Stumble Stumble Yadda Yadda

[NoFoggyIdea]

Hey everyone. Well it seems that I am now in the stumble each time I am on air pattern. I havn't had a clean show in about two months because I stumble on a word here or there and then it snowballs. So from the Veterans of the business. . what do you do to get yourself out of this slump? Is it mind over matter? Are there any tips you can pass along to help this struggling professional out?

[that's life]

Just my personal opinion-

Try getting into a good routine before a show.
Read your scripts over. Know them intimately (as if you haven't heard that before).

It sounds like nervousness to me; try exercises before hand to ease nervousness- breathing exercises and stuff (I know it sounds desperate but it works!)

Again, these may not work for you but if you give it a try and experiment, you might find something that works for you. These things just helped me when I did my shows and got nervous.

A co-worker always said, "You should be more nervous if you're not nervous." So I guess it's normal to be nervous. That's why I'm surprised reporters and anchors live past 65 and are able to retire.

Hope this helps! Give some feedback too if you do it- I'd like to know if it's worth recommending.

[Eyegetit]

Good for you for asking. I have talked to talent about this. I think you are focusing on yourself, instead of the story. Your purpose is to tell the story.

Hope that helps.

[Sultanosurf]

Remember the kid's book "Everybody Poops?" OK, simplstic answer, but the truth is, everybody does it. Watching somebody try so hard to talk perfect is actually unrealistic. If you're stammering or stuttering it's a diferent matter. Otherwise, just proof your scripts and get into a flow. Have a decided course in your head for how you recover, but the idea is not to draw attention to it and keep moving forward. Sometimes your coffee intake or whatever could be a factor, but usually it's just a normal conversation flow that everyone deals with.

I prefer a quicker delivery, and that helps keep my flow going. But there have been days when the neural path seems to close down between brain and talking equipment. At that point, and hopefully it's not some deadly serious story, you may even have a little fun with it. Remember with Carson, half the fun was seeing how he recovered from his flubs. It's different in news, but just keep your composure, keep the flow going, and know that everybody has their moments. Good luck.

[Mom]

I agree with eyegetit. You're focusing on yourself reading instead of telling the story. And that's the difference. You have to think of your news delivery as "telling a story" as opposed to "reading a story." This is why pre-reading is essential and why I'm constantly amazed at the number of anchors who don't pre-read their scripts. So many think they're good enough that they don't have to. Believe me, they do. Nobody's that good and if anchors think their job is to simply be a good reader, they're shortchanging their station and their audience. If your scripts vanished and the teleprompter went down you should know your stories well enough that you could tell them without needing to rely on a script. Sometimes a script is a crutch because the reader gets caught up in making the words sound a certain way instead of making the entire story sound a certain way. I've heard way too many anchors get into a sing-songy pattern because they're trying to make the words sound different. It ends up hurting the story's delivery and makes the anchor hard to listen to because they don't appear to know what they're talking about. It's one of those "can't see the forest for the trees" situations.

The other biggie that you must do to get out of this pattern is to move forward. When you make your first verbal mistake, keep going and focus on the story you're telling and what's ahead. DO NOT let your mind go back to that mistake to ponder why and how it happened. That means you're not focusing on the task at hand and will make another mistake and then another. It's just a sink hole after that.

[NoFoggyIdea]

Thanks for all of the advice and keep it coming. Last night was another night where just one little stumble then snowballed into more and by the end of the show I was just so frustrated. I know I need to blow all of this off but it is times like that the viewers remember. I guess even that sentance shows that I am focusing more on myself than the story. But, how do you not focus on yourself a little when it is your job to deliver the story in a professional matter and the mouth just won't follow along? It also doesn't help that my EP, producer, director and even the camera guys are all saying. . . get it together or we will bring in the B team!! I guess they are trying to laugh with me but it then sticks in my head that they are thinking well here it goes again more stumbling yadda yadda yadda.

[Another OMB]

My first thought when I read this was that a lot of the problem, and why it snowballs, could be your thought process after a stumble. Are you thinking from them on, "Don't stumble, don't stumble"? If so, then all you're thinking about is stumbling so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I learned this playing sports. In baseball, if you strike out the first time at bat then go up the next time thinking, "Dont' strike out", that's exactly what usually happens. Instead, you have to forget about the first time up and focus on what you need to do to get a hit. You visualize the right technique to get a hit and visualize it happening.

When broadcasters stumble, they get nervous and may speed up, which causes more stumbling. Or the nervousness causes you to tense up your facial muscles, which also causes more stumbling.

