Anyone who’s done a team show knows that it’s very similar to a marriage. As a matter of fact, I know many air talents who refer to their partner as “my work wife” (or husband).

You spend a lot of time together. (If you don’t, you won’t be very good.)
You’re working toward shared goals.
You want it to last. (Especially now, “movement” isn’t nearly the same as it was 20 years ago. A new job is pretty hard to find when one company owns multiple stations. If you divorce one station, you probably divorce all the stations in that cluster, or maybe even all the stations in that company.)

So, remember this: If you “cheat” on a team show, it may bring on a divorce. Here’s how I define “cheating” in the radio context:
Hold your ego in check. If you don’t, resentment sets in.
If you habitually talk over a partner, resentment sets in.
If you don’t share the credit, resentment sets in.

And remember that nobody goes to a party to hear someone fight with his wife.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2021 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

One of the main things I watch out for as a coach is when someone’s ego gets overblown.  Here’s why…

The Beatles squabbled often, and George Harrison and Ringo Starr grew to resent how John Lennon and Paul McCartney were making a LOT more money than they were – when often, George, in particular, contributed lyrics or musical ideas that played a big part in fleshing out a song that John or Paul “wrote.”

Many groups, like U2 for example, learned from this, and simply listed “U2” as the writers of their songs.  Problem solved.

As a team show, or as a radio station. a COLLECTIVE ego, where you have pride as a whole, as a TEAM – but not one person’s ego dominating everything – always works best.

You hear a great story.  Then you hear another one.  But the odds are overwhelming that you’ll only remember one of them.

A story can’t set up a story.  That should be TWO breaks.

In Music Radio, the reason for this is usually just a lack of discipline.  Or ego.

The cure: ONE story per break.

In Talk Radio, we often hear the host tell a story, then bring on a guest, who then tells another story.  Or even worse, we often hear the host tell most of the story while introducing the guest, then that person comes on and tells the longer, more detailed, and often more boring version.

The cure: Make it simpler; more compact.  Do a SHORT intro, then just let the guest tell his (or her) story.  Then, INSTEAD of launching into a story of your own (which can come across like you’re trying to “top” the other person), simply REACT to the other person’s story.

This discipline is what I often refer to as “The Barney Fife Method” – meaning, like the deputy on the old Andy Griffith Show, Barney only HAD one bullet.  I constantly tell people “Fire your one bullet.  Then you have to ‘go back to the courthouse’ to get another one.”

It’s essential that you have some sort of emotional investment in what you’re saying, whether it’s just reading copy, giving an opinion, etc.  In short, you need to sound like you MEAN it.

Yes, it’s a challenge, especially with something you’ve talked about a zillion times on the air, like a station promotion, feature, or contest.

But if you don’t sound like you mean it, no one is going to pay much attention to it.

Here’s a tip: when I go through “copy,” I mentally highlight (or even physically underline) the ONE word in each sentence that I want to stress.  It only takes a few seconds of this prep work to make sure that it “imprints” on the mind of the listener.

There’s so much emphasis put on specific areas of Content. Stories.  Stuff from social media posts, blogs, Pinterest… whatever.  You can become inundated with well-intended thoughts that lead to aimless, largely punch-less stuff on the air.

Don’t forget about why radio succeeded in the first place: Companionship.
It’s still a huge factor.  The morning team that entertains you.  The midday jock that’s always in a good mood and makes you laugh now and then.  The afternoon jock who makes slogging home after work easier.

I coach hundreds of things to make that factor ever-present in not just what you do, but in how you do it – carving out an identity along the way.

Remember: “If I want to spend time with you”… is the listener’s bottom line.

In view of what happened at the nation’s capitol on January 6th, there’s an important caution – and concept – concerning what you should do when something like this dominates the news.

A lot of stations in some formats (like A/C or Contemporary Christian Music, or any music format, actually) choose to simply not talk about it.  The danger here is coming across like an ostrich with your head stuck in the sand, like you don’t even know about what happened.  This is not something I recommend, although it is better than alienating your audience by sounding off with an opinion that could severely damage your listenership. Continue reading →

The digital Production world is so much fun.  I first went headlong into it with Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, Next Gen, and now Logic Pro X.  More tools now than ever before.  (I also have Twisted Wave and Garage Band in my phone and iPad.)

Then I turn on the radio, and I hear a commercial or a station promo where it’s edited too tightly.  No breaths; the pauses not quite long enough.  Probably one of those 63-second “sixties” sped up or read at blinding speed to barely make it.  “Avoiding silence” gone mad.

And the other side of the coin is where the spacing is right, but there’s this totally empty silence between sentences.  That’s where a flub happened, or something was pasted together, and the resulting eerie, totally dead silence is noticed by the brain.

So here’s the overview: By all means, use the incredible Production tools that we have available.  But remember that it still has to have an ‘organic’ factor to actually work.

Shows that “fly by the seat of their pants” inevitably sound loose and have ‘dead’ time that needn’t be there.

Now, some 355 stations into this talent coaching stuff, one thing has become abundantly clear to me: people need to plan, not just “wing it.”

Here’s the easiest way to get a simple system in place…

Right after you finish a break, lay out the NEXT break.  If you’re in a team show, it’s doubly important.  A quick run-through (“Okay, next we’ll do the rodeo thing; I’ll start.  Remember your line that we’re going to get out on…”). Now, with that done, you now have several minutes to relax, chat, etc.

The old saying is “if you fail to plan, your plan is to fail,” and by and large, it’s true.

Note: This does NOT kill spontaneity; it just kills uncertainty.  And sounding SURE is what creates the “command presence” that all great air talents have.

There’s a huge difference between Confidence and having a big Ego.  A great Talent needs confidence.  Without it, you’d never try anything different, never find the things that are unique to you.

And confidence shows.  Think Sean Connery as James Bond.  Tiger Woods.  Paul McCartney.

But ego shows more – and usually it’s not a flattering image.  At all.

Continue reading →

If you’re so busy doing so many things – so many contests, so many (management) “initiatives,” so many other jobs (podcasts, voice tracking another station, writing website articles, social media postings) – you will inevitably lose Creativity.

You only have so many breaks during a show to talk about ANYTHING.  There are always things to plug, but you can’t plug everything equally.
The winning template is to only have one “big” thing and one “little” thing.  Say a major contest as your Big thing, and something else as your little thing.  That way, you still have time to do something creative on a regular basis as a main ingredient of your show. Continue reading →