In the course of some coaching sessions, I sometimes have to discuss grammar with an air talent.  It’s painful to correct “between he and I” (which should be “between him and me,” of course) or “Us guys love Fantasy Football.” (Uh huh.  So I guess the Queen song was “Us Will Rock You?”)

More than once, I’ve been met with how that’s “nitpicking” or asked, “Why does it matter?”

Here’s why it matters… unless we sound intelligent, like we actually passed seventh-grade English, we can’t be taken seriously.  Think about that.  Maybe in a time of true darkness, when something really serious has happened, you won’t be the listener’s first choice.  Because serious events or issues need serious and uplifting thoughts, and it takes a thorough knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structure, and grammar to be able to inform or comfort people.

We don’t broadcast in a vacuum.  Turn on the radio or the TV (or any audio streaming service), and maybe the first thing you’ll notice is how LOUD things are nowadays.

Screaming commercials, “big voice” ANNOUNCEMENTS, local commercials where some car dealership’s relative who’s never had any coaching bleats out the ad copy, commercials or promos that seem twice as loud as the TV show… Sports announcers screaming at you because the crowd noise around them apparently makes them forget that they have a microphone – it’s just an assault on the senses sometimes.

Here’s how you avoid being part of that noise monsoon: Turn down the volume.  Be emotionally invested, and trust that being enough.  Yes, you want to be ‘animated’ in what you say, but “energy” is overbilled.  To be truly heard, you should cultivate an ear-friendly delivery.

More expression, less volume.

In the course of a “reboot” for a station, the first tactic is often to limit the length of breaks, and/or limit how many “Content” breaks there are in the hour.

The reaction is almost always the same: the air talent gripes about being “held back” or “not being given the time I need” to do Content.

I wish every air talent had taken a creative writing course in school, and/or written a LOT of commercials.  It’s really important to learn about story construction – how to pull the listener in quickly, how a story moves from one point to another, how to be concise, and how to provide an ending that takes us somewhere, instead of just some lame “moral of the story” wrap-up or obvious punch line.

And it’s equally important to be able to fit something over a song intro, where you only have a few seconds.

The bottom line is that skill in constructing and telling a story + having time restrictions = expertise in written or spoken word.  Sounding relaxed, but being as brief as possible, can quickly make everyone ELSE sound like they can’t shut up.  That’s a huge advantage for you!

No doubt about it, Content is the biggest challenge for any air talent.  RELEVANCE to the listener is the key.  Not settling for something that your listener only has a passing interest in is a huge step in making your show different from all the others.

– I can read Facebook without you.
– I can see “filler stories” on any website without you.
– I can get stories about other people, in other places, that bear no resemblance to where and how I live my life…without you.

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Three simple rules for great phone calls in music radio:

1. Have a clear ending in mind.  ‘Real’ people can be entertaining… but not all that often.
2. Let the caller finish his sentence before you jump in.  If two people are both talking at the same time, it’s hard to make out what either one of them says.  You’re going to edit the call anyway, so be patient.  That makes for good audio.  (If you’re taking live calls, that’s like rolling a grenade into the room.)
3. Remember that to the listener, it’s a conversation.  But to us, it’s a sound bite.  Do a nice, compact setup (or reset), hit the call, take the “out.”