If you’ve never read any of the red-hot thriller novels of Sandra Brown, you’ve missed out on a truly gifted storyteller.  My wife and I have read dozens of her books, and since radio is essentially storytelling in microcosm, you might learn something from this comment recently in her book “Standoff,” which is a short book she wrote for a Book Club.

She said it was daunting because most of the action takes place in a confined space, adding “With each book, I challenge myself to try something I’ve never tried before.  Can I pull this off?  This self-imposed fear factor is a positive thing.  It stimulates creativity and urges me to step outside comfortable boundaries.  It makes each book different.  Most important, it keeps readers from getting tired of the same ol’ same ol’.”

YES.  EXACTLY.  You should ALWAYS be willing to try something new; something you haven’t done before.  This is something I push every air talent I work with to do, and I usually have to prod them once or twice a year to KEEP doing.

Honestly, when it comes to Talent Coaching, this is essential.  As you’ve heard from me many times in these tips, Consistency is fine, but Predictability is Death.  You’ve got to turn things upside down once in a while and shake them until change falls out of their pockets.  When you stop trying new things, you stop making progress.