The execution of something is far more important than the thinking of it. When the time comes (when the mic opens), you have to be able to Stand and Deliver.
All the great ideas you’ll ever have won’t matter if you can’t put ’em across to the listener. Even something as simple as saying the name of the station needs to be sincere, slightly different every time, and polished.
That’s why the biggest gap is between Good and Great.
And that’s why I coach. I love helping people get to Great.
A few weeks ago, I went to Dallas and sat in on guitar at the House of Blues for a couple of songs with my dear friend Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Kenny is an amazing blues guitarist. I’ve known him since he was five years old, and first started showing him some things about guitar when he was seven.
Kenny talked about that experience as he introduced me, and said “He even showed me the principles, like the real foundation of what’s important about playing.”
Not just “licks” or running scales. Not WHAT to do so much as WHY you do it.
The same as radio. You go from ‘just another voice quacking’ to someone the listener bonds with because of WHY you do what you do. People FEEL more than they hear.
And as Kenny Wayne Shepherd shows his audience every night he plays, expertise is fine (and he’s brilliant), but the emotion behind it is what counts.
“A recent survey says…”
“A new poll shows…”
“According to the latest statistics…”
Those references put us to sleep more times than not. The words themselves are boring. Numbers and percentages even more so.
So here’s what works better (because it’ll will sound more conversational):
So think about this…
How many times in a year did you just do the info, but nothing else? “98.1 The Rock with AC/DC.”
Ho hum. Okay, I’ll give you an escape route. Here are two, no – three, no – make that four questions to ask yourself:
In the last tip, I addressed what seems like a lack of Production skills in radio today. If you really want to make an immediate impact, let’s start with show Promos (particularly Morning Shows, but any show you want to promote).
The Kramer Rules: Continue reading
One area we haven’t discussed in a long time is Production Skills.
What we used to refer to as “board op” mistakes happen now simply because the computer ‘runs the board’ most of the time, and it lacks feel.
WE have to instill that ‘feel’ element.
Not long ago, just before a holiday weekend, I called Guitar Center about a guitar I’m thinking about buying. A guy answered the phone with “Guitar Center, where you get fifteen percent off everything in the store through Monday.”
A liner.
Liners need to go away. They’re boring. Few people even notice them anymore. It’s like waiting for a stop light to change.
Yes, I know… you spent all that time coming up with that catchy “Positioning Phrase” and you’ve hired a voice talent to say it a gazillion times with a smiley delivery. So let’s make a deal… go ahead and use the liner in your promos and IDs. But by all means, free the air talent from EVER having to say them. They’re not good at it.
(I hear you. No, they’re not.)
How you get into a subject is the first great skill. When you can get to the point easily and concisely, you have a better chance to get the listener to join you.
For years, people have been taught the “headline” mentality, which is a decent thing to keep in mind but that can also work against sounding conversational.
Keep these thoughts in mind…
Refine this one skill and you’ll have a lot fewer ‘swings and misses’ with your Content.
The thing I work with on the most with practically everyone I coach is Content. It’s difficult to know what works, because you can’t count on accurate feedback from the phone lines. So here’s the simplest way I can explain it:
Anything you have in common with the listener that leads to some sort of emotional “reveal” is gold.
Now read that again. No prep sheet item, no social media posting that lacks those two key ingredients – what you have IN COMMON with the listener, and an Emotion being revealed – will work as well without them.
In a recent session, I had to deal with a member of a morning show trying a little too hard. This is something everyone needs to learn, and should revisit periodically if it “drifts” a bit. Here’s what I had to say to him…
Today I played you two breaks. The first one was your congratulating a contest winner, and we heard the natural enthusiasm that goes with that. The second one was a more intimate thought, but you “milked it” a bit by being overly sincere.
Remember, you want to give yourself to the words and trust them, delivering them conversationally. You’re just telling a friend, not ‘selling’ a thought.
It’s easy to fall back into “deejay” delivery, but we’re better when we’re just people.