Tommy Kramer Tip #101 – Articulate the Popular Rage

May 6, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

There’s a great line from the movie “Network” where old-line newsman Howard Beale (Academy Award winner Peter Finch) is told by his new show developer (Faye Dunnaway) to “articulate the popular rage.”

Now this movie, written by Pulitzer-prize winner Paddy Cheyevski—was made in 1977, so “rage” was at its core. You may remember Beale’s famous scene where he urged people to shout out their windows “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!”

The thought of ‘articulating the popular rage’ is still valid—although I would modify it to be “Articulate the Popular Emotion.” Rage is only one emotion, and you don’t want to be a one-trick pony. But the idea is to be the voice of what your listener is thinking. Joy, sadness, grief, silliness, disbelief, patriotism, skepticism, being thankful—all these (and more) make up the palate from which you can verbally “paint” the Content of the show.

Never settle for something that’s not based on an Emotion.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Mason Morning Minute

A Love Letter To Your Team

May 4, 2015 Alan Mason Leave a comment

“After my family, the people I love most are the one’s I work with.” – David Salyers, Author, Remarkable

“Wow, I thought, that’s an amazing point.” I was watching David Salyers, Vice President of marketing for Chic-Fil-A at the 2014 CMB Momentum conference. He was talking about the culture of his organization, which puts a huge emphasis on including living it every day. And that culture has everything to do with people.

He told us how Chic-Fil-A puts an emphasis on going beyond thinking about what we want from our people, to what we want for our people. I read the “love letter” he wrote to his employees, and again bells went off in my head. They let their people know, every day, by how they act, that they love and respect them.

“How do my people think about me?” I wondered.

Believe me, I’ll be making that line of thinking a part of my leadership.

I hear about “culture” from a lot of radio stations, but none of them have ever come this far in designing the organization around the culture. Culture means “how you will act,” not “how you will be.” It’s about behavior, not about a way of “being.”

Chic-Fil-A cultivates a culture that isn’t meant to be just for “Chikin’” but instead for any organization that wants to be…well, Remarkable!

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #255 – The Top 10 Reasons Stations Aren’t Successful, more stuff

May 3, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

On last week’s show I listed the first of 10 reasons why stations aren’t successful. I just made these up, so perhaps you’d like to make up your own. It’s fascinating how many notes I’ve received from those saying, “Yes, that’s exactly what’s happening at our station.”

In the words of Casey Kasem, and now, back to the countdown…

#7 – Lack of encouragement

Too often people are thrown into jobs, left alone, and spoken to only when they need correction. How much more rewarding our work would be if we were encouraged in the things that help the station fulfill its purpose and achieve its goals. We know this as human beings and as parents but we often fail to encourage at work.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

“The more I’m exposed to the inner workings of other high capacity teams, the more I see the consequences of encouragement given… and encouragement withheld. Support matters.” – Mark Beeson

#6 – Lack of training

For the last several years at CMB’s Momentum I have participated in coaching a handful of talent that desire to grow in their craft. Without exception each one begins by sharing they get little help at their local station. They are hungry to learn and grow. My friend Nelson at The Fish in Portland, a 20-plus-year veteran of Portland morning radio, told me he had learned more in his first years at The Fish than all his many years in mainstream radio.

“In life we must be willing to coach and be coached, either one alone will leave us empty.” – David L. Cook “Golf’s Sacred Journey”

“It is impossible to learn what is outside ourselves from inside ourselves.” – Joseph P. Battaglia

#5 – Silos

The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. I’ve heard of one station where programming decisions are regularly made without the program director even present.

“Functionally, silos form and operate when the people in one area simply want to do what they do, the way they want to do it without thinking about whether what they’re doing is going to effect anyone else. Or how. They just act, irrespective of what the impact may be outside their own workspace. And it’s happening at every level.” – F. John Rey

I know of one organization that would be transformed if only one simple thing changed – that the people most qualified to make a decision in a certain area actually made that decision.

