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:
Frost Advisory #605 – What Does Your Station Sound Like?
That question probably doesn’t mean what you think. I am not talking about the X’s and O’s that constitute the formatics of your station’s clock.
Let me explain.
Continue readingTommy Kramer Coaching Tip #458: Making Great Show Promos
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
Frost Advisory #604 – What We Can Learn From Daylight Saving Time
“Imagine if you will that one hour never existed. No babies were born. No one died. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”
Rod Serling
It was an hour that never existed. We changed our clocks from 2am to 3am.
That hour doesn’t matter.
You wait through the first part of a boring movie. You hope it will get better.
You sit down at a restaurant. The waiter is slow to come over. Minutes tick by without giving your drink order. You hope it will get better.
Continue readingTommy Kramer Coaching Tip #457: Why Production Skills Matter
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.
Frost Advisory #603 – What Does Your Station Stand For? COVID version
I’m old enough to remember when COVID-19 was the headline of the day.
Then, two weeks to flatten the curve.
Then the vaccines. Then the vaccine mandates.
Then the Canadian truckers.
Now Russia invades the Ukraine.
So, in a format that promises to be positive, encouraging, uplifting, and lots of fun at parties… how do we talk about this noise without breaking our promise?
Continue readingTommy Kramer Coaching Tip #456: Liners Need to Die
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.)
Frost Advisory #602 – To Fasten Your Seat Belt…
I could hear the sound of someone leaving a message on the answering machine in the next room. I couldn’t even understand the words she was saying but I could hear her tone. It was the tone of someone who was detached from the meaning of the very words she was saying. “Good afternoon. I’m calling on behalf of…”
There is a tone in someone’s voice when they don’t care about what they are saying. It’s the tone I hear from the flight attendants when they are instructing perfectly capable grown ups as to how to fasten their seat belts or that wearing face masks is mandatory. Even between bites and sips. Look around. No one is paying attention.
To fasten your seat belt, insert the metal fittings one into the other, and tighten by pulling on the loose end of the strap.
Continue readingTommy Kramer Coaching Tip #455: How to Get Into Something
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…
- You have about twenty seconds to “tether” the subject to the listener. Don’t rush, but don’t waste words, either.
- Start with the Subject first, or start with the Listener first, instead of starting with yourself. Your show is about us, not just about you.
- You want the listener to be able “see” himself/herself in whatever situation you’re describing.
Refine this one skill and you’ll have a lot fewer ‘swings and misses’ with your Content.
Frost Advisory #601 – What’s Our Format Really About?
It’s a curious thing. A few understand it, but most do not.
And before I point any finger let me just confess that I didn’t understand it either coming from a background in mainstream radio. I didn’t really understand what our format is all about.
Like many today I thought the format was about the music we play, the deejays, and doing radio stuff. After all, that’s radio, right? I had to undergo a process of learning that our format is about something much more important.
Continue reading