Author Archives: tommykramer

About tommykramer

Tommy Kramer has spent over 35 years in radio as an on-air talent, Programmer, and Talent Coach, and has worked with over 300 stations in all formats, specializing in coaching morning team shows, but also working with entire staffs. In addition, he works with many premium voice actors that you hear every day on Imaging, Radio and TV commercials, and Hollywood Movie Trailers. Tommy was elected to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. Call Tommy @ 214-632-3090 (iPhone), or email coachtommykramer@gmail.com

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #645: More “Reveals”

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After you get to a certain stage in your career where you’re confident in what you’re doing, you have a certain “flavor” that you bring to the show – and it’s working; you’re successful – how you get even better is when you show more dimensions.

For example, maybe your show “plays dumb” a little bit, but actually gets very smart at times.
Or maybe it’s the opposite: Maybe you’re kind of cerebral, your humor is a little harder to reach, but when it does click, you make people laugh – but then at times you can be ‘down to earth’ stupid, too.

Whatever. The point is, showing more of who you are (and why) always works.

Example: David Letterman loved dogs, because they were more loving and caring and fun than many of his guests. That explained a LOT. And we knew it; we felt it.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #644: They Own the Cameras

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Years ago, the great comedian Norm MacDonald was fired from doing the “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live. It was because one of the higher-ups at NBC was friends with O. J. Simpson, and he demanded that Norm stop doing jokes about the ex-football player and accused murderer.

After that, Norm was on Late Night with David Letterman, wondering and griping a bit about getting fired. But Norm also quoted something that Letterman had told him about the bosses of network TV – “They own the cameras.”

I believe it would be a good idea to keep this in mind – NOT about your boss, but instead, about the Listeners.

Because THEY “own the cameras.” They decide whether to listen to you or not. So try not to drift too far into your own personal agendas if you know you’ll be going against their directives. You can still do plenty of Content that “works around the fringes” of whatever you think is relevant – but without forcing a decision that will affect your career in a negative way.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #643: Every Good Player Knows…

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Major league baseball runs a commercial during a change of innings that says, “Every good player knows the value of a coach.” And that’s true, but I think the opposite is true, too – every good coach knows the value of a great player.

A lot of good coaching is just staying out of the way, or just gently carving at the edges of things – because…they’re good. They don’t need a lot of, “This is how we do this.” In radio/TV/Voice acting, it’s more about “This plays to your strengths more,” or “It’s better if you stop here instead of adding one more thing.”

Coaching is a two-way street. Hard to do on your own.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #642: When Imaging Goes Wrong

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It’s important to take stock sometimes, and wonder “How did this happen?”

Case in point, promos for a show playing DURING that show. Yes, I know, TV does it all the time — to the unheard voices of people screaming, “I’m watching the show NOW!” at their TV screens.

Listening to a morning show the other day, I heard multiple little produced promo links between songs for that show. Why? Are you so desperate for people to hear cutesy little comments about the show – usually interrupted by your promo voice – that you don’t trust that since we are, after all, listening TO the show, that we see the advantages of it over the ones we’re NOT listening to?

It has an oily, self-promotional residue to it. You may think it works, but a lot of people get tired of your crowing about yourself. Is that part of your Strategy? Because if it is, that’s probably not going to work very well.

Note: It was SO hard to keep the word “idiots” out of this tip. But, you know, if the shoe with the gum stuck to it fits…

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip $641: Be Like Mic

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A generation – maybe more – of young people wanted to “Be Like Mike” (Michael Jordan, of course) when I was younger.

In the radio arena, I wanted to be like Larry Ryan. Larry’s a legendary morning man in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. And besides a terrific, inviting voice and a laugh that makes YOU laugh, Larry embodied what I wanted in my life – to be successful, well-liked, and have a long career.

So, as everyone does, I did my best “impression” of Larry.
Obviously, that didn’t work, since I’m just me. But that’s kind of the point. We all start out imitating someone (or everyone) that we like. Fortunately, at some point, we have to reluctantly settle for being ourselves.

But I think it’s a good thing to have someone you admire be a goal. That instills a work ethic. And by trying, even if you fail, you learn your limitations – and your strengths.

Now obviously I believe it’s a LOT easier with a Talent Coach that you can trust. If you’re working with a good one, you’re going to reach your goals a lot faster (and a lot easier) than I did.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #640: The Mirror

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Once, years ago, I decided to audition for a Talk station in Dallas. A friend of mine said that they had an opening, and at that time, I had never done Talk.

So I fashioned a “sample plate” of subjects I thought would work, and sent it to the Program Director.

Boy, was I wrong. I had taken a detached view of “things that are interesting” and put ‘em all down on paper. In retrospect, they were horrible. Nobody would have cared, and it would have been embarrassing.

