Category Archives: Overview

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #548: Why “More Music” Doesn’t Really Work Anymore

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“More Music” used to be a big thing. Talk – of any kind – was pretty much the enemy. (One station in Dallas promoted “No Disc Jockeys”.) And a lot of stations had the goal of playing as many songs as possible in every single hour.

That approach just won’t work very well anymore. Here’s why:
I can get the music you play on any number of platforms – SiriusXM, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, iTunes, You Tube, etc. etc. etc. And I can hear all those songs WITHOUT YOU.

People hunger to be entertained. They hunger to connect with air talents who talk about our lives, what we each go through every day, what amuses us, what makes us sad, even.

Music can’t win by itself. CONTENT wins. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me feel like we have something in common.
And on top of that, play songs that I like a lot. Simple.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #547: The Attention Span of a Hummingbird

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Radio isn’t the same as 20 years ago – or even 10 years ago. It can’t be. There are so many other entertainment options, from wasting hours reading nameless, faceless people’s comments on social media to a gazillion channels on TV, You Tube, etc.

Radio listeners today have the attention span of a hummingbird. A couple of minutes (or less) and “click” – off they go.

This is why, as an air talent, you need to do something compelling or entertaining NOW. If there’s nothing going on for a few minutes, the listener is gone. The average “listen” is now less than 20 minutes, and people want to be engaged – or you’re dead in the water.

If you’re a PD, you’d better be encouraging everyone to be a full-blown Personality. This doesn’t necessarily mean trying to be funny. CONNECTING with the listener is what works. What do you and I have in common? Talk about that.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #546: All Morning how Hosts, All the Time

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When I was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, several of the people attending got into a discussion of how we got there. It was surprising to me that many other inductees felt the same way I did, that at the start of our careers, we might have been the worst air talent at the station.

My big break came when I got out of college, after working at the local station there, and graduated to Top 40 monster KEEL in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.

The morning guy was Larry Ryan, a legend in those parts, just as Ron Chapman (and later Kidd Kraddick and Terry Dorsey) were legends in my next stop, Dallas.

But at KEEL – BESIDES Larry Ryan, we had Howard Clark, long a mainstay at powerhouse Drake-consulted KFRC in San Francisco, Steve Kelly (who’s probably been on every concert promo you’ve noticed in the last 20 years), and a guy named Ronald F. Montgomery, maybe the most popular deejay on the staff.

Anyone in that lineup could have just slid into the morning slot if Larry Ryan left. (Howard did. And I eventually did mornings in both Dallas and Houston, which led to the Hall of Fame thing.)

Later, as Corporate Talent Coach for the 45 Paxson stations (now iHeart) in Florida, I encouraged every one of our PDs to hire PERSONALITIES in every single daypart. When you’ve got a whole staff of potential morning drive candidates, life gets a lot easier.

Two questions:
Is this your philosophy?
If not, why not?

“We don’t have the budget” is the typical excuse, but that’s why you hire people with potential and then TRAIN them.

This is why I went into coaching. I want every single person I work with to have an excellent, enjoyable career. And I want every one of them to be capable of stepping into a Morning Drive slot if that’s their desire.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #543: Respecting the Music – A Subtle Way to Stand Out

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Some radio stations make it kind of hard to listen to your favorite songs. A few examples of how that can happen:

Cue tones that fire too early, so that nice soft ending is CRASHED into by an Imaging piece or the next song.

Air talent that comes in too early on the end of a song. (Do we EVER get to hear a song end?) There’s a “last, logical place” to come in or for the next element to fire. On every single song.

Deejays that talk really fast over a slow-paced song. This comes across like you’re not listening to the music at all.

The “talk right up to the vocal” disease. Ugh. Say what you have to say. Then shut up.

Or someone finishes a Content break, then a dreadfully slow and/or low-level song plays.

You may think these things don’t matter much, but if you don’t respect the music, or you’re not sensitive to it, that shows. And some people sound like they’re just waiting for the song to end so they can talk, like the song is some sort of minor annoyance. (Actually, YOU are the annoyance.)

Keep in mind that with all the streaming services available today, I can hear every single song you play – without you.

