An extremely well-known morning show host once said about his team show, “We just have a conversation.  The listeners just eavesdrop.”

I know that’s what he honestly believed, but it’s an incomplete thought.  However, since they were quite successful, a lot of people thought that was right.  Here’s why it’s not:

There’s a huge difference between a “You”-centered show and an “Us”-centered show.  If it’s ONLY about you, it’s just not as strong as it could be.  A show about you AND me (the listener) is a much more powerful goal.

What happened was his show actually was about the listener, too, but since the members of the team were entertaining (and having a good time), they got very “in the room” and talked about themselves both first and most.  The result is that the fans they already have love it, but non-fans have no “port of entry” to BECOME fans.  To a new listener, it can easily seem too “inside.”  So as successful as they are, they’re not as successful as they could be.

Think about this: one day, there’s going to be another school shooting.  Or (God forbid), there might be another plane flying into a building.  Or wildfires are going to break out all over the state.  Or a flood, or a tornado…

Then you’d BETTER be about Us, because none of your “in the control room” stuff is going to mean anything.

However, if you’re in the HABIT of thinking “Us” all the time, those drastic or terrible events aren’t going to be a big shift in your show’s paradigm.  You will have already developed the skills to know how to easily deal with something that affects ALL of us.

Great shows make everything sound easy.  They don’t just talk about themselves.  And they always picture the listener right next to them, and include her (or him) in the conversation, even though the listener isn’t saying anything at the moment.