Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #700: Perspective

Posted on November 4, 2026 by tommykramer

I retired from active coaching at the end of last year, after 30 years of trying to help people get better. This will be my final coaching tip, and a conversation with my brilliant friend and mentor John Frost gave me the theme for it: Perspective.

Here’s my perspective…

(1) It starts with something that may sound corny to you: Being of service.

Your job with the Listener is to be informative, entertaining, and to hopefully help that person have a better day. Period.

Many people, particularly in the Talk arena, forget that. The smart ones never do.

(2) The great radio stations, like great baseball teams or great bands, are almost always the ones that have staffs that like each other, root for each other’s success, and are each other’s biggest fans.

That’s what powered KNUS in Dallas in 1972. We knew we had something new, something special – an album rock station that had momentum like a great Top 40 station. We believed in it, and we believed in each other. (Thanks to Gordon McLendon, the owner, Bart McLendon, our GM, and the great Ken Dowe, who assembled a great staff and rooted for all of us.)
We became the first FM station to ever be #1.

(3) Great stations also share another factor, a creative one: There was always something going on. Our PD (Larry Ryan) would actually come into the Control Room, and just stand there and wait, with his arms folded, until you did something that would attract attention. Make this your mantra – DO SOMETHING. Don’t just sit there and fill the air with words, or just intro songs.

Final thought: Be yourself, and be it in style.
After coaching more than 300 stations in several different countries and over 1500 air talents, I’m convinced that it’s much easier to do things right than it is to do them wrong.

Have fun, my friends. I wish only the best for each of you.

– – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
email: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
www.KramerMedia.net
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #699: A Dual-Purpose Tip

Posted on October 29, 2026 by tommykramer

This is kind of a two-fer tip – a reminder, or 10,000 mile checkup:

First, forget about your voice. Trying to have a deep voice, or anything forced, is not fun to listen to. Be you. Thousands of air talents have been wildly successful with no “radio voice”.

Second, talk to a specific person. Ideally, you should have a listener profile that “draws the picture” of who that target listener is. You probably know someone who matches that. (For me, it was simple. When I was in a male-targeted format, I talked to my cousin Ricky, who was more like a brother/best friend to me. When I was doing a female-targeted format, I just talked to my wife.) Note that this is singular. Talk to ONE person, not “listeners”.

I’ve had dozens of stations put a picture of a specific person in the Control Room, on the back of a chair or somewhere you can SEE him or her. If not a photo, visualize that target listener. The minute you talk to “people”, you’re not just talking to me anymore. The intimacy is gone.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #698: The Radiactive Half-life

Posted on October 21, 2026 by tommykramer

In nuclear physics, there’s a principle called the radioactive half-life. It’s defined as “the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value.”

Let’s think about this for a moment. If you’re in the Talk arena, pay attention to where this half-life is. Breaking into a lot of math/data, for example. Make it simple; make it brief, before someone zones out and plows into the display of pumpkins outside the grocery store.

In the music-radio arena, know where you’re going, go there, then move on. Trying to extend something is often fruitless. When you hit that downslope, the momentum (and interest) will fade.

Self-policing just a little bit can really add some ‘snap’ to your show.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #697: Every Word You Say…

Posted on October 14, 2026 by tommykramer

Think about this: the way our minds work is incredible. It filters what it hears and sees and decides “this interests me” or “this doesn’t matter to me.”

Every word you say – and that choice of wording, and how you say it is being digested almost unconsciously and is put through the “does this matter?” test.

Choose your words carefully. Example; A well-known political figure recently repeatedly used the word “excursion,” which means “a trip or outing to some place, with the intention of a prompt return” – like a trip to Disney World to get on the ‘Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’) – instead of “incursion” — which is “a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place”). That may not matter to some people, but the intent is entirely different. No one’s going to drop bombs on the Dwarfs Mine Train.

Try to (1) select the right words, (2) express your thought in as few words as possible to still sound conversational, and (3) deliver them with the right inflection.

Ignore this, and risk low or no impact. Get it right, and you take the most important step of clarity, which makes people bond with you more easily.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #696: Get Your Jerky Treat

Posted on October 7, 2026 by tommykramer

I thought this was killed off years ago, but no…I heard it on a local station today.

