I was on national TV!
I have always wondered what it would be like to be a guest on TV, live. I watch mainstream news channels such as CNN and BBC who have guests who come on live to give their expert opinion. How would I cope with live TV I often wondered.
Well, this week I had to wonder no more. The opportunity presented itself, last minute too and I thought why not rise to the occasion. It was with Bernama TV, a local Malaysian media channel. I happened to be free at the time that was slotted.
But there were many twists to getting there. When I was first approached to be a guest, I was told it would be a radio interview and it would be pre-recorded and edited. I was quite relaxed about it. ‘I can do that’, I thought to myself. Later when the producer of the show called me, I was told it would be TV and it would be live.
That changed everything! It was TV! I would be seen. My brain went into a tailspin. How would I cope I thought but I also told myself that there was only one way to find out! To do it.
So, after a nanosecond of hesitation, I agreed. I committed. Because there were flyers that would go out with my details. I could not back out after that. That would not be very responsible of me. I was also told that my segment would be only 8 minutes and I would follow the main guest who would have a 20-minute segment. Again, I can handle that I thought to myself. 8 minutes is not very long. I had a plan of what I would cover in 8 minutes for my topic which was Emotional Literacy in relation to our upcoming national elections.
The flyer that went on social media before the show. ‘Rakyat’ means people in Bahasa Malaysia
But everything changed again.
I would come on via Skype and closer to the time of the programme, the station would call me via Skype to do a sound check. The programme, The Nation, would go live at 3 pm and I was told that the sound check would be at 2.30 pm.
At 2.40 pm I had still not received a call and I felt anxiety begin to rise. But at 2.50 pm the call finally came, and the sound test was done within a minute. There was some background buzz that I experienced, and the sound engineers worked on it.
The producer told me to be myself and not be too scripted. I wanted to tell him that I had never done this before and wasn’t sure what to expect. ‘Yoga, just relax and go with the flow’, I told myself. It was all happening so fast. I don’t think my brain had enough time to figure out what was happening which in hindsight was a good thing. I was going into the unknown with my eyes wide open but relaxed.
I asked if I could remain online and listen to the previous guest so that I could respond to her opinion when I came on. That was not possible they said as the first guest would be via Skype too and they could not have both of us on Skype. I wanted to ask why but decided against it. I would be called at 3.15 pm.
I was told that I could watch it on my TV live but my TV was in my hall downstairs and that would be inconvenient. I was then told I could stream it on my phone, but I would have to turn it off to avoid an echo when I came on via Skype. I agreed and we signed off and I went to find the Bernama TV on my phone. Just as I found it on my phone and began to watch the live stream, I noticed my Skype ring. Strange I thought, this is too early. It was exactly 3 pm. I should not be coming on for another 15 minutes.
But everything changed again.
I quickly turned off the live stream on my phone and answered the Skype call. The previous guest was not reachable, and they decided to have me on standby. Now, I really began to get anxious. I had prepared for an 8-minute chat, not a longer chat. But I decided to go with my original plan - go with the flow!
Go with the flow I did. To cut a long story short, my 8 minutes extended to about 15 minutes with an intermission in between. It was an amazing experience. All the emotions I was feeling at the time helped me have a relatively calm and engaging conversation with some humour thrown in.
Well, I think so anyway. You can find out for yourself. Here is the link to the recording. (The link seems to work better, for me, on my phone and not my laptop - not sure why). https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1302408427200464&id=100064181437718
I had fun and found it a truly amazing experience. I do not have to wonder anymore. I have done it! Next stop, BBC perhaps? 😉
Until then, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com