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 Tip #47 – No empty compliments, please

Posted on by

If you want to really coach instead of just critique, here’s what your Talent doesn’t need to hear: generic thoughts like “You had a good show today”…or “You guys were really funny this morning.”

These types of non-specific comments, even well intentioned, are too vague to result in any real progress. Remember that Air Talents, if they’re really good (or if they’re ever going to BECOME really good), are like musicians. They work on their performances note by note, measure by measure, a little more precise here, a little more subtle there, until they put together the end result.

Part of your job in helping your Talent get better is to talk about specific breaks. “I really liked it when you asked that caller about X” or “That bit about X was really great” homes the Talent in on exact ingredients of the performance that please you, and that hit the target in terms of the way you want the station to connect with the Listener.

If you can, play the example for the Talent, then make your comments and get response from him/her. Think of yourself as both the Conductor of the orchestra and a collaborator with each musician.

And you don’t have to always be rah-rah positive. It’s okay to play a break, then ask “What were you thinking there?” or “Where was this going? What was the ending supposed to be?” Reinforcing that there needs to be a point to each break, and that Prep is essential, aren’t negative thoughts. They’re just “workshop” techniques to increase focus. You don’t have to be a jackass about it, but in the long run, what people learn while they work for you is the bottom line. (It’s also okay for you to realize that coaching isn’t your strongest point, and to hire a specialist. It can make your job so much easier.)

If, as an air talent, you’re not getting specifics from your PD, take some tape in there, play it for him (or her), and get some feedback. Remember, if you’re not getting better all the time……..you’re not getting better…all the time!

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #46 – Habit, the double-edged sword

Posted on by

Amazingly, I still hear people on the radio doing celebrity birthdays, “This Day in History” stuff, trivia questions, and “News of the Weird”-type stories that they find on the internet. (They should be looking up “hackneyed” in the dictionary.) It’s strange how many air talents think of mere habits as “benchmarks” that people listen for. Anything done too often or for too long will eventually become old hat. For example, David Letterman’s Top Ten lists turned into dinosaur bones a long time ago. He should have gone to Top 5, and just done one a week, say on Friday night.

If you do have something that you believe is a benchmark (for a while), you have to hold dear the concept that it’s not enough just to do it regularly. It has to be GOOD—every time. As long as you’re working hard to keep it fresh and not settling for subpar material, it’ll probably work. Just keep in mind that although you do want to be known for a certain style and a set of clearly identifiable qualities, you DON’T want to be known for just doing the same old things every day.

Reassess things regularly. If something even begins to feel like there’s a “Hey, is this milk still fresh?” element to it, throw it away. No benchmark lasts forever, and just like great actors, writers, or musicians, you want to keep coming up with fresh material.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #45 – Be about the Listener, not just about You

Posted on by

The Bible says “Love your brother as yourself.”
Radio stations (and you, as a Talent) should think “Be about the listener AT LEAST as much as about yourself.”

Most stations/jocks I hear these days seem to not really care about the listener at all. Part of this is liner-card and “promotion-driven” Programming, as if I really give a crap when your next remote broadcast is, or that if I want to drive ten miles out of my way, I can pick up a free station bumper sticker that I can use to deface my car, or a 29-cent koozie.

Some of the blame should be put on the misreading of (and trying to pander to) PPM, as if constantly being told what’s coming up on your station is going to make up for your being boring NOW. (It won’t.) But the main thing is that we’re constantly trying to draw attention to ourselves, rather than simply being Interesting, being Entertaining, or being of Service.

The bottom line is that if it seems like you care about me, I’ll be more likely to care about you.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #44 – Is this show TODAY?

Posted on by

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:
1. How is today’s show different from yesterday’s (or tomorrow’s)?
2. Is what you do so generic that it could be a show from any day of the week?

Now take it one step further: Is what you do so generic that it could be on any station, or only on your station?

