It’s incredible to me that we still hear ‘bits’ on the air that were stale 25 years ago.  Here are some examples of the type of stuff I’m talking about:

This Day in History.
No one cares.  Especially the younger demographic.  Millennials don’t remember past last Thursday.

“Stupid Criminal” Stories.
Again, why does this matter?  How is it top of mind?  (And we all have the internet, you know.)

Trivia games.
Dead, dead, dead. I can ask Siri and get the answer in three seconds. It’s not 1980 anymore.

The “uhm” Game.
I always thought this one was stupid – because it makes the contestant sound stupid.  Why would you want to do that?  My wife tells me that most women hate being made a fool of.

Obviously, there are quite a few others that I didn’t mention, but the message is the same: think of something new, something fun, something yours.  But most importantly, in terms of performance, do something that makes the listener feel like you’re actually looking to connect with him/her instead of just filling time.

Bad bits use listeners as props. Good content is always about relevance and connection.