Nick Clegg begins his weekly phone-in show on the London talk radio station LBC on Thursday.
The deputy prime minister currently has the lowest approval ratings of the three main party leaders.
There are hopes that the radio show will make him more popular, but politicians have not always come out well from encounters with callers.
The former Conservative MP Edwina Currie - who used to host her own radio show - told the Today programme: "If you get into a really heated argument with somebody, what you find is the politician who's responding suddenly sounds like the voice of reason.
"You can win more support from people who think 'that politician is talking good sense'.
"You need to do it with good humour, a bit of enthusiasm, consistency and knowledge."
But the Guardian's sketch writer, Simon Hoggart, said: "Trouble is, Nick Clegg doesn't have control of the deck. If he was on his own, he would be able to appear calm, confident, friendly.
"But he's not, he's got another presenter, Nick Ferrari, in the studio with him, and what Nick Ferrari wants is a good row, people shouting at each other, something that will make headlines."
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