If you want to get really good at anchoring a TV newscast, then you need to be willing to watch yourself. That was the advice I received years ago from one of the best TV news consultants in the business.
At the time, the consultant was graciously offering some pointers to everyone in my newsroom. We were a small station and he had come in to give us some big league tips.
His wisdom was simple. After a newscast, you need to watch your performance. See what you did well, analyze the moments where you didn’t connect with the audience, and make adjustments for the next time you go on the air.
The funny thing was that while he worked with many prominent news anchors, some of them weren’t improving. They were good but they weren’t great enough to move up to larger stations and fatter paychecks.
Why not? Because they didn’t like to watch themselves on TV and they never reviewed their work. They were professionally stuck.
That was enough to convince me to grab a pen and a legal pad and watch myself. While I was not naturally talented in this field, I was able to improve my camera presence.
Years later, I find the consultant’s advice still useful and applicable to the business world.
The goal is not to be just good at something. The goal is to always focus on getting better.
Why do you need to get better in your field? As in my news anchoring days, the rewards for improvement include more money and increased opportunities.
To Clear the Path to this kind of improvement, you need to let go of some mental baggage.
Fear
You have to have the courage to evaluate yourself. Odds are you won’t like everything you see. But if you want to get better, you need to know what you should improve.
Do you think quarterbacks like looking at game tape of themselves throwing interceptions? But it’s necessary if they are to understand how the defense beat them and how they can overcome the play in the future.
Quick Fixes
Typically, natural talent will only take you so far. To get really good at something, you will likely need to create an ongoing commitment to getting better. It’s not as fun as imagining yourself as magically improving without any hard work. This rarely happens outside of fairy tales.
The Doubtful
It’s difficult to get really good at something without somebody noticing. They may not support you. This may be partially because they don’t want to do the work that you’re embracing.
It’s like someone serving cupcakes while you’re trying to drop a few pounds.
This may not be a matter of someone hating you but they may not want to see you improve because it’s a reminder that they aren’t putting in the time to get better.
Final Thought
If you start to wonder if it’s worth the commitment to get better, look back at your work from before you started. You may be surprised by your progress.
