Reckon’ I hear the term “artificial” dozens of times every day. I understand why.
Artificial intelligence is the shiny new object that catches our eye, and that’s probably legit. In the next season AI will impact our lives in ways we can’t even imagine. Many of those ways will likely be positive. Some may not.
But as programmers it is important that we not allow the shiny new object to obscure what listeners really value.
That is authenticity.
Continue readingIf you make grammatical errors, like mangling the object of a preposition (“Between her and I,” instead of “between her and me,” for instance), that shows a level of education that isn’t high enough.
We’re supposed to set the standard. We’re supposed to be the one person in the group who’s the best conversationalist, that uses the fewest words to make a point, that uses the right words to express your emotions, and can generate enough friendship and excitement just to hear what you have to say – the person who’s welcome in any conversation. THAT’S the goal. Continue reading
We can all remember the first time someone said, “I love you.” (We can also painfully remember when someone didn’t).
We are created to be known. From the early playground experiences of “Mommy, mommy, look at me,” to the moment you discovered the pretty girl knew your name.
Continue readingHere’s something that was sort of revolutionary at the time, I guess, but sadly just disappeared as voice-tracking came in.
Group airchecks.
Back in the day in Dallas, the entire air staff were actually friends, and hung out together a lot.
Once in a while, we’d sit and listen to airchecks of each other, and exchange our thoughts about what we heard.
Our format can either be a bunch of songs that people don’t know by artists they’ve never heard of. Or…
…stories and songs about the most important things in our lives.
The former results in a station with few listeners. The latter results in a station with the potential to be the most listened to station in town.
Continue readingThis tip is about creating a “phone culture,” because it’s sad to me that many shows have to struggle mightily to get feedback from their audience.
It’s simple: ONCE an HOUR, say something like, “You’re always welcome to join the show…” and then add the phone number.
The frosty weather this week in Florida (it was 25 in Orlando this morning) gave me a hankering for getting back out on the golf course.
So, I met buddy Charlie to give me a golf lesson. He’s a really good golfer and I’m not, although I do have rather nice looking golf shoes, if I may say so myself. When I arrived at the driving range Charlie quickly handed me off to the golf pro, Lee, with a cynical “he can help you more than I can” quip. In only one hour Lee improved my golf swing significantly.
Continue readingOne more trip down memory lane that I hope will help you…
In my radio infancy at giant CHR station KEEL in Shreveport, Lousiana, I was blessed with influences that would not only flesh out my own career, but lead to many things I’ve coached over the last 30 years.
Such is the case with a guy named Dan Voigtlander. (Pronounced Voit – lander.)
Forgive me, but this Frost Advisory is part therapy. I’m upset with my favorite restaurant and I need to get it out of my system.
We went out to our favorite Mexican food restaurant last week. I love Mexican food. I grew up in Texas. It’s the law.
“We don’t have that anymore.” The five words no one wants to hear when ordering their favorite dish.
Continue readingIn the last tip, I talked about one of my main mentors, the great Larry Ryan, in my hometown of Shreveport.
Another person on that same staff at Top 40 “blowtorch” KEEL back in the day was a guy named Steve Kelly.
Steve was doing middays at KEEL, had a fantastic voice, and was a wonderful Production man. (You’ve no doubt heard Steve’s voice many, many times on national spots and hundreds of concert promos. He eventually became President and Creative Officer of Bill Young Productions – for over 30 years now.)
I had started on the all-night show, midnight to 6am, and for a long time, I was only allowed to dub commercials into the system – which Steve showed me how to do. He then began to use me on two-voice spots, usually as a character voice. Little by little, he fed me more tips on how to do polished Production.
Decades later, I still remember Steve’s incredible guidance and patience. And I ended up doing literally hundreds of commercial spots and promos, nationally-aired PSA’s, writing and producing jingles, and winning dozens of awards I could have never envisioned when I was just a duckling, paying rapt attention to whatever Steve showed me.
Here’s the point: you should want to work with people who are more skilled than you are, and LEARN from them.
If that’s not the environment that you’re currently in, you might want to take a look at how you can change it.
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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.
