5 things Professor Rob Quicke taught us about the power of audio

Professor Quicke with some of the awards he and his students have won

Dr. Rob Quicke had the class’s undivided attention when we found out he was on the Howard Stern show.

He has to be a big deal.

We learned that Dr. Quicke, who is an audio and radio professor at William Paterson University, is not only humorous and intelligent but also very willing to share his beliefs on the keys to success in the audio world.

“What I’ve developed in my own philosophy is that my voice is not as important as the person I’m interviewing,” Quicke says.

He shared his key pieces of advice to becoming a successful journalist:

1. “The journalist is not the story, the interviewee is so you’ve got to remove yourself as much as possible,” he says. “Don’t mediate. Try to get them to be the source themselves.”
2. An emotional response is okay when interviewing someone. “You are a human being,” he reminded us. “But you are there to do a professional job. Remember that (sometimes) you are writing the first draft of history.”
3. To get better at audio journalism yourself you should be listening to other journalists interviews on the radio, podcasts, etc. “Ask yourself if you could have done better,” Quicke says.
4. “You have to be listening closely and be ready to follow-up to the response,” he says regarding interviewing. “It really comes down to paying attention.”
5. “Sometimes silence is the most powerful thing you have. More powerful than any question you have,” says Quicke. “So learn to shut up! Nod, open your eyes and smile.” (I hope I wasn’t the only student who then reflected on how often I say “uh huh.”)

Dr. Quicke shared an extremely powerful clip from an interview he had conducted on a woman telling a personal, heart wrenching story. The clip was a perfect example of the power of voice and the intimacy radio can bring. No image alongside was necessary because the words were enough to create an emotional response.

And not once did we hear Dr. Quicke’s voice as he showed us the power in taking out the questions and just having the subject tell their story. “It creates fewer barriers to putting ourselves in her shoes,” he said. It did indeed.

Quicke finished by advising: “Just listen, pay attention and be engaged.”