“Plain vanilla” may still be #1 in ice cream, but it certainly isn’t in radio. Today’s relevant content has a different “flavor” than yesterday’s. It’s your job to find what today is about and put it on the air. Sameness is the enemy of performance. (This is why so many so-called “benchmarks” aren’t benchmarks at all.)

Remember, there’s a huge, tangible difference between consistency (which is a good thing) and predictability (which is the kiss of death).

So if you’ve got stuff that you’ve kept around for “when you don’t have anything else,” THROW IT AWAY. It’s as outdated as last month’s tomatoes.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #43 – YOU, not the Computer

Posted on by

Music stations seem to forget that they’re about music. We spend a lot of time on jock Content, what Promotions work and how to do the promos for them, how Contests need to be exciting but still organic, and Imaging.

But none of that matters if you have the computer on “auto” and your Traffic bed, for example, crashes right over the final word of a song that ends “cold.”

The solution is one that I’ve mentioned before: run any break where you’re going to talk MANUALLY. The listener has to feel that you’re listening to the music too (whether you are or not), and that you care about his or her being able to hear the end of one of their favorite songs. We don’t want dead air, obviously, but wait for those cold ends and develop FEEL, instead of just letting the machines do it.

Remember that computers are just idiots with great memories. They count time, but they don’t FEEL timing. We have to respect the music.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip 42 – The Perfect Companion to Audio is Video

Posted on by

You may already be into this culture. Sadly, most stations aren’t.

For years, it was thought that print was the perfect companion to audio. Sending the listener to your website to read something, get more information, download recipes, etc. was absolutely beaten into the ground. And because 98% of station websites look alike, with all their banner ads and flashing displays, the head shots of the talent, their boring blogs, and the made up “profiles” that no one cares about (“Gee, he likes peanut butter! Amazing!”), this didn’t really add much to the package.

Now I’m not saying that you don’t want to have a really good website, with streaming audio available and all that. You should. (Just like it goes without saying you should have a smart phone app, too.) I’m just saying that you also want to supplement what’s SAID on the air with VIDEO.

Hearing a guest or a stunt is fine, but seeing it on your web page or Facebook page (and/or You Tube) is a great supplement. The “peek behind the curtain” factor is incredibly compelling. I have the great pleasure of coaching a brilliant talent, Wally at WAY-FM, who just got his gazillionth hit on You Tube as a result of putting countless video clips up for people to experience the show in a new way. I’m certain that many people now listen to him as a result of seeing those clips first. See them at www.totalaxxess.com or on You Tube. (Just type “The Wally Show” into the search window.)

Marry into technology. It’s your best friend—IF you use it. If not, just go ahead and put your station’s logo on a load of buggy whips and pass them out at your next event.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #41 – Listeners don’t listen…

Posted on by

The great singer Harry Nilsson once said “Everything’s the opposite.” There are examples of this all around you. “Call now to get your free gift. All you pay is shipping and handling.” (But shipping and handling charges are NOT free.) Chesterfield cigarettes used to offer “Proof of no adverse effects to the nose, throat, and sinuses.” (Throat cancer apparently didn’t qualify as an ‘adverse effect’.) I’ve actually heard radio station sweepers where the station voice says “Less talk, more music.” TALKING to say “less talk!”

The people that use your station are called “listeners.” But “listeners” don’t actually listen all that much. As much as we’d like to not believe this, to a large extent, the radio is an appliance, like a light bulb or a microwave oven. We can’t really expect them to listen intently to everything we put on the air. Although putting it this way may sound weird, Listeners don’t listen—until they do.

They do when you provide what they CARE about, and then attach your call letters—your “brand name”—to it.
(It works like this: Nike = Michael Jordan = successful and athletic.)

Don’t do something just because you want to talk about it, or just because you thought of a funny line about it. It’s not about YOU. It’s all about creating a connection in the Listener’s mind between your station and what he or she (1) already wants to hear about, or (2) needs to hear about. That’s why we do Weather and Traffic reports—because people care about them.

