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 readingNot 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.)
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 readingHow 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…
Refine this one skill and you’ll have a lot fewer ‘swings and misses’ with your Content.
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 readingThe thing I work with on the most with practically everyone I coach is Content. It’s difficult to know what works, because you can’t count on accurate feedback from the phone lines. So here’s the simplest way I can explain it:
Anything you have in common with the listener that leads to some sort of emotional “reveal” is gold.
Now read that again. No prep sheet item, no social media posting that lacks those two key ingredients – what you have IN COMMON with the listener, and an Emotion being revealed – will work as well without them.
We can all remember the first time someone said, “I love you.” (We can also painfully remember when someone didn’t respond that way).
We are created to be known. From the early playground experiences of “Mommy, mommy, look at me,” to the moment you discovered the pretty girl knew your name.
Continue reading“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
Timothy Keller
In a recent session, I had to deal with a member of a morning show trying a little too hard. This is something everyone needs to learn, and should revisit periodically if it “drifts” a bit. Here’s what I had to say to him…
Today I played you two breaks. The first one was your congratulating a contest winner, and we heard the natural enthusiasm that goes with that. The second one was a more intimate thought, but you “milked it” a bit by being overly sincere.
Remember, you want to give yourself to the words and trust them, delivering them conversationally. You’re just telling a friend, not ‘selling’ a thought.
It’s easy to fall back into “deejay” delivery, but we’re better when we’re just people.
On last week’s show I shared how a job transition 30 years ago became a learning experience that has impacted my perspective and attitude even decades later.
Some context. My experience at that time included two decades on the air, the latter half at some big stations in big markets, and more recently as the programmer of a top 5 station in a top 5 market. Due to a station sale, I found myself in a role with the new company that was neither specifically on air nor programming. I was glad to have a gig but, if honest, didn’t initially realize the value it would have in my career.
I had a choice. I could either view my skill set in the rear view mirror or I could embrace a spirit of learning; a new format, a new role, and the vision for a new kind of radio station. The choice was made easy for me because of the people and the project. I was surrounded by major market pros and we were learning a brand new format, and we were learning it together.
Continue readingThe great Larry Ryan in Shreveport, Louisiana, was my first true radio mentor. In our first aircheck session, he stopped the tape and said, “Any idiot can sit there and intro songs…”
That empowered me to DO something on the air. (Larry would keep saying it until you did.)
To update this: Any idiot can read a social media post. I can read Facebook or look at Instagram, etc. without you. What else have you got? What’s something personal you can share with me that we have in common? Use YOUR life… OUR lives.
