To be, or not to be, yourself
A popular radio presenter who reinvented himself mid-career is sharing some advice in his new book.
Win a copy Unscript
We're giving National Seniors Australia (NSA) members the chance to win a copy of Christian O'Connell's new book, Unscript.
It's decribed as "a warm, funny and deeply honest guide to the one thing we're all starving for: real human connection".
When Christian O'Connell left a high-flying radio career in London to move to Melbourne, he knew he was taking a risk.
Now, eight years later, his show on the GOLD network can be heard around Australia.
He has written a couple of books along the way, with the latest, Unscript, focusing on some life lessons that we can all take on board.
O'Connell recently took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions.
Your first book was called No One Listens to Your Dad’s Show. Do your children’s friends know who you are now?
The title came from something a mean girl said to one of my daughters when we first moved to Australia eight years ago. My daughter thought it was funny – the ratings weren’t great at the time, to be honest! – and I thought, if I survive this first year on air, I’m writing a book about it and calling it exactly that. So, a playground insult became a book title. My daughters are 19 and 22 now, and their friends do know what I do, but they’re students, and students aren’t awake for a breakfast show. They mainly catch the clips on TikTok and Instagram – that’s how they consume it, not the actual radio.
That title also implies that radio is an older person’s medium. Do you think that’s the case?
No. I think radio is a human medium, and humans haven’t gone anywhere. I’ve got listeners in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, because I talk about real life, not a target demo! What's changed is that we’ve got more ways than ever to fill silence, and most of them leave us feeling emptier. Radio is still one voice talking to one person, live, unscripted, right now – that never goes out of fashion. If anything, the human voice has an edge in a world this visually dominated. Look at the rise of podcasts and audiobooks – audio is big business, not a museum piece.
You were top-rating in the UK, then Melbourne, now nationally. Are people essentially the same everywhere?
Completely, and I’ve tested this across two hemispheres. The accents change, the slang changes, but the wiring underneath is identical: everyone wants to laugh, everyone wants to feel less alone, and everyone wants to be truly heard. When I moved to Australia I was terrified I wouldn’t connect – different country, no one knew me. What saved me was being honest about exactly that, on air. Turns out authenticity translates perfectly. It’s the one universal language.
In Unscript, you offer advice about becoming yourself and connecting with others. Is it possible for everyone, at any stage of life?
Not only possible – I’d argue it gets easier as you get older, because you’ve got less energy for pretending. Performing a version of yourself is exhausting, and most of us have been doing it for decades. The book isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about dropping the act and coming home to who you already are. I’ve watched people do this in their 50s, 60s and beyond, and there’s a lightness to it, like taking off a heavy coat you forgot you were wearing. You’re never too old to be yourself. You’ve just had more practice being someone else.
Without spoiling the book, is there one essential piece of advice you’d offer about unearthing the “real you”?
The more you think about how you're coming across, the harder you make it for yourself. It’s about speaking from the heart – less guarded, more trusting, more truthful. People think finding their voice means finding something, but it’s not a search. Your voice is already there. It’s about allowing, uncovering, getting out of your own way – out of your head and into your heart. And honestly, that’s what this stage of life is all about. Too much of our lives we edit, mute, and filter our true voice.
AI seems to be taking over the world. Do you worry a robot will take your job?
No – and it’s actually why I wrote the book. AI can imitate language, but it can’t mean anything, because it hasn’t lived anything. It's never been nervous, never lost anyone, never laughed until it couldn’t breathe. Fake times, fake content, fake influencers – the more artificial the world gets, the more valuable a real human being becomes. So no, I’m not worried about a robot taking my job. I’m more interested in humans not giving away the thing no machine can copy: being themselves.
Unscript: The radical act of being yourself by Christian O’Connell is published by Wiley and available from 29 July.
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