Stay tuned net week for more fun…

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #100 – Perishable Food

April 28, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

This tip may seem pretty obvious, and I wish it were. But apparently it’s not, from what I hear flipping around the dial and working with Talents who tell me, “Yeah, I meant to do something on that, but I forgot to.”

Some Content is like perishable food. If you don’t use it quickly, it’ll go bad. If you have something that is time sensitive, find a place for it on the air NOW. Otherwise, it’s like you bought food, put it in the refrigerator, and then just let it sit there and spoil.

Yes, some other stuff is like a can of beans up in the pantry. It can be used anytime.
Here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Use the “perishable food” first.

2. Then throw the other stuff away. We’re not survivalists stocking up for the end of the world.

Seriously, if it’s the day after Memorial Day, for instance, and special ceremonies were held all over your city yesterday, you’d better talk about it today. By tomorrow it’s old news.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #254 – The Top 10 Reasons Stations Aren’t Successful

April 26, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

I’m told that these weekly Frost Advisories are the most widely read programming thing around in the format these days. My guess is that this one will top them all as people see their own situation and secretly pass along to their teammates with a “See, I told you so!”

Buckle your seat belt!

#10 – Success is never defined

It’s easy to think yourself successful as long as that remains vague and without form.

“One reason we’re able to believe that we’re better-than-average leaders and drivers and spouses and team players (and radio stations) is that we’re defining those terms in ways that flatter us. The ambiguity in terms like “leader” or “team player” enables our illusion. That’s why it’s so much harder for us to fancy ourselves better-than-average pole vaulters.” Chip and Dan Heath, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.”

#9 – Lack of vision

This year is the same as last year is the same as next year. If you don’t know where you’re going any road will lead you there.

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” Jack Welch

#8 – Fear of change

We crave familiarity. We’ll even borrow someone else’s if necessary. “What do you like here?” we ask at a new restaurant. The most familiar is always the status quo, which is deadly for change.

“The unsuccessful person is burdened by learning, and prefers to walk down familiar paths. Their distaste for learning stunts their growth and limits their influence.” – John Maxwell

Stay tuned next week for more.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #99 – What to look for in a Coach

April 22, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

It’s easy for air talents or Program Directors to shy away from coaching. I get that. For one thing, most people think “critique” when they hear the word “coaching”. They assume that the process will be a negative one, like being called into the principal’s office for throwing spitballs.

(I would actually just work with you on making the spitball nice and tight so it flies well, and then making sure you’re aiming at the right person.)

Here’s the process—or at least, my process: I’m not looking for what you do wrong so there’s always something to pick on and correct. A coaching experience based on that negative foundation isn’t going to do you (or me) any good. Yes, we’ll address whatever holes there might be in your education or techniques, and correct them, but that’s not the real purpose. The real idea is first, to find out what you do best. And second, gradually get to where that’s all you do.

There are several other fine coaches—Valerie Geller, Randy Lane, Tracy Johnson—that work the same way. But not all of them. When you get ready for a coach—or as a PD, come to the realization that, just like a baseball manager, you need a pitching or hitting coach—choose wisely.

There’s not ONE pro golfer, baseball player, or football player who doesn’t have a swing coach, batting coach, or position coach. You hear actors all the time talking about who taught them. Tom Brady has a coach. (A head coach, an offensive coordinator, and a quarterbacks coach, as a matter of fact.) Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and others have worked with dozens of the best golfers in the world. I don’t know Butch, but Haney is a friend, and Hank’s methods and mine are amazingly similar. Yes, he’ll point out what you do wrong, but he’ll help you build your game around your STRENGTHS.

And that’s what you should be looking for.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #253 – There Is No “AND”

April 19, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

A music radio station consists of two basic things: the music, and everything that isn’t the music.

The music fulfills one need; the everything else fills another.

I think of content as that non-music element that “adds value” to a music station. Frankly, that’s quite different than what we hear most; blabbering that interrupts the music.

My friend Brant (not his real name) is a very well-known radio pro. I’ve heard him to do content that is as profound as anything I’ve heard from someone who wasn’t a real preacher. But that’s not what makes him special. What puts him at the top of his field is that he can do that AND say something so funny that milk squirts out my nose!

