Want to captivate an audience with your presenting skills? QVC’s teleshopping expert Simon Biagi sits down with Studio Insider to share his tips on becoming a confident, compelling presenter.

Few jobs require the levels of charisma as teleshopping presenters. It combines the usual skill set of traditional presenting, being well spoken, likeable and energetic, and then amplifies it by 100. Their role is almost as important as what they are selling, you aren’t just buying the product, you’re buying into the person selling it. 

After landing his first job on a religious magazine, Simon Biagi swapped faith for forecasts,  transitioning into a role as a weather man on GMTV. For the past 20 years he has honed the craft of presenting on the teleshopping network, QVC. 

“Every presenting job is unique, but they all require discipline with timing. When I train guests on the show my main bit of advice is to only talk about the top three things. In the limited amount that you’re going to have, if it’s the fourth thing or the fifth thing that’s most important, it’s really not worth talking about.

“When you’re in front of the camera those six or seven minutes you’re on air disappear in what seems like two. I’ve probably trained thousands of guests and maybe one has run out of things to say.” 

Engaging an audience –

Beyond filling the allocated time, it’s crucial to make every minute count. Simon highlights that the secret to compelling presenting lies behind the art of storytelling. 

“I once had a 60 minute segment presenting a pair of magnolia curtains, no guests or visuals. I didn’t even have a pattern on the curtains to talk about.

“It can get repetitive, but to keep the viewer watching is not by selling a product but by illustrating a story with anecdotes to give it colour (not magnolia though).”

Like many other presenting roles, teleshopping demands a high level of intuition. Engaging with guests and product experts on air closely mirrors the skills needed to conduct an interview on a chat show or present the news, whether it be quick thinking or strong interactions. 

“You’ve got to have an inquiring mind and get into the mind of the viewer. I’m quite lucky in that I’m a customer on my show and so my questions revolve around what makes me curious about the product being sold. Although my big piece of advice would be that I don’t like asking questions I don’t already know the answer to, because confidence comes from prior knowledge.”

Building confidence –

For Simon, master live television wasn’t just about learning lines, it was about letting them go. Confidence was rooted in knowing the material so well he could speak freely, trust his instincts and stay present in the moment. 

“My confidence watershed moment happened when we went out on location and there was no autocue. I was put in a position where I had to make it up, and suddenly I got to a point where I could just switch off the auto and busk it. 

“It’s very easy to learn a script, but TV doesn’t always allow for that. So the important thing is to use your own words, because you can’t forget them! 

“I find that when teaching people, being on camera absorbs about 10% of your energy. If you speak normally it comes across a little gray. You have to emphasise your personality, it’ll feel a bit like a pantomime but it’ll come across engaging.” 

Overcoming nerves –

In the UK, QVC annually has over a million active customers. Being at the heart of this is by no means a relaxed task, but Simon believes the way to triumph nerves is by cherishing those big occasions. 

“Nerves are a very important part of any live performance, of course after you’ve done it for many years they become less of a problem. But without any nerves, then there’s no thrill.

“Nerves are the same whether it’s an enjoyable or dreaded thing. When you’re going to the bank manager for your first mortgage it’s nerve racking. Equally it’s the same when you go on your first date, you get slightly sweaty, you can’t think of the word, you stutter over things.  

“But we look forward to dates, but not the bank, yet the nerves come from the same place. The key is to shift anxiety into excitement, if you can find the thrill in it, those moments become something to anticipate rather than fear.”

As is the nature of live TV, anything can happen, and regardless of his experience Simon is no expectation. He’s had plenty of moments where he’s left with egg on his face… and chicken soup down his clothes. 

“I had a classic example where I was doing a demonstration where I cooked up some chicken stock and blended it to make soup. Unfortunately the blender lid flew off and covered me in hot stock. 

“I didn’t want to seem like it was the product’s fault, so I put some more in and gave it another go… The lid blew off again and I was left with leek and chicken bits hanging off my eyebrows. 

“In those disastrous moments I like to remind myself of the Denis Norden show, ‘It’ll be Alright on the Night’. When something goes wrong like that, the worst that can happen is I appear on a show like that and in ten years time, I’ll be getting a cheque for 25 quid in 10 years time for the mess I made!”

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