Tommy Kramer Tip #100 – Perishable food

This tip may seem pretty obvious, and I wish it were. But apparently it’s not, from what I hear flipping around the dial and working with Talents who tell me, “Yeah, I meant to do something on that, but I forgot to.”

Some Content is like perishable food. If you don’t use it quickly, it’ll go bad. If you have something that is time sensitive, find a place for it on the air NOW. Otherwise, it’s like you bought food, put it in the refrigerator, and then just let it sit there and spoil.

Yes, some other stuff is like a can of beans up in the pantry. It can be used anytime.
Here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Use the “perishable food” first.

2. Then throw the other stuff away. We’re not survivalists stocking up for the end of the world.

Seriously, if it’s the day after Memorial Day, for instance, and special ceremonies were held all over your city yesterday, you’d better talk about it today. By tomorrow it’s old news.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip #65 – Prep the Ending FIRST

This is the simplest way to guarantee success with any Content you do: Prep the ending first.

Here’s why:
Suppose you have several errands to run. You need to drop some clothes off at the dry cleaners, you’ve got to mail something, and you need to go to the grocery store. So to save gas and go in more of a straight line, you plan everything so you go to the grocery store last. If you don’t, you’re going to end up with a lot of refrigerated items melting in the back seat while you’re doing the other errands.

It’s the same way with everything on the air—know where you’re GOING. Where the “destination” is. THEN, plan the beginning—how you’ll get into whatever the subject is. You’ll find that the middle pretty much takes care of itself.

Saturday Night Live is a good example. Through the years, they’ve always had talented people in the cast, but when the show was strongest, every ‘bit’ had a sense of purpose—an ending or conclusion that was solid and provided some sort of resolution at the end. When the show was at its weakest, there were still some good ideas, but they just kind of fizzled out at the end.

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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 #54 – Today, tomorrow, next week, next month

Here’s a really simple way to do show prep. Think “Today, tomorrow, next week, next month.”

Today and tomorrow are pretty obvious, but there’s a reason to always glance at what’s coming up next week, or next month. It’s all about how the brain works. Once the “left brain” (the logical, mathematical, “everything in its place”) side is made aware of the “next big thing” the RIGHT side of the brain (the creative, emotional, artistic side) will start noodling around on how to do it well.

This also gives you time to put things in motion—maybe a promotional or social media angle or follow-up, or finding some music that will stage it perfectly on the air.

If you wait until the last minute and think you can just wing it, pray that I don’t start coaching your competition. You can’t do left brain AND right brain stuff at the same time with any great degree of success. No one can. That’s why golfers work on the practice range until things become subconscious, then when they get into a tournament, it’s not about swing thoughts, it’s just about hitting the shot.

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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 #48 – One thing, One thing, One thing

Here’s a quick and easy show prep tip.

Every day, bring in these three things:

1. One thing you saw. (Observing real life IS show prep.)
2. One thing that somebody else told you about. (The reason for this is that other people have different “camera angles” from yours.)
3. One thing you read. (But don’t read it to me. Just tell me about it.)

This will assure your having three solid things to talk about each day. If you’re in a two-person team show, you’ll have six things to talk about. When you add in the Content that the station provides—features, contests, website stuff, etc. the “empty page” fills up fast.

This process divorces you from the all-too-typical “crutch” material like “This Day in History”, Celebrity birthdays, or stealing lines or “bits” from someone else (which never sound like you), And because those 3 things you bring in will be different every day, your Wednesday show won’t just be a repeat of Tuesday’s show.

Jocks tend to think in terms of “benchmarks,” and build a list of things they do at certain times every day that can freeze you into an “autopilot” mentality. There’s room for benchmarks, but you also have to find ways of maintaining or generating that creative “spark.” The “one thing—one thing—one thing” method is an easy way to keep from growing stale, and stay interested in the non-Control room world….you know, the one your listener lives in.

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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 Coaching Tip #24 — The 5 Subjects: How to choose Content

No doubt about it; the thing I get asked about the most is Content; what to talk about each day. Choosing the right Content is crucial to doing a great show, no matter what your radio station’s format is.

Some of your Content is provided for you with station promotions and events, contests, special listener “clubs” that give feedback on the music, stuff like that. And in a music format, there’s always stuff about the artists, concert dates (if they apply to your market), and whatever special musical features you provide.

But that’s only about half of what you need.

Here’s a good “default setting” list of The 5 Subjects that will always work:

1. The Economy—specifically Job Stuff. Money is the #1 motivator. Not enough money, you’re unhappy. Plenty of money, you want to protect it and make sure it doesn’t vanish overnight, so you can put your kids through school or have enough to retire someday. So job stuff is always something to pay attention to. And there’s always comparing our jobs to other people’s jobs. Take working at Walmart, for instance; that’s worse than being the President of a bank, but a lot better than being a javelin catcher.

2. Entertainment. We’re an Entertainment-driven nation. Whether it’s “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” hoping Miley Cyrus will have that tongue-shortening operation she so desperately needs, or just paying attention to the movies and TV shows your listener likes the most, the Entertainment world is ripe with stuff you can use. However, stay away from being obvious or salacious with it. And you can’t just read a bunch of stuff from websites. It has to be the same kind of conversation you’d have with a friend over lunch, or at a backyard barbecue.

