Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #424: Two Questions to Ask Yourself

I don’t like asking questions, but here are two that you should ask yourself, whether you’re an air talent, Programmer, or GM:

  1. What do you have that I can’t get everywhere else?
    In the current era of “cookie cutter” formats, this is crucial.  If all you are is a corporate playlist and people reading liners and crap from the internet, the answer to that question is “nothing.”
  2. What do you have that I can’t get ANYWHERE else?
    And remember, it has to be relevant.  Just being “different” isn’t enough.

The answers to these two questions will decide your future.  There are too many entertainment alternatives available today for you to expect people to waste their time listening to boring radio.  Do SOMETHING… rather than do nothing.

Frost Advisory #570 – If Our Format Can Be Life-changing, Why Are Our Stations So Ordinary?

Every Christian music radio station starts with the same set of tools. There is a stack of tunes, access to a varied list of air talent, some highly trained and some just sticking their heads out of the egg, a laundry list of promotions, and marketing resources ranging from billboards and bumper stickers all over town to your city’s best-kept secret.

So, if we all start with the same set of tools, what makes some stations ordinary while others are transformational?

In my almost 50 years of broadcasting (hey, I started when I was a wee little child) one of the things that has made our format my all-time favorite to program is that every day it has the potential to be transformational. We certainly know that is true from a spiritual perspective in the remarkable music we play and the messages that are crafted to touch the soul, but there is another way our format can be transformational.

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Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #423: What Makes You Matter

So in a nutshell, here’s the biggest thing about Content:

You will not matter to anyone unless you talk about something that matters to that person.

I know – this sounds so simple, so the question is, “Why do so many stations fill the air with things that don’t matter to the listener?”

My theory is that they just don’t know yet what the whole purpose of radio is.  Or they’re ego-driven, which is the wrong road.

Let’s be clear – nobody cares about what you want, or what the board of directors’ goals are.  They care only about what you do that entertains them, or informs them about something they might need to know, but maybe they haven’t heard yet.

Frost Advisory #569 – The Password Is… Welcome Back

As your listeners and your town get back to living post-pandemic how is that being reflected on your radio station? “Live and local” is often cited by many in our industry as a panacea for what’s ailing us. While there is nothing wrong with giving time checks and pronouncing the street names correctly, it doesn’t have the transformative power of creating shared community.

“Content that is perceived as helpful always addresses a felt need. Content that doesn’t address a felt need is perceive as irrelevant. Notice I said perceived. It may be the most relevant information an audience has ever heard. But if an audience doesn’t understand how content interfaces with their lives, it’s just not all that interesting.”

Andy Stanley, “Deep and Wide”
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Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #422: Inside Out, Outside In

There are basically two styles – Inside out, or Outside in.

“Inside out” shows are first fueled by the people in the Control Room thinking “What interests us will interest the Listener.”  Maybe, but these shows are often asleep at the wheel in terms of welcoming in new listeners.

“Outside in” shows are a bit more interactive in terms of listener participation (getting more phone calls, social media response, etc.), but you’d better make sure that you engage people emotionally.  As a listener, a “topic” that doesn’t touch my life is a waste of my time.

Either philosophy can work, but either type can fail, too.  The key?  Content choices, of course.  It might help you to remember that merely “interesting” is never the same as Compelling.

Frost Advisory #568 – A Declaration Of Independence … From Mediocrity

245 years ago our country was born with a Declaration of Independence and a subsequent Bill of Rights for all citizens for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But as Believers, we know that with those rights comes responsibility.

Your radio station has the right to do anything you want. Even the right to be mediocre if you so choose.

Many Christian stations are just that … a result of a mishmash programming schedule comprised largely by songs people don’t know by artists they’ve never heard of.

But with every right comes a responsibility.

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Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #421: Proximity, and what it Means for you

It’s probably only natural to not want to be coached.  But the air talents I’ve encountered who feel that way (at first) are usually the ones who just don’t see past trying to be funny, or think that “trending” in social media is a goal.  (It’s not.  Connecting with the Listener is.)  And those things will come as a byproduct of your skills improving.

I’ve always seen coaching – at least the way I do it – as being like an acting coach working with actors, and most of the things I teach come from an acting or writing background, in addition to decades of radio experience.  We start with the radio stuff – how to do the “basics” (giving the station’s name, artist info, time, etc.), then, when that’s really solid and varied, it’s all about the Art. Continue reading

Frost Advisory #567 – We Grade On The Curve, And That’s Too Bad

Our currency is TIME. We measure time, we sell time. Some of us veterans remember when we “back-timed.” We covet TIME SPENT LISTENING.

We also WASTE time.

In PPM lingo time is called “listening occasions.” There are numerous things about PPM we can’t control (most importantly who wears a meter), but we can hopefully minimize missed opportunities to create listening occasions.

But we tend to grade on the curve when we say…

It’s not all THAT bad.

It probably won’t hurt us.

Nobody will notice.

Not many people are listening on the weekend/nights/overnights/holidays.

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Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #420: Keep on Sharing

What you bring to the table besides your voice and the ability to read things off a computer screen is what decides whether people actually listen to you or not. Here’s a tip taken from a recent coaching session recap:

Keep on sharing. What you have in common with the listener is what brings her/him a step closer. Always bringing the listener closer makes the station a star, and each Personality a star.

The rest of the time, it’s just about being a good ambassador for the station, and being a good voice actor.