener can get news and funny stories anywhere, but what they crave is shared human experience. They want to know what you’ve been up to and how you feel about things.

You have eyes, ears and taste buds! You watch TV and click on trending videos as much as the next person. You drive the roads and shop in the malls. You read books and you holler support for your favourite team. Your auntie comes to visit and you somehow always end up in the slow queue at the supermarket! All these things are potential show prep – why not talk about them? How do you feel about them? What issues do they bring up? What can you say about them? Who can you interview? What angle will you take on these things with your co-host?

That is why it’s so important to keep a show prep book. It can be a note app on your phone, or even an old-fashioned school note book. Whenever you watch/hear/read/observe anything funny, interesting, thought provoking or discussion worthy, write it down! Maybe it’s:

• a great quote from the book you’re reading
• an interesting statistic or fact from a web site
• a witty message on a t-shirt in a shop window
• some lousy driving you witnessed
• a new electronic gadget being advertised
• a comment you overheard

You may not use it immediately, or even at all. But keep it handy. A show prep book is one of the best sources of material that listeners can relate to – real human interest.

IMPORTANT: Of course be real, but balance that with professional privacy. Don’t embarrass your kids without their permission! By all means, talk about shopping at your local ‘Spend and Save’ but don’t say which branch. Keep personal quotes anonymous. And don’t give any information that will compromise the security of you or your loved ones…or get you sued!

Get scribbling, and happy broadcasting!

James