It’s the “AND” that sets him apart.

The problem with most Christian radio stations is not that they’re all that bad, it’s that everything is the same note. There is no “AND”.

Image what your favorite song would sound like if it had only one note; same lyrics but no chorus, no middle eight, no key change. It would still be the same song, in a sense, but it would no longer have the very dynamic range that made it your favorite.

I reckon’ God did this right. He could have made a rainbow with only one color, a giant yellow arch in the sky following a thunderstorm. But that would have been McDonalds. Instead He used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

What colors of the rainbow is your station missing?

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #98 – Friendships are formed by the exchange of Opinions

April 15, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

The whole object of being on the air is to get people to actually come to know you, instead of your just being a voice giving information, or a promotional machine. Content that connects with the listener each day is obviously important.
But there’s a ‘secret ingredient’ in every truly great air talent I’ve ever heard: being perceived as a friend.
And friendships are formed by the exchange of opinions.

In real life, if I don’t know how you feel about something or how you’d react to a certain situation, I may like you, but we’re not close.
Friendships grow as you learn more about someone, what that person thinks and feels.

…and friends may not always agree with each other. Honestly, that doesn’t matter, as long as you’re not just slapping the listener’s values in the face. I have a couple of dear friends—guys I’d give a kidney to—that I’ve argued with for years. We each have our opinions, and express them. Sometimes they’re the same, sometimes not, but we’re just trying to get to the complete thought. “Winning” the argument isn’t something we even think about.
(Note: For on-air purposes, we’re not trying to start arguments; we’re just trying to not be invisible audio wallpaper.)

The listener needs to know what you think. Your opinion, to compare to his/hers…maybe even adopt your thought as their own.

Hmmm…reading this over again, I hope my two best friends don’t both need a kidney at the same time.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #252 – Stuff I Found on Facebook and Things That Don’t Matter

April 12, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

This Frost Advisory is a personal tirade. I’ll apologize in advance.

Now lazy disc jockeys have another excuse to be lazy.

I was recently listening to a very well known radio station when I heard the talent talk about Facebook – for three connective breaks.

He saw THIS on Facebook, he saw another talent post THIS on Facebook, and he saw an artist post THIS on Facebook!

On one hand the internet is a terrific resource for stations to connect with their fans.

On the other hand it has become an excuse for talent to be ordinary; no unique perspective, no special connection to the listener’s life, just the deejay equivalent of “This Day in History”. (National Belly Button Lint Day, don’tcha’ know!)

Let’s go back to the basics:

A talent’s purpose is to add value to the music environment; an emcee, if you will, of a shared listening experience.

Referring to something you’ve seen on Facebook is like referring to getting into your car before driving to the Grand Canyon. It’s not the point.

If there is a story from Facebook worth telling, then tell that story. But it’s always about the story, it’s not about Facebook!

P.S. Please forward this to every air talent you know. And tell them you saw it on Facebook!

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #97 – Trying Too Hard

April 8, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

There’s a fine line between giving your best effort and trying too hard.

Oddly enough, I find that many Talents have a lot of trouble talking about things on the air that they feel strongly about. Often it seems like the more they care about something, the longer it takes to say. Now I’m certainly not against putting your heart on the air; we want that. But Emotion has to be channeled, or it just becomes “blah, blah, blah” to the Listener. Think of how many Pledge Drives you’ve watched on PBS or heard on Listener-supported radio where it sounds like they just CAN’T shut up.

So here are three guidelines to get you into the groove:
(1) Start with a “headline,” a ONE-line setup to get into the subject.
(2) Make ONE point.
(3) Wrap it up and move on.

Brevity is the most welcome thing about greatness. Look at the TV shows “Modern Family” or “The Big Bang Theory” as great examples of how humorous or even heartfelt perspectives are delivered in short, tightly-worded dialogue. Every line, right to the heart of the bulls-eye. That’s how you have a long run in prime time.

When you try too hard, the results are worse.