Trying too hard is something that every good air talent goes through. Getting past it takes a bit of self-realization.
Looking at it in acting terms (because we are all voice actors to a degree), “reaching out” to the camera (the viewer) is the wrong perspective.
Let the camera (or in our case, the Listener) reach out to you. Overperforming is a drag. When you “reach,” it’s exaggerated.
Just settle down. Simply be there and be what you are, and let the Listener reach out to you.
Opinions are easy. Emotions are… more difficult. These two things are related, but they’re not the same.
The revealing of an Opinion is fine, but the revealing of an Emotion tops that.
An Opinion is subjective. An Emotion is clear and undeniable.
So sure, let’s hear what you think. But let’s also hear what you FEEL.
My associate John Frost quoted this recently:
“The essence of branding and being worth consuming is that experience, not the ingredients which make it up.”
Mark Ramsey
If you’ve read any of these coaching tips, you know that I always think about what it’s like on the listener’s end of the radio first. So, here’s the coaching perspective…
Continue readingEveryone should want to be really good at what they do. Really, really good.
But not everyone knows how to get there. Let me make it simple for you:
It seems like I’ve had to explain countless times over the years why questions – especially little rhetorical questions, like “Right?” – are ineffective today.
There was a time – about 25 or 30 years ago – when Questions were in vogue. (The “Where’s the meat?” campaign is a good example. You can look up the ads on YouTube.) It was thought then that Questions produced interest in the product.
But in today’s ten-second-attention-span world, they don’t hold water anymore.
After hearing a couple of overly long breaks the other day on a music station I work with, this came up in the next coaching session:
Use fewer words.
Continue readingIn a recent coaching session, a very good air talent I work with had chosen to do a stunningly uninteresting story about sleeping better with something called “cognitive shuffling.” I’d tell you more, but the story itself was a better cure for insomnia.
This happens a lot nowadays. A posting that you think is “interesting,” or that you can think up a funny line for, makes it through your filters and gets on the air. Continue reading
Collaboration is one thing. Sharing Content can be a whole different thing.
Let me explain…
There are really only two categories of Content in terms of when you use it. There’s what’s immediate. Needs to be on NOW. Or at least TODAY.
And then there’s “anytime” Content. I’ve heard it called “Rainy day” Content or “Evergreen” Content. My translation: crap that should be thrown into the trash. Continue reading
The biggest challenge for anyone who’s on the air is the search for Content each day. Often in coaching sessions, I get asked about social media, and what its place is in show prep.
Social media is what it is. There’s an entire generation of people who’ve apparently grown up caring about what complete strangers have to say about them.