"We just need to get the newscaster out of you," TV coach Marki Costello said at our first session. I'd called Marki after seeing her help former NFL pro Hank Baskett move from the football field to the studio.
Marki teaches the same technical skills like TelePrompter and breaking down copy that newscasters learn but in a way that fits the style of TV hosting. Hosting is a completely different beast than news; sort of like the difference between boxers and wrestlers - both compete in a ring but they need different abilities.
"Reveal something about yourself we'd never know by looking at you," Marki instructed in her Hosting Boot Camp, "to help the audience connect with you."
Hosts share intimate secrets with their audiences; as newscasters, we're trained to hide behind the camera. Newscasters tell other people's stories, not our own. Strip off that protective layer? No way.
I revealed that my military dad had me in boxing gloves before I could read. My tone conveyed my message: back off.
Next assignment was reading copy for a dating show. Marking stopped me after a few sentences demanding, "What do YOU think?"
As news anchors, we're trained to stay out of the story; whereas hosts make money off of their opinions.
"That petite woman who won't date tall men has no idea what she's missing!" I blurted out. Great. Now the audience thinks I sleep with NBA players.
Then came a live co-hosting drill. In news, we face a camera - not a crowd. The live audience felt like a jury. I mumbled a few words about the topic - travel, told a story about a recent trip to a Third World country - and crept back to my seat.
A hot guy from The Bachelorette leaned over and whispered, "Do you know you said, 'pooped in a can?'"
Despite Marki's coaching, I felt stuck. Too old to change with habits too big to break. Six weeks in TV rehab? At least there shouldn't be any dead bodies.
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