In a session recently with an air talent on a station my partner John Frost and I both work with, we discussed something “under the radar” for most people on the air. As Frosty put it, “Most air talents think only the longer breaks matter because ‘I get to prepare those.'”

John and I were fortunate in that early in our careers, we had a wonderful mentor named Howard Clark, who showed us what could be done in a short break. Because short breaks matter too. (This became a real strength for each of us, and a staple of what we teach.)

Howard could do a killer, genuinely funny line in seven seconds or less. You listened more closely, because you never knew when Howard would say something that would crack you up – or at least, make you pay attention.

Since you probably never heard of Howard Clark, here’s the lesson:

1. A clever line doesn’t always need a lengthy setup.
2. Just your tone of voice can connect with the listener. It’s the mindless “read” that simply passes by unnoticed.

My thought? Until you master the art of having short breaks be an opportunity to inform or entertain, you’re not a complete air talent.

It stuns me sometimes that air talents sound so completely disconnected from the music. (This happens A LOT with voice-tracking.)

So, think about this little little-known technique: if you match the pace of the song you’re talking over the intro of, or coming out of, or if you match the emotional vibe of the song – or hopefully, you do BOTH – it makes a statement. You’re immediately a part OF the music. We want to believe that you’re listening to the music, too.

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It’s not how long something IS. It’s about how long it SOUNDS.

Too many words, too many examples, or parenthetical “side road” journeys, will automatically make you sound longwinded.

And it’ll feel long, no matter how it times out on a stopwatch.

“2 minutes isn’t that long.” Really? How long does it FEEL? Try holding your breath for two minutes right now. You’ll understand.

“Content Creator” may be a new title to the You Tube/TikTok generation, but to those of us in radio, it’s been part of our lives for a long time.

So, if you’re just starting out in this business, or if you’ve been around for a while and want to refresh and refine your Content, it boils down to two options:

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Pretty much every air talent tries to establish “benchmark” material. But what, exactly, makes something a “must hear” feature?

Well, first of all, it’s about the idea itself. Back when the huge box office sci-fi movies were just becoming all the rage, my morning show partner in Houston, Fred Kennedy and I came up with a thing we called “Star Fake.”

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One of the things that comes up in coaching sessions with any music radio air talent is not just doing it, but “doing it well.”

It’s easy to wonder what key ingredients add up to accomplishing that. So here’s how it works:

Keep things short. This isn’t about a word count or how many seconds something takes. It’s about not adding words to sound more important.

Keep things simple. Make it easy to follow. Too many details, or parenthetical phrases will inevitably add up to unnecessary “side roads” in your Content. Always imagine the listener in the car, with his or her head on a swivel trying not to get crashed into by some distracted driver. The last thing anyone needs is something that takes too much time to follow.

Keep it short + Keep it simple = Doing it well.

Most air talents talk about “it.” A great air talent talks about us, and how “it” affects us.

Many air talents struggle for Content, but you can see Content pretty much everywhere if you think about how to make “it” about us, and if you do it the right way.

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There are only two basic types of Content: it’s either observational (you saw it or read it), or it’s experiential (you actually did it).

So… your initial camera angle will be either Observational or Experiential, and either way will work. It’s your choice.

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It’s very possible to become overwhelmed by what you’re required to do by the higher-ups. Research studies, guidelines for Content, listener profiles that only provide one side of the equation, etc. can hamstring an air talent to the point that you can feel like there’s nothing you can say. Or you second-guess things, wondering if you’re meeting the sometimes lofty guidelines that are presented to you.

So, let me simplify things for you. Continue reading →