If you’ve never read any of the red-hot thriller novels of Sandra Brown, you’ve missed out on a truly gifted storyteller.  My wife and I have read dozens of her books, and since radio is essentially storytelling in microcosm, you might learn something from this comment recently in her book “Standoff,” which is a short book she wrote for a Book Club.

She said it was daunting because most of the action takes place in a confined space, adding “With each book, I challenge myself to try something I’ve never tried before.  Can I pull this off?  This self-imposed fear factor is a positive thing.  It stimulates creativity and urges me to step outside comfortable boundaries.  It makes each book different.  Most important, it keeps readers from getting tired of the same ol’ same ol’.”

Continue reading →

We’re in a world of numbers now.  Sabermetrics dominate Sports.  Take baseball, for example.  “He hits .372 against left-handed pitchers with men on third base and less than two out when it’s raining…”

Well, okay… but that’s not predictive.  It’s just a measurement of what ALREADY happened.

The REAL odds are this: every time you step up to the plate, it’s 50/50.  You’ll get a hit, or you won’t.  This MATTERS, and it’s why Sports is such a great teacher, because every player or team will have its day sometimes, no matter what the percentages say.
Continue reading →

Recently, in a coaching session with a person who was playing it “too safe” on the air, I told him this: No one comes to the party just for the dip.

So okay, your station (and your show) has Music, News, Weather, Traffic updates, etc.  The usual “basic survival kit” for broadcasting.

But now you need to add Personality, Companionship, and Things You and the Listener Have in Common.

Without those, you’re just the dip.

A great rule of thumb for finding air talent is to hire people that were “Class Clowns” in school.

The mere fact that someone was willing to take on that role denotes Confidence, and wanting to have Fun.  A great radio station needs both in order to succeed.

When I was a kid, I was a class clown, BUT it was never intended to disrupt the class, only to make it more enjoyable.  I didn’t butt in or interrupt the teacher, and didn’t just say something stupid or something to draw attention to myself.  I just looked at it like there were things being said that needed a comment.

Relating this to my wife one night not long ago, I said, “But some teachers – unbelievably – didn’t seem to WANT to do a team show.”

That made her spit the water she was drinking about three feet into the air.

And THAT, my friend, is what makes a valid air talent.

It’s hard to find time to coach the talent.  Program Directors these days are busier than ever.  Let me try to help you.  Here’s the coaching starter kit, from my perspective…

Continue reading →

At industry functions or during market visits, I’m often asked “Where do you start?” Especially by young air talents.

Here’s the answer: It’s not the Control Room Show. It’s the CAR show. That’s where the listener is. Picture his or her environment, then place yourself IN it.

Little tiny things can destroy that feeling. Here are just three examples…

Saying “out there” (like “out there in Plano”) or any “there”-type references, like “up in x” or “down in x.” This just tells the Listener that he or she is somewhere ELSE, and you’re in a little room, miles and miles away.

Talking “plural”. This takes away from you and me, in the car. Examples: “For all the listeners,” “if any of you,” “some of you…” etc. Talk to ME. ONE person.

Generic Content. I don’t CARE what happened to someone in Wyoming unless I live in Wyoming. As the great Lee Abrams points out, no station seems to be claiming the city, like “Chicago’s…(name of the station)” anymore.
I can’t understand why anyone would give up the local connection voluntarily. Be from HERE, and be PROUD of that.

And be right here with me, in my car…or not. Your choice.
(Choose wisely.)

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2019 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Consider this:

The people who seem the most joyous, and that love their jobs, are the ones we want to listen to.

By and large, we don’t tune in to be bummed out.  And you don’t even have to be funny; just happy.

Look at it this way – you get paid for moving AIR around.  You SHOULD be happy about that.  (Other people actually WORK for a living.)

We got into radio because it seemed like it would be fun, and it seemed easy.  No one thinks “Let me find the hardest, piece-of-crap job I could possibly do, and then do THAT for the rest of my life.”  We all pretty much move by “lines of least resistance.”

You’d be surprised at how many people would gladly swap jobs with you right NOW.

The first thing out of your mouth when you open the mic often determines how long someone will listen to you – or if they’re hearing you at all.  Almost instantaneously, the Listener will either connect with you… or not.  So here’s a tip that almost every air talent ignores:

MATCH THE MUSIC to automatically glue yourself to the Listener’s ear.
If the song is slow and quiet, but you come out loud and blasting words, that’s TOTALLY WRONG.

Fast song = upbeat delivery that matches that rhythm.
Slow song = “right in the pocket” delivery that matches that song’s pace.

Second level thought:  Feel the Emotion of the song, and start right there, as if you’re into it.

From that beginning, you can go anywhere else you need to go.  But DON’T start like you just threw your headphones on because the song was ending.  If you sound like you were just texting or looking at your Facebook page one second ago, you won’t get the result you want.

The listener can feel when you’re engaged and in the moment… and when you’re not.

And remember that you CAN’T feel if the listener is engaged or not.  Pull that person toward you by being a PART of what he/she is hearing first.

Being entertaining – which should be every air talent’s #1 goal – isn’t about punch lines.  It’s about how you see the world.

George Carlin saw the world as a series of oddities worthy of comments.  “A house is just a place where you keep your stuff… while you go get more stuff.”

Jerry Seinfeld sees the world analytically:  “What is it with Grape Nuts?  No grapes; no nuts.”
Continue reading →

There’s a lot of buzz nowadays about “being authentic.”  Some stations even state it as a concrete goal, but come nowhere near it when that mic opens. Here’s why:

Even if you think you’re being authentic, that isn’t determined by YOU.  It’s determined by the Listener.

Actors stuck in soap operas, who would love to star in feature films but never get offered any, think they’re being authentic.  But of course, they’re only ACTING authentic.
Continue reading →