This was my second show. My guests were Cheryl Lykowski and Jennifer Wagner. Jose Rodriguez joined us after about a half hour. This show ended up editing to almost an hour. I tried to edit more out of the conversation but it was all so interesting, at least to me, that I left it all in. I ended up just taking out dead air, ums, and the start up chatter and ending chatter.
What did I learn this time? First, I managed my mic better. My volume was lower, the others had good levels and the whole show leveled much easier than last time. Second, I managed the many components better this time. I talked, ran the chat room, added Jose into the Skype call, and let Alice Mercer kick the stream (or she took over) at the end of the show. Third, I say "umm" too often. I needed to edit many out of my sound. Fourth, and most importantly, I need to learn to talk less and let guests talk more. I was so afraid of dead air that I just never stopped. So poor Jose didn't talk much. My job as host is to draw out my guests. I didn't do that very well here. Cheryl, Jen, and I just talked and talked.
The most exciting part of the process was that, this time, I had fun. Last time I was so worried about it all going well. This time was just a blast. We didn't stick to my topic but the conversation flowed well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The chat room was jumping, too. Can't wait for my next show.