Katie Couric has been a household name since she began co-hosting NBC’s Today show with Matt Lauer in 1991. It was there that she became of the most recognizable faces on television, and she remained at the Today show for fifteen years until 2006. After her departure from the Today show and NBC, she became the first solo female anchor of a weekly evening news program on one of the three big American networks. She held the anchor position of the CBS Evening News until 2011 when she moved to ABC to become a special correspondent. She’ll host her own daytime talk show called Katie beginning in September. Here are a few lessons in presentation that we can learn from the much-admired Katie Couric.
Trust Me
The most important currency in the field of journalism is trustworthiness. The only way viewers and readers of the news believe what journalists tell them is because they trust them. When people turned their televisions to the Today show in the morning for years and years, the reason they chose that particular program was because they trusted and respected Couric and Lauer.
“They like being able to turn on the television day in and day out to see someone that they know and they feel comfortable with and trust hopefully and respect even,” Couric has said. Viewers formed a relationship with Couric, and tuned in each day to see what she had to tell them. They trusted her unendingly, and thus they kept returning morning after morning.
It’s imperative to foster this kind of trust between you and your audience. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to get your message across without a high level of trust. In the eyes of your audience, if you as a presenter are not worthy of trust, your message probably isn’t either.
Know Your Audience
Couric certainly knows a thing or two about connecting to her audience. She garnered quite the following after fifteen years on the Today show, and as she made the transition to a nighttime position, she knew that there were enormous differences between being a morning news anchor and an evening news anchor. “Of course when people watch morning television, it’s a very different animal,” Couric said. “You know, they’re running around, they’re getting their kids ready for school, they’re probably doing eight million things, they’re brushing their teeth…”
Indeed, Couric has been so successful on television because she knows her audience’s needs. In the morning, they want someone perky and welcoming, lighthearted and quick to laugh, whereas in the evening they want someone serious and solemn, concise and all business.
Find this kind of connection to your audience. Know what they want, and figure out what they relate to. Without considering what they want and what they need, it will be difficult for you or your message to resonate with them at all.
Be Who You Are
Television journalists are often called “personalities” because who they are as people is extremely important. In fact, it’s often the reason they land the job in the first place. Who you are matters, and how you come across to other people is crucial to whether your message is going to be received well by them.
“They see us interacting with people, they see us doing serious interviews, they see us having fun, and when you’re conversing with someone, you get a much clearer impression of who that person is…” Couric says. Converse with your audience as much as possible and interact with them as yourself. They’ll be able to relate to you and trust you much easier if you are very clear with them about who you are and what you stand for.
