Note: Since I totally forgot to post a tip last week (I plead Christmastime madness), I’m doing two this week. Here you go…

One of the reasons I still watch “Survivor” on TV is because of how it defines connecting with the audience.
Every contestant has a story. One of the ones in its current season (#49) is a guy whose father has been diagnosed with glaucoma.
He and his dad have watched the show together since he was a kid.

His father will be blind by the end of this season’s shows. So this will be the last season he’ll be ABLE to watch.

His son said, “I just want to make my dad proud.”

I immediately thought of my father, who’s gone now.
So did millions of other people. THAT’S CONNECTING.

Question for you: Is there any element of your show that connects on that level? If not, why not? Any competent air talent can just throw together a listenable show. But you need some emotional “touchstone” to be great.

As I always say, “Crack your chest open and show us what’s in there.”

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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.

Collaboration is one thing. Sharing Content can be a whole different thing. Let me explain…

Collaboration, in terms of sharing Content ideas with a friend is fine. I’ve encouraged many people to collaborate with another air talent to brainstorm together. It can be a real healthy process, not just for the ideas themselves, but what it fleshes out through each person forming their own take on them. Often, they learn things from each other that they might not have learned on their own.

However, “sharing Content” is a different animal, and has now morphed into an area that can be merely generic and lazy.
I recently heard that a bunch of air talents even share phone call audio.

Why? Are you so boring that you can’t generate phone calls from your own area?
Do you think the listeners are so stupid that they can’t recognize an accent, or a lack of one, that says “this caller is not from here”?

When I was on the air, back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, if I had a great caller, you would NEVER get that audio to use on another station. When did we get to where we don’t compete anymore?

You want a raise? Be GREAT.

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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.

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.

As your career advances, radio changes you. Early in your career, you might think that everything needs to be stressed. So it’s easy to talk about something in a way that makes it seem like you’re battering me with things. A little too much “hype”.

The cure for this is so simple: just put emphasis on ONE word in each sentence, instead of trying to hype every single copy point.

Just relax. We’re entering an era when nobody wants to be SHOUTED AT anymore. Plus, I’m in my car, not taking notes. Too many points delivered too emphatically just makes for sensory overload.

Simplify the message; relax the delivery.

You can still be excited or have “energy” (whatever that elusive concept is), but only in the way that you would in a real-life conversation you’d have with a good friend. Everything else is just too “over the top”.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2023 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

A pet peeve of mine is when someone starts with “I – me – my” verbiage instead of starting with the Subject or the Listener, THEN talk about you.

One of the advantages of a team show is that it gives you the opportunity to get into Content without starting by talking about yourself. Your partner can talk about you. “Well, Rick was only ten minutes late this morning” leads to a story. Instead of you talking to me about you, you’re talking to me about him. This ‘indirect’ way of beginning a Content break is not only really effective, but it creates an “insider” vibe – always a good thing.

But remember, this is only an advantage if you use it.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2023 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

It’s never a bad time to work on using fewer words. Here’s why…

When you pare down the word count, it helps you cut through the ‘blah blah’ all over the dial and sound more specific, which tends to “imprint” more on the mind.

It’s a paradox, but using more words rarely makes something clearer.

(Note: This tip started out as a full page of 240+ words, but I cut it down to just 55.)

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2021 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.