They had a little contest, got a winner, and then at the end of the short conversation, the deejay said, “And what station made you a winner?” – to which the caller/winner said “K-TOY 98!”

Don’t. Just…don’t. This is like telling your dog to sit, then when it does, you give it a treat.

I’d recommend treating your listeners better than dogs. “C’mon, say our name. Get your jerky treat” feels like crass manipulation to SO many of your listeners.” Just celebrate the winner, and leave your idiotic “branding” effort out.

We have to treat our listeners like they’re AT LEAST as smart as we are.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #695: The Two Questions You Should Answer

Posted on September 30, 2026 by tommykramer

If you’re new to a station, there are two questions in the listener’s mind you need to answer:

1. Who are you?

2. And why are you that way?

That’s what works. I had a morning show partner in Dallas who resisted this at first, clinging to being funny as his identity. But it was “punch line” funny.

When we got into cracking his chest open and seeing what was in there and what drove his real humor, the show clicked.

People don’t usually buy your act. They buy you, warts and all.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #694: Tornado

Posted on September 24, 2026 by tommykramer

It’s hard for small, understaffed radio stations to cover all the bases. Many have only one live show, with everything after the morning show voice-tracked. (And sometimes, mornings are also VT.)

But what if a tornado or a huge thunderstorm suddenly poses a danger?

Here’s a solution: if you haven’t done this already, work out a deal with a local TV meteorologist to do your weather, and update the forecast when necessary. Give the TV station a sponsorship mention. They’ll get at least 365 mentions a year – for no money!

If listeners don’t trust you to be up to date and help them, then they’ll go somewhere else. Plus, an affiliation with a local TV station is a bonus for your radio station. Again, for no money. (The magic words.)

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #693: Grammar

Posted on September 16, 2026 by tommykramer

I’ve written about this before, but the murder of the English language is still prevalent. So…

“It was just between He and I.”

NO. “It was just between him and me.” (Object of the preposition. You can Google it if you never learned it.)

Why does it matter? Because sounding undereducated is not a plus. Intelligent people want to hear other intelligent people talk. When you make basic grammar gaffes, it erodes that connection.
And it’s very possible that lack of correct speech will keep you from getting a job you want. (I once had to let a morning show Producer go because his posts online and in social media were just downright embarrassing. I did find him another job, however, with an even better salary and a patient Program Director who would take the time to help him.)

Look, I don’t want you to speak “the King’s English,” but let’s at least sound like we passed the 7th grade.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip # 692: Two Thoughts for Radio Newbies

Posted on September 9, 2026 by tommykramer

Starting out a career in radio can be daunting. So let me help you with two foundational thoughts:

1. Learn the Basics. If you’re not sure what they are, ask the best talent on the station or the Program Director what they are (and why).

2. Be yourself as much as you possibly can. Trying to adopt other air talents’ strengths probably won’t work for you. And why be a clone anyway?

Here’s what I think is a good example: Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant studied every move Michael Jordan had. But, he didn’t have “the claw” – Jordan’s giant right hand that could control the basketball like it was a baseball.

However, Bryant took Jordan’s mindset, and added to that a skill all his own: He was a much better outside shooter than Michael.

Jordan’s still the greatest, but if he’s #1, then Kobe’s #1A. You can be that good, too.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #691: The Musical Liability of Cookie-Cutter Formats

Posted on September 2, 2026 by tommykramer

A station’s Program Director once proudly told me, “We only play 280 songs. With today’s Time Spent Listening stats, that’s all we need. A hit every song.”

Wrong. While “variety” has lost its meaning in the Imaging palette, it’s very real in the mind of the music-radio listener. That’s why Sirius/XM, Apple music, etc. thrive. There’s something new available all the time.

I’m not saying “don’t play the hits.” That would be silly. But don’t get stale, either. Radio is becoming so numbers-driven, PD’s and air talent are afraid to stretch the corporate boundaries. “We lost two PPM listeners in the seven o’clock hour Tuesday. What did you do wrong?” is way too prevalent.

Predictable music creates predictable Content, too. As an air talent, regularly shaking up the music a little sparks new ideas – like a new parody song for the morning show. (It’s easier than ever now with AI.) Or maybe a fake commercial springs up from some lyrics. Use your imagination.

If that’s allowed.

My personal message to every corporate playlist overseer is simple: just butt out. Let music people handle the music.