Since it's been happening a lot, you need to figure out some way to get it out of your head, focus on the current story you're reading and move forward.
The previous advice about focusing more on the story than yourself is exactly right.

[NoFoggyIdea]

Once I stumble then I think (while I am talking) "crap there I go again. Another crappy show from me. Why am I even in this buisness. Ok. . now focus and do the job you know how to do." All of that within a few seconds mind you but that is what goes through my mind. Everyone says to put it behind me and I want nothing more than to do that but here is the question. . . HOW????

[John M.]

Once I stumble then I think (while I am talking) "crap there I go again. Another crappy show from me. Why am I even in this buisness."

One stumble does not a disaster make. First you have to understand that the most important thing about anchoring is not to always read every single word cleanly. It's to project a command of the material that makes people comfortable watching you read it. Don't aim for perfection. Aim for command.

You have to develop a shorter memory. Hall-of-fame baseball player George Brett is supposed to have described concentration as "the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary."

You also have to practice. Not only to improve your reading skills but to give yourself confidence in them. Another tip: practice reading while listening to music or a podcast in your iPod. It will teach you how to concentrate on reading even as some other voice intrudes into your thoughts. If your IFB will plug into your iPod, it's even more effective.

Eventually reading aloud will become second-nature. I can now do it cleanly while thinking about something totally unrelated to the subject of the copy.

[Sir Dropham Pants]

Know your material. This advice may be more helpful to reporters doing "prompter-less" live shots. Know concepts of the story - not exact words. If you memorize your intro or tag word for word, there's an excellent chance you'll screw up if you miss one of the words you memorized. Instead, just remember what you're going to talk about. Not necessarily what you're going to say.
As for anchoring, a lot of it has to do with being comfortable on the set, comfortable with the stories you're reading and comfortable in your abilities. You're clearly lacking in the latter of those comforts. But that'll come with experience and time. Again, know your material. The prompter is a reminder, not a dictator. It's there to remind you of the story you already know. You guide the prompter, it doesn't guide you.

[s'news]

I think the word "snowball" is the key here.

If I sat in front of you and talked for any length of time, reading scripts or just ad-libbing, I'd make a small mistake from time to time. It's natural. It's how people talk. To never stumble is practically robotic.

Don't make a big deal of it. Just continue on. If you say a name wrong, just fix it and move on. A small stumble here and there is no big deal. Rolling with those punches makes you an effective communicator.

Or you could try the professional sports answer to a slump -- particularly among golfers -- and find an extremely large girl to pick up for a one-night stand.

[Southernguy]

Just a couple more tips: get it into your head what I call 'forward motion.' don't dwell on the words you just kicked--instead focus on the thoughts and words ahead of you.

by that same token, if you're reading from prompter or script, read just a little bit ahead of the words you are saying. It will sort of subliminally plant the next thoughts and words into your brain so they come out smoothly.

lot of good tips here.

[Newsie627]

I've been told I need to lower my pitch. Other than picking up smoking, any advice on how to do it?

[Sir Dropham Pants]

Speak from your chest & lungs, not from your throat or nose. Speak with confidence, but don't fake it. Don't lower your pitch artificially.

[Sultanosurf]

Another thought: If you really get overcome by your stumble paranoia, you're dead. If your a guy, why not succomb to your natural processes, and think about naked women for a while after you've prepped? Supposedly guys think of sex once every minute during a day, subconciously or not. Your processor may be down...

[DoneThatToo]

I've been told I need to lower my pitch. Other than picking up smoking, any advice on how to do it?

What's wrong with high and inside? Keeps 'em brushed back from the plate. Maybe work on your slider a little bit . . .

OK, it is Monday and I don't really have anything worth while to add.

Carry on.

[Eyegetit]

Another tip. This may sound a little off-beat, but pick up a game like tennis or raquet ball which forces you to focus. Even try computer video games, if you can't get out. Your problem seems to be a matter of focusing on what's most important at the moment. It is a skill you can develop.

[MoistureFluxCapacitor]

The key is to NOT "overperform". Too many try to SOUND like an anchor instead of just BEING an anchor.

Try to keep everything conversational...the script...your tone...your delivery. Then, even if you do stumble, it sounds natural. :)

Additionally, watch yourself on tape and try to identify your "crutch words". We all have them...and they crop up when we are trying to fill little dead spots of nothingness. (Good name for a band maybe???).

To that end...don't feel like you have to fill every nanosecond with some sort of sound. Little pauses can be good things!