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 #605: A Challenge for You in 2025

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Okay, we’ve gotten Christmas and New Year’s over with, we’re all going to try to lose 10 pounds, and now we have to settle down and go to work.

So here’s a challenge for you in this next year: Try something different; something you’ve never done before.

I don’t mean skydiving or spelunking. I mean try something different on the air.
Maybe it’s creating a little feature in the Production room – a parody commercial, or a parody song, or a parody of your own show. SOMETHING that isn’t the same old stuff you have in your bag of tricks.

It could also be something you do in a different (or adjacent) format, like a blog or a podcast. STRETCH. LEARN. Take a chance, for Pete’s sake.

If you never try anything new, you’re already a Brontosaurus.

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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 #604: How to Find What Really Works for You

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For any young air talent, the key to a successful career is simply how to find out what really works for you, so you don’t (1) sound like everybody else, and (2) you’re not predictable.

So how do you accomplish this? Pretty simple, actually: Try stuff.
Some of it may bomb. That’s okay. That’s how we learn. If something tanks, just put that in the “trash” bin, and try something else. If you have the courage to get out of the “box” that most air talents fit into, you’ll eventually find something that “clicks”. Then, add to that by trying something different. Again.

A great example for you is The Wally Show on Contemporary Christian radio giant WAY-FM, based in Nashville.

I’ve worked with Wally on and off for almost 25 years in several different formats, and I still haven’t seen anyone who comes up with more stuff than he does. He’s an idea MACHINE. And yes, he learned what worked for him by just taking chances and trying things that came out of his unique sense of humor. But he didn’t stop there. When he does something really serious, that works, too. (This was a big step in his career. No one can be funny all the time, and you need a changeup to go with your fastball.)

But as the wonderful Talk Radio coach (and my dear friend) Valerie Geller says, “Never be boring.”

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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 #603: Don’t Confuse “the Buzz” with What MATTERS

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It’s easy to settle for the low-hanging fruit, in terms of Content. What “the Buzz” is may be the 34th most important thing today to your audience.

Don’t ever confuse “the Buzz” with what actually matters. Resist the easy path. Don’t ever let the headlines, or some Buzzfeed article keep you from seeing what’s top of mind – TODAY – to your listeners.

I assure you, people have other things that they’re far more interested in than what some prep sheet or news website might lead you to believe. (And don’t even start with me about the Political channels or websites. That little world that seems so big doesn’t matter AT ALL if your kid or your best friend needs help.)

When you weigh in on what your listener actually cares about each day, you’re way ahead of 99% of your competitors.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #602: We All Sound Alike…Until We Don’t

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It’s always been an issue, but it’s even more pronounced today, with “cookie cutter” formats so prevalent.

The sad truth is that to most people, most air talents sound pretty much alike. A bit loud, a lot of gab, sort of “announcer-ish,” usually just pretty much what we’ve always heard and gotten used to.

Digest this thought, please. We all sound alike – until we don’t.
Here’s the question: What makes you different?

If you don’t know, find out. If you can’t hear that you sound typical, get a coach. Remember that the point is to be YOURSELF, not just another “voice saying words.”

NO ONE will notice you until you do.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #601: Stop Promoting the Commercials

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This is primarily a Talk Radio format tip, but also a tip that I’ve given many times to TV talent.

I keep hearing things like this…

“We’ll be right back, after these commercial messages.” (The worst, and most outdated “go-away” there is.)

“We’ll step aside now, for this commercial break. (Step aside? Where? Why? Do you have to make room for it?)

“More, after this…” (“More” is fine, but there’s still that “after this…”)

“Stay tuned. We’ll be right back.” (First, don’t tell me what to do. And second, where are you going?)

“On the other side…” (Of what? Some railroad tracks?)

All of these silly ways of going to a break only POINT OUT that a bunch of commercials are going to play. Why would anyone want to put the spotlight on the most boring part of the broadcast?

Instead, just say “Next.” As in, “We’ll check out the Sports scores, next…”
Or “Back to the phones, next…”

You get the idea. Everyone knows that they’re going to hear (and/or watch) commercials. Many people just go to the bathroom, or whatever else they need to do, or whatever will kill time – usually with the sound down, if this happens on TV.

So, to borrow from Nancy Reagan’s “Just say ‘no’” slogan, “Just say ‘next’” instead of pointing a big red finger at the biggest negative on the station.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #600: Planning the Show Each Day

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Show prep is SO important. I’ve seen hundreds of people I’ve worked with who had no real plan, or a partial “subject list” type of prep, thinking that this is enough.

