Early in my career, working at a 50,00 watt Top 40 giant, KEEL in Shreveport, Louisiana, I got a huge break.

Although I was probably the weakest air talent on the staff, my PD made me Music Director. (I’m a musician. That helps.)

All of a sudden, I had WORTH. I controlled the music we played. It was important. I became a link in the chain of terrific jocks we had.

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In the last tip, I mentioned one of my earliest mentors, Howard Clark. Howard was part of the original air staff of the legendary KFRC in San Francisco, and later in life returned to his (and my) hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. And believe me, just listening to Howard was a lesson in how there are endless opportunities to do real Content.

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In a session recently with an air talent on a station my partner John Frost and I both work with, we discussed something “under the radar” for most people on the air. As Frosty put it, “Most air talents think only the longer breaks matter because ‘I get to prepare those.'”

John and I were fortunate in that early in our careers, we had a wonderful mentor named Howard Clark, who showed us what could be done in a short break. Because short breaks matter too. (This became a real strength for each of us, and a staple of what we teach.)

Howard could do a killer, genuinely funny line in seven seconds or less. You listened more closely, because you never knew when Howard would say something that would crack you up – or at least, make you pay attention.

Since you probably never heard of Howard Clark, here’s the lesson:

1. A clever line doesn’t always need a lengthy setup.
2. Just your tone of voice can connect with the listener. It’s the mindless “read” that simply passes by unnoticed.

My thought? Until you master the art of having short breaks be an opportunity to inform or entertain, you’re not a complete air talent.

It stuns me sometimes that air talents sound so completely disconnected from the music. (This happens A LOT with voice-tracking.)

So, think about this little little-known technique: if you match the pace of the song you’re talking over the intro of, or coming out of, or if you match the emotional vibe of the song – or hopefully, you do BOTH – it makes a statement. You’re immediately a part OF the music. We want to believe that you’re listening to the music, too.

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It’s not how long something IS. It’s about how long it SOUNDS.

Too many words, too many examples, or parenthetical “side road” journeys, will automatically make you sound longwinded.

And it’ll feel long, no matter how it times out on a stopwatch.

“2 minutes isn’t that long.” Really? How long does it FEEL? Try holding your breath for two minutes right now. You’ll understand.