Stations that have some sort of sensibility to the music just resonate better with the listener. It’s subtle, but it’s true. When you’re that station, people notice. It may be subconscious, but it makes a tangible difference.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #541: Think Like an Artist

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You may not think of it this way, but radio IS performance art. It’s not an “exercise”, it’s not just about mechanics. Yes, you want to play the right songs, the right number of them, and a solid rotation….blah blah-blah blah-blah.

But it’s really all just about connecting with the Listener.

Great stations seem to just sort of “hatch” themselves, and they sound different from everything else. They may have a new format for that market, or new production elements, but the differentiating factor is almost always that at its core, they see it as Art. They’re trying to entertain you. That’s the only way it really creates magic.

Watch great movies, read great books, develop a vast vocabulary and the ability to pick just the right wording on the spur of the moment. Get some coaching. It’s not just a job. (But of course it can be, IF you want to limit your own development.)

Most of the truly great air talents I’ve worked with have been constantly learning and developing the ART of engaging and entertaining people. And if I start working with someone who doesn’t get this, after the “basics”, the Art becomes the #1 agenda.

Think like an artist, not like a robot.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #534: A Lesson from Coach Jimmy Johnson

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If you’re not familiar with NFL Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson, watch the pregame and halftime shows on Fox. To be brief, Johnson won a National championship in college, then, in just 5 years from starting 1-15, he won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

He’s also a powerful motivational speaker, and one thing he told a group of athletes several years ago really struck me: “Fatigue…makes cowards of us all.”

If you’re out of gas in the 4th quarter, you’re liable to lose.

Radio is the same way, but not physically. Since a lot of what we do is repetitive, it’s easy to slip into mental fatigue. Reading that thing on the screen for the 90th time can lead to sounding “dead” or perfunctory. You may paste a smile on it, but since people FEEL far more than they hear, you can’t really hide from everyone.

Keep this in mind: there are people in jobs so much worse than yours, they’d trade places with you in a second. We’re lucky – blessed, actually – to make a living by talking.
Let that thought be your extra mental ‘fuel tank’ when you feel out of gas. Be right here, right now, talking to me when that mic opens. Every time. You can rest during the commercial breaks.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #533: Grammar Police Stuff

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“They had to choose between him and I.”
No…just no. It was between him and me. “Between he and I” isn’t right either. “He and I applied for the same job. And it came down to that. They had to choose between him and me.” This is called the object of the preposition.

“And I was like, ‘I don’t want to go,’ and he was like, ‘But you have to.’”
The word “like” flies into every conversation like sand at the beach – useless, but people can’t seem to stop it. Try, “I said, ‘I don’t want to go.’ Then he shouted, ‘But you have to!’”

“So…I went to college on a scholarship.”
Why does everyone start a story with the word “So…?” “So” is the result of something. “I bashed my thumb with a hammer, so I needed a really big Band-Aid.”

All of these things are fine if you’re a 15-year old ‘Valley Girl’ in 1983. But 40 years, later, sounding reasonably educated is a must. If you can’t express yourself in a way that shows that you passed 7th grade English, you may never get that great job that went to someone else. And you may never know why you didn’t get it, because no one’s going to bother to tell you. They’re just going to go on to the next resume or demo.

However, it’s surprising how easy it is to correct things, if you just accept them and work on them. And if you don’t think this stuff matters, then don’t do it. Maybe that’ll work out…but what if it limits you?

This wasn’t meant to be a scolding. Anyone I’ve ever worked with knows that I want everyone to get a great job, and to love doing it. Life is just better when you like what you’re doing. So sound smart. See where that leads.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #530: Why Choose Radio in the First Place?

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A lot of young people who do want a career in media aren’t even messing with radio. They only want to work in TV. Or do a podcast. (Everyone and his dog does a podcast. And the dog usually has the more entertaining one. “Today on Barks and Recreation, we’re ruffing out what new flavor we’d like to see in dog biscuits.”)

Seriously, this is bad for radio, because finding a great air talent these days is already hard enough. We need new people to come in, get trained, and shine.

So, to anyone in college right now or someone in a dead-end job thinking about a change, here are three reasons why I think you should consider radio:

1. It’s more intimate than television. Why just read something off a teleprompter? Being on the radio is where we hear YOU, not just the words. Or for that matter, why just run the teleprompter? Radio Production