Guest blogger Ryan Vickers

Hello!

This week, I’m very pleased to bring you the final instalment in the adventures of my very first guest blogger Ryan Vickers. Ryan’s series of posts ‘My Life In Game Shows’ began here back in August last year, and he’s related all of his experiences appearing as a contestant on shows such as Countdown, Let’s Make A Deal and The Price Is Right.

Along the way, he’s offered lots of Pro Tips, which I hope you’ve found helpful. Ryan’s a real game show enthusiast, he takes his ‘job’ as a contestant seriously. He truly has been there and done that….. on many, many occasions.

Ryan’s also a keen quiz master, currently hosting Canada’s premier student game show Reach For The Top.

Today’s post is Ryan’s final one (in this series, anyway), so I’ll get out of the way now and throw it over to him.

Enjoy!

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My Life In Game Shows

Episode 15 – The Future – for now, so long! (But just for now)

Game shows are an interesting bunch. Much like other media, they come and go. Currently in the USA (and we get these shows here in Canada too) there is a resurgence of “reboot fever”… in the last two years we’ve seen new versions of $100,000 Pyramid, Match Game, To Tell The Truth, The Joker’s Wild and much to the delight of my generation, Double Dare (with the original host, Marc Summers, along for the ride). Game shows are definitely “back in style”.

Side note: I’ve been able to get to New York City and see Pyramid and Match Game tapings. Game show tapings are a fun experience – I’ve been to see over twenty different shows in five countries! And maybe you’ll get a chance to play the game… you never know!

After my writings, what would I like you to remember? Here are some of my favourite tips from previous posts:

BEFORE THE AUDITION

• New shows need people. They are willing to take more risks on contestants that might not get on the show later in the run.
• Going on vacation? Game shows LOVE players that aren’t from the taping area.
• Practice any way you can. Home games, internet simulations, etc.
• If you’re going to be on a show with buzzers, GET OR MAKE A BUZZER. A clicky-pen, a hotel bell, whatever works for you. If you’ve got a long lead time until taping, consider purchasing a professional set.
• Pick game shows that play to your strengths. If you’re not good with words, don’t try to get on Wheel of Fortune, for example.

AT THE AUDITION

• When auditioning, give answers to ‘personality’ questions that are different. You might want to pay bills with your winnings, but try instead to tell the contestant pickers what else you might do with it.
• When you’re auditioning, whether you get on or not, take note of how it went. Try to write down what happened to remember for next time.

ON SET

• Pay attention to what they tell you before the show. Sometimes it’s a tip, sometimes it’s a “must-do”.
• Keep up your energy. Whether you need to be proper or crazy, remember that you’ve been picked for a reason!
• It’s fun, it’s chatty
• Don’t play your cards early if you don’t have to (strategy wise). Keep something in the tank!

Where do I personally go from here? Well, I was asked that by two game show friends and I basically mentioned that most of the US shows are “used up” for me for now… but you never know when shows will come along! Also, there are other countries to find game shows in!

I’ll keep looking, and I hope you do too!

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Thanks so much, Ryan – I’ve really enjoyed your contributions to the site, and I wish you all the very best in all of your future game show-related endeavours.

If you’d like to know what Ryan’s up to right now, you can find him on Twitter, as @RealCanadaMan.

And if Ryan’s posts have inspired you, and YOU have some game show related stories you’d like to share here on the site, please… let me know! 

Just email me at Stephen@HowToWinGameShows.com, or find me on Twitter; @How2WinGameShow, or via the Facebook page at: Facebook.com/HowToWinGameShows.

Until next time!