3. Relationships. It’s all about relationships, really, whether it’s our friends, families, or co-workers. Relationships—good or bad—shape everything we do.

4. “The Buzz.” The thing today that everyone seems to be talking about should ALWAYS be on your radar screen. To not talk about it is to be an ostrich, with your head stuck in the sand, and there’s a real danger in seeming like you’re not aware of it. There’s one exception, however, and that’s if the Value position of your station means that you should avoid talking about it, like maybe something that people wouldn’t want the kids in the car to hear, for instance. In that case, you might want to make a point of saying that you’re NOT going to talk about it—and why.

5. “Things that grow out of the show.” As your career develops, you’ll find things that are unique to you. Use them. For example, one guy I work with, Don Godman, made a wonderful little feature out of his son’s adventures, called “The Gavin Report.” It’s delivered—by Gavin—like a child’s news magazine, with something like going to a museum or the State Fair being an “episode.” It’s the single most remembered thing about Don’s show. His audience feels like they’ve watched his son grow up on the radio.

If what you want to talk about doesn’t fit into one of these categories, I’d strongly recommend that you just toss it. Even Politics should “qualify” by being “the buzz” or looking at how the issues affect people’s lives and relationships.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #5: 2 words – 2 words – 2 words

TK Tip 5 – 2 words – 2 words -2 words (click to hear mp3 version)

I’m big on giving air talents specific tools to use, not just talking about “pie in the sky” aspirations.

We hear about “telling stories” every day, but exactly HOW to do that is usually never really explained; only “critiqued.” This is like learning about heat by putting your hand down on a hot stove. That’s not Coaching.

Here’s a foolproof method for laying out any break:

  • Write down 2 or 3 words for the “open.”
  • Under those, write down a couple more words for the next “copy point.”
  • “Rinse and repeat” with the “2 words” mechanic.
  • Then write down a couple of words for your “exit.”

So let’s take a story and “workshop” it:

Having a baby.

Planning birth.

Baby comes NOW.

Pictures.

It comes out like this…

“If you’re a parent, or about to become one, here’s what you go through…you plan everything, from packing a suitcase ahead of time to putting the doctor’s number in your phone to laying out the quickest route to the hospital. This woman in West Boca Raton, Florida, Amy Beth Cavaretta, did all of that, but then she gave birth in front of the hospital! (Oops.) Oh, and on top of that, her husband is a photojournalist for a Miami newspaper! Ewww. Pictures of the birth are not something that guys want to see. Now if you had pictures of how the baby was made…”

The “2 words, 2 words” way of laying out a break keeps you concise. (Always a good thing.)

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #2 – Camera Angles

TK Tip 2 – Camera Angles (click to hear mp3 version)

In the previous tip, we talked about how to “be the Moon, not the Sun” and choose only what matters most to the listener today to talk about in your show Content. (Of course, there are the formatic elements, and the various aspects of the station—events, contests, promotions, etc. But this is about the real-life stuff that reveals who you are and bonds you and the listener together.)

The real game is selecting the right “camera angle,” just like the process a movie director goes through in rehearsal, or putting together a “storyboard” of each shot he’ll use. Where he puts the camera decides how the story will be told. That’s why a Steven Spielberg or James Cameron is so successful. They use that camera to show—through their eyes—what they believe to be the most compelling view of what’s happening in the scene. And with the great directors, it’s never exactly like anyone else’s.

Let’s take an obvious example, the Oklahoma tornadoes. Is that about the loss of life, the damaged or destroyed buildings, how much it will cost to rebuild, or what the government is going to do about it? Or is it about the amazing stories of people surviving under tons of rubble, or the tireless sacrifices of the first responders, or how WE can help?

How you choose to talk about it – where you put your “camera” – determines whether or not you’re just another radio quacking noise, or you’re someone whose opinion and perspective I want to hear. Choose carefully, or risk “death by button.” (One of the other buttons on my radio, or apps on my iPhone.)

Note: There’s more. Each time you talk about a given subject, you should choose a different camera angle, so it’s not just a repeat of what you said before. It’s an ART, not just a skill.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #1 – Be the Moon, not the Sun

TK Tip 1 – Be the Moon, not the Sun (click to hear the mp3 version)

This may sound simple, but it’s the first—and most important—step in being different from everyone else on the air.

Picture the Sun. It’s a big yellow ball of fire—the  source of heat, light, and energy for our world. Now picture the Moon. It’s a dead, lifeless rock. All the Moon does is reflect the light of the Sun.

Almost every air talent I’ve ever met wants to be the Sun, and “beam out” to his listeners what he thinks they should hear.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE JOB.

Your job is to be the Moon, and simply reflect back to the listener what he or she already cares about—today—filtered through your experiences, observations, and opinions.

Once you realize this, show prep gets SO much easier. Choose what’s top of mind and relevant, then talk about it. Take your agenda out of the picture. If it doesn’t connect with the listener, it doesn’t matter.

Be the Moon. Let everyone else try to be the Sun.

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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.