A home shopping host presents and sells products on television, requiring a good personality, clear articulation, and improvisation skills. They may introduce special guests and must maintain a professional on-air persona for several hours. Researching products and making the audience believe in their value is also important.
A home shopping host is the main person seen on screen during a home shopping television program. The main duty of the host is to present the sold products in the best possible light, explaining their features and enticing the audience to call and buy them. The host can also introduce special guests and keep the conversation flowing in a fun way.
The home shopping host’s main role is to sell products, which requires viewers not to change channels long enough to learn about each product. A good personality is essential to fulfill this role. When home shopping networks gained popularity, choices were limited to one or two shows. Now, most cable stations have multiple home shopping networks. If viewers can’t relate to the host on a show, they’re likely to switch to another channel; therefore, the presenter must always display the type of personality that stops viewers from moving on.
Home shopping hosts are able to articulate ideas clearly and improvise when necessary. Each product is on the television screen for a limited amount of time, usually around ten minutes. With some products, it can be difficult to explain all the features in such a short amount of time, while with others, the host may struggle to find enough material to cover the entire ten minutes. Finding the right pace to ensure that all pertinent details are covered and that there are no lingering moments of silence is a skill that takes practice.
During the show, special guests may be introduced to explain more about the products and entice the audience to make a purchase. The home shopping host typically introduces guests to the audience and asks questions that lead the guest to interact with the audience, both in the studio and at home. Most interview questions are written prior to the segment, but the host must be able to recognize when unwritten follow-up questions will be beneficial to viewers.
Most home shopping programs are broadcast live, ie in real time, rather than being pre-recorded. If the segment is filmed in front of a live audience, it may be necessary for the presenter to remain onstage for the entire shift, up to several hours at a time. Even if the studio does not use a live audience, the home shopping host must still maintain a professional “on-air” persona for an extended period. While good public speaking skills are helpful, mistakes can still be made, and the ability to recover quickly is essential.
While segments can be scripted in advance and prepared by the marketing team for the product, the home shopping host should still be able to do some research in advance. Knowing the basics about the product beyond what is written in a script can help make the host more reliable. A good host knows how to make the audience believe that the product presented will somehow enrich their lives.
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