“But what do I talk about?” a struggling air talent asks while clutching the front page of the local newspaper or “This Day in History” with the dreaded celebrity birthdays.

“Burl Ives would have been 111 today.” (I really heard this!)

Air talent have to be reminded that their content needs to add value to the station’s music design. Non-music elements will either push listeners away or bring them closer. It’s not filler, it has to add value.

Here are some ideas:

• You’ll use everything you’ve ever learned. Think of your life as show prep. A fine talent I work with recently posted on Facebook that his daughter had just gotten her driver’s license. I texted him, “Show prep!” He texted back, “You know it!”
• If it’s relevant to your listener you can talk about it.
• If it’s in keeping with your station’s brand values you can talk about it.

Taking it to the next level…

• Make it here. Talk about it in a way you couldn’t if you weren’t here.
• Make it now. Talk about it in a way you couldn’t talk about it any other day. Or any other time of the day.

Focusing content to be here and now helps avoid the anytime/anywhere generic content so dreadfully pervasive in the our format. It’s what I call “Nice Christian people talking about nice Christian things to nice Christian people.”

Then… you have to do your work.

“I don’t blog because I have sometime to say, I have something to say because I blog.”

Seth Godin

You’ll use everything you’ve ever learned.