It’s not. If you want to win, and become a well-oiled machine, don’t just plan what you’d like to do. LAY OUT where each thing will go.

Pay attention to the normal amount of station “business” and promotions, contests if you have one, and interview time if you have a guest. I’d slot those in FIRST, then look at where your Content goes.
In the Talk arena, this is ultra-important. The late Pat Williams, former manager, then V.P. of the NBA Orlando Magic, used to do a show once a week on a Sports station I programmed in Orlando. He would come in with a list of every single question he wanted to ask a guest, in order, and if some interesting “side road” developed, he’d go with that, then immediately return to the questions list. He was smooth as silk on the air and did consistently amazing interviews, and he personified show prep – and he wasn’t even a full-time radio guy!

Let’s close with this: There are reasons that jet pilots don’t just fly by the seat of their pants. It’s because (1) they want to consistently be at their best, and (2) they like to avoid things like flying into a mountain.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #599: It All Starts with the Writing

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In the last tip, I talked about the rhythm inherent in the best comedy, comparing it to how a great TV sitcom pauses, then reinvents itself over and over again. That’s really how everything works. I’m just rewatching the amazing series “The Newsroom”, written by the great Aaron Sorkin. He understands this rhythm as well as anyone I can think of who does drama. (I would say Neil Simon when it comes to comedy.)

Whenever you start a sentence without knowing how it’s going to end, you’re on the diving board about to jump into the pool without knowing if there’s water in it. Improv is not something most people can consistently depend on. Without at least some structure laid out, you’re taking a chance (especially in a team show). Thinking something “magic” will “just happen” describes every “almost, but not quite” show I’ve heard.

Composition – writing – matters. That’s why I aways planned the ending first. Sometimes I (or we, in my team shows) wouldn’t get to that ending, because a “First Exit” appeared that would have made anything else anticlimactic. Try this. Know where you’re going, and see if it doesn’t make things smoother and give you more clarity, mentally. The confidence you’ll gain can be felt on the air.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #598: Real to Silly is Better than Silly to Real

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The best Content is about real life situations, shared in little bursts. If you start with an unreal situation, there’s no emotional buy-in (unless you couch it as fantasy or exaggeration).

But going from Real to Silly is better than going from Silly to Real. (Knowing when to stop is the key to this – and I’ll share some thoughts about how to attain, or at least, sharpen this skill in a future tip.)

The last line in the opening scene of a TV sitcom is a good example. The great writers know this is almost always the first line that “kills” (meaning it worked exceptionally well). On the radio, it’s really hard to come up with another one that lives up to the first one that “ignited” itself in your brain. But I hear air talent trying to top themselves, come up with another GREAT one all the time. So here’s a little composition tip: the best rhythm is that things have to breathe a bit, then surprise you again. Hope this helps you!

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #597: The Setup Disease

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“I want to tell you…” “I want to share with you…” “I want to let you know” = announcing that you will tell me something. Instead, Just TELL me. (An added benefit of this is that you take out the *I – me – my” factor.)

*(This is one of my main tenets – not starting a story with yourself. Start with the Subject first, or by referencing the Listener first in some way, THEN you add your part, or your ‘take’ on it. Less ego this way, and it sounds less “presentational”.)

Sometimes, this kind of mistake is on the other end of the Content. Example: You play a call, then recap what we just heard before giving us your take on it. There’s not always a need to do that. Consider just reacting to what we heard, instead.

I still refer to both of these things as the “setup disease,” but it might actually be better described as “over-qualifying things”.

This is just one more way to not sound like everyone else, and to put the Content and the Listener up front – just one of dozens and dozens of little linguistic and grammar usage things that I coach. The more we can “un-radio” the sound, the better. The ‘big picture’ goal is a “VISIT-driven” show.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #596: Conquering “Liners”

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We’ve all had to do it – read a station “liner” that just reads like old “newspaper ad” copy. Ugh.

But, since my job is to make you sound better in every way possible, here’s a tip on how to make those things come alive.

Think, “How would I tell a friend about this?” Take out all the words you would never actually say to a human being, and put in the words that you’d use. Yes, some “name” you have to get in or some “slogan” you have to read can take you out of that to a degree, but you have to make those sound natural, too. You wouldn’t tell your friend to go to a store without telling him or her the store’s name. So, just say it like that.

Informative when necessary, but more natural, is always the goal.

My friend Jeff Laurence (jefflaurence.com) is a great example of this. He can do “power” reads with the best of them, but his more natural stuff is legendary. I’ve written hundreds of pieces that Jeff has cut, and he’s always a joy to work with.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.