One of the advantages of being a talent coach is that people tell me things they won’t even tell their boss.  My process is very personal – for a reason.  I want to help everyone I work with to be the very best they can be, so they like doing their job, and go in every day with a good attitude.

Often, I hear things like “I’d really rather be doing a team show,” “I want to move up to afternoons,” or “I want to become a Program Director.”

My answer is always, “I’ll help you get that.”  But it’s always followed by “the thing you need to do is make yourself the best candidate for that job.”

I could name hundreds of people I’ve coached who’ve realized their dreams because of that thought.  Opportunity DOESN’T just knock once.  It’ll beat the door down if you’re the one who deserves it.

The shootings in Uvalde, Texas last week at Robb Elementary School were undoubtedly a tragedy, but they were also was a moment of truth for your radio station and your show.

Basically, you had two choices:

1. Pick a specific topic inside the story (gun control, mental illness treatment, etc.) and then seek listener feedback, or
2. Avoid a “topic” sound, and simply go with something like “We all saw the News, we know what happened, let’s talk about what we’re feeling today.”

The first is the most standard, has some options, and will (did) get solid reaction.  The second is more intimate, and can help avoid having it all turning political.

Each will work, or a mix of the two (in different hours) will work, but I would lean toward the second strategy.  By dropping from “radio” to a more direct approach to the Emotions we all were feeling is the deeper end of the pool.

It stuns me how few air talents these days ever listen to their own show.  Back when I was on the air (when dinosaurs ruled the earth), it was a given that the cassette “skimmer” that only recorded when the mic was on would be taken out and listened to on my drive home.  At some of the stations I was part of, we’d listen to airchecks as a group, with everyone free to point out whatever they heard, good or bad.

Here’s why you should listen to yourself AT LEAST once a week: Continue reading →

Some people, like I did early in my career, spend too much time trying to be funny, or trying to be thought of as funny.

But thanks to the great Lee Abrams, I was able to get out of that ditch.  Lee straightforwardly told me that when I tried to tell jokes, they fell a little flat.  But if I was just myself funny things happened.  He said “Don’t try to say funny things.  Your strength is saying things funny.”

It totally changed my career, and I was able to tell Lee that years later.  So…

Be genuine, instead of trying to be funny.  Go for the Heart, and sharing an honest observation or feeling, instead of a punch line.

The odd thing is if you have the Heart, the humor comes anyway, naturally.  But if you just try for Humor, it leaves the Heart out.

When you’re really focused – clear on what you want to do – you have a chance to be great.  When you’re not quite sure, or just “winging it” this break, your odds diminish.

The best programmers make it where you know the objective, which should be first, to keep the listener with you.  (When someone tunes out, that’s a misfire.)  And then, hopefully, make the listener want to come back tomorrow for more.

Like a great song.  You want to hear it again.

You lose your ego, and you gain confidence, when you do the right things right.

So don’t even think about your voice, forget trying to “sell” things, and just share.  What you and I have in common today is the real subject matter.  The rest is maintenance and branding.  (But do those well, too.)