Air Talents (and show Producers) should work hardest on the selection of what things to do on the air. If the Listeners don’t care about them, they won’t hear them.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #40 – First Impression

Posted on by

You only get one chance to make a First Impression. And remember that it takes twice as long to undo a first impression as it does to create it. And you have no control over whether or not you even get that chance. The Listener decides.

The natural tendency for a Talent in a new situation is to do too much, to try to show the whole bag of tricks, like an overzealous lead guitar player who tries to play every ‘lick’ he knows every time he plays a solo. Meanwhile, the old hands—Eric Clapton, B. B. King, etc.—have the patience to do only what’s just right for THIS song, knowing that the full repertoire will be uncovered over time, as more songs bring more emotions and more opportunities to express their range of skills.

Remember that trying too hard can be felt on the other end of the radio, and pushes the listener away. Your insecurities or nervousness will be magnified by the microphone.

Se here’s a simple thought that will always work: Just be of service to the listener. Then just add a little more of you in how you do that each day. It’s very rare that someone will dislike you if you’re genuinely trying to help them.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #39 – “Staging” Music

Posted on by

Let’s talk about “staging” music—music that you might want to put under a break to enhance it.

First, ask yourself if you really need music for this break. It’s odd, when you think about it. If I meet you for lunch, I don’t just automatically plop a boom box down on the table and play music under our conversation. Often, jocks just reach for some piece of music with the mistaken notion that it “keeps the momentum” better. It can help momentum, but the wrong choice of music will NOT help the break, and having a music bed can make you lazy, since you’re not as sensitive to whether the break is moving along crisply or not.

Generic music = generic break. Grabbing some random uptempo cut from the Production library is silly, since it may not fit what you’re talking about. Now if you’re talking about baseball, it makes sense to “stage” it with music from “The Natural” or “Field of Dreams”, or an instrumental version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” But if it’s just some Production music piece chugging along in the background, it may not be actually adding anything.

Here’s the right way to think of it. Use music that’s either…
(1) SUBJECT-specific (Star Wars music to talk about a discovery in space, the Olympics theme to talk about the games, music from a Western movie to talk about a local rodeo, etc.)

or…

(2) MOOD-specific. Movies are full of music designed to “cradle” the emotion of a scene. (I’m not talking about songs included on a movie soundtrack. I mean the “incidental” music that helps create tension, or sets the stage for the action that will follow. And there are many scenes without music, because music would take away from what’s happening onscreen.)

If you use music wisely, your show will sound even more polished and produced. If you use it as a “crutch” habit, your show will sound more “paint by numbers” and stagey and artificial. I think the best advice would be that if you can find music that’s just right, use it. But if you can’t, then don’t use music that break.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2014 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #38 – Hamburger, No Onions

Posted on by

Sometimes it’s a battle of wills to get a Talent to do–or not do–something. I once had a session with a morning man who didn’t realize his tendency to do bawdy sexual content. His argument was, “I don’t see why you’re harping on this. It’s not like I’m Howard Stern.” But what he didn’t get is that his station’s Listener would perceive any sexual content as being over the line. This guy thought that “a little” racy was okay.

So I asked him to think about like this:
I go to a restaurant and order a hamburger with no onions. If I bite into it and taste even a small chunk of old stinky onion on it, it doesn’t matter to me that it’s just “a little” onion. It’s something that I didn’t want, and specifically asked you NOT to put on it. It didn’t take any extra effort—indeed, it didn’t take any effort at all—to do it right. So the next time one of my friends wants to eat there, I’ll probably tell him he shouldn’t, because “they never get my order right.”

Obviously, if this is how your restaurant is perceived, you’re not going to be in business very long.

Every station, in every format, has some form of “onion.” Some element that its Listeners don’t want. Maybe I come to your Classic Rock station to hear the music, but don’t want to hear you abruptly chop off the end of a song. Or I come to your soft A/C station not wanting to hear songs with suggestive lyrics. Or (the other side of the coin) maybe I come to your raunchy, outlandish Talk station not wanting to hear “safe” wimpy subject matter. Whatever the “onion” is, if I (the Listener) don’t want it, don’t give it to me.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.