Show prep is SO important. I’ve seen hundreds of people I’ve worked with who had no real plan, or a partial “subject list” type of prep, thinking that this is enough.
It’s not. If you want to win, and become a well-oiled machine, don’t just plan what you’d like to do. LAY OUT where each thing will go. Continue reading
In the last tip, I talked about the rhythm inherent in the best comedy, comparing it to how a great TV sitcom pauses, then reinvents itself over and over again. That’s really how everything works. I’m just rewatching the amazing series “The Newsroom,” written by the great Aaron Sorkin. He understands this rhythm as well as anyone I can think of who does drama. (I would say Neil Simon when it comes to comedy.)
This week’s Frost Advisory is a departure from my regular thoughts on how to make your radio station really snazzy and neato. Instead I’d like to take this moment during Thanksgiving week to encourage you in the important work you’re doing at your station.
I’m told that the word ‘encouragement’ means literally to pour courage into. This word appears over 100 times in the New Testament. In fact, Acts 9:31 describes the Holy Spirit as an Encourager.
Continue readingThe best Content is about real life situations, shared in little bursts. If you start with an unreal situation, there’s no emotional buy-in (unless you couch it as fantasy or exaggeration).
But going from Real to Silly is better than going from Silly to Real. (Knowing when to stop is the key to this – and I’ll share some thoughts about how to attain, or at least, sharpen this skill in a future tip.)
I’m blessed to work with many of the brightest folks in our format. Some are Ph.D. level, and some are just sticking their head out of the egg. But they have one thing in common. They are all THINKERS.
Always thinking. Always imaging things better. Never accepting “we’ve always done it that way” as the best we can do.
Continue reading“I want to tell you…” “I want to share with you…” “I want to let you know” = announcing that you will tell me something. Instead, Just TELL me. (An added benefit of this is that you take out the *I – me – my factor.)
My talented friend Lisa Barry shared with me a lesson she learned from a lady who does sign language in church.
Continue reading“In order to ‘sign’ a song about Passover, she has to start with Jerusalem, so she signs that first even though it’s not in the song yet. THEN, she signs Jesus, which is her index finger sweeping across in front of her. So the song makes sense with Jesus walking into Jerusalem. Even though in the song Jerusalem comes second.
With sign language you have to start with the ‘what’ because otherwise, there’s no context to what you’re about to say. You start with the ‘what’ and then you can give them the ‘who’ and ‘what’s happening’.”
We’ve all had to do it – read a station “liner” that just reads like old “newspaper ad” copy. Ugh.
But, since my job is to make you sound better in every way possible, here’s a tip on how to make those things come alive.
This morning in church I heard a very compelling message about that church’s commitment to missions in Africa.
Afterward I turned to my daughter and said, “That’s one of the best messages I’ve ever heard him preach.” She replied, “That’s because missions are his passion.”
Mic drop.
Continue readingRecently, I started coaching a new member of a Talk show about cars (getting a great deal on one, not how to repair one).
This guy has one of those “cannon” voices – the God-given kind of deep, resonant voice that used to be what every Top 40 Program Director looked for.
But that was then.
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