Fortunately for the station’s P. D., I “looked in the mirror” at what I had prepped, and realized how it wasn’t me at all. So I chickened out of doing an audition set for that weekend. My inner compass pointed “due nowhere” and I apologized for wasting his time.

Over the years, I did end up doing both Sports radio and some straight Talk, but only after I had rethought that incident and learned a lot from others in the format, including my dazzlingly smart friend Valerie Geller, Consultant to many, many great Talk stations.

The takeaway: “look at the mirror” with your Content. If it doesn’t “look like you”, drop it and move on.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #639: A Tip from Robert Heinlein

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“The Dean of Science Fiction writers” is the title given to Robert Heinlein, author of “Stranger in a Strange Land”, “Starship Troopers”, and the wonderful book “Time Enough for Love” – among many others, was both an author and aeronautical engineer. That led to amazingly predicting many things that we now take for granted in the real world.

His main character, running through several of his books, was Lazarus Long, the world’s oldest man. Lazarus had a saying that I believe is the secret to true success in radio: “Be yourself, and be it in style.”

To young talents, stop hiding behind some façade. Stop trying to be or look like or sound like someone else. I always tell people “Crack your chest open and show us what’s in there.”

To veteran air talents who want to stay valid, I would say sweep through what you do, and take out anything that’s not genuine. What makes you “sound old” is clinging to outdated habits that don’t match up with the short-attention-span listener of today. If you sound old, you ARE old. If you sound engaged and interested in what’s new, you won’t sound old.

But above else, be yourself. And be it in style.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #638: Teases – the Wrong and Right “Stuff”

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A very talented woman I’ve coached on and off for years faced a challenge recently with a station’s Program Director wanting the air talent to do “teases” of what they’d be talking about a few minutes later.

So, she reached out, asking how to handle it. Here’s part of what I sent her, with a couple of added thoughts…

“Teases” – as in “teasing” what you or someone else is going to talk about – are worthless. We don’t do that in real, everyday conversations.
“Hey, Jim, something is seriously wrong with your car! And I’ll talk about it in the next ten minutes.”
Dangling a subject out there, then yanking it away. SO stupid. And so rude, actually. Tell me NOW.

If you want to tease something, I would stick with the following:
(1) Features of the station – a special guest coming up on the morning show, for example. Or any in-show feature of a daypart. (Each show should have something unique.)
(2) Things that benefit the listener on the website or your social media. A link to an air talent’s podcast, for instance.
(3) A station event, a contest (with a prize!), or a promotion that’s listener-focused.

Program Directors: Everything else is just quacking. If you’re going to tease something, it has to matter.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #637: Why Your Station’s Formatics Matter

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Many MusicRadio Program Directors who were too late for the Top 40 wars really don’t understand how proper formatics work – or even what they ARE.

Example: If you wait for that last LOGICAL moment to start the next song, then talk (or where the next element, like a “sweeper” or Imaging piece should hit), you…

(1) show respect for the music,
(2) have true Momentum, not just an “upbeat” pace (which is a different thing),
(3) and you won’t sound like some idiot who just talks anywhere you feel like.

Remember that there are only two elements to the listener on a music station: music, and “things that AREN’T Music.”

So, the choice of efficient formatics can make you come across as either an intrusion, or as a part OF the music. (Guess which one works better.)

The bottom line is that a station that seemingly has no respect for the music has no respect for the ear of the listener, either. That’s why streaming music services occupy space that radio used to own. Times and technology will change, but I would think that something like not jerking the listener around with loud sound effects chopping off the end of a song would probably always be a good thing to consider.

I mention this primarily because every P. D. should want his air talent to just be able sit in the pilot’s seat and cruise along, which is what solid formatics provide. When a talent feels confident by doing the right things, that person becomes easier to coach to a higher level.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #636: Why “Good Enough”…Isn’t

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One of the most crippling thoughts in radio is “That’s good enough.”

The reply from the Listener’s end of the radio will often be, “No, it isn’t.”
I spent practically my whole on-air career being part of stations that knocked off the competition if they thought “good enough” would win. In particular, taking advantage of that kind of thinking was what fueled our staff in the early seventies in Dallas at KNUS, when we became the first FM station to ever be #1 in a major market. (Yes, there was a time when AM ruled. We helped establish that FM was the new sheriff in town.)

We, as a staff, were relentless. We had a sense of friendly competition amongst ourselves in who would be the best each day – who had that line or that “camera angle” that we all quoted or laughed about that night. By holding ourselves to the fire about being fully engaged in a different approach – not too laid back, certainly not ‘pukey’, but down to earth and real, instead – we simply evaporated the stations that lived with “good enough” as their stopping place.

When a station is self-satisfied, it’s easier to knock off.

Want to learn how to do that? That’s why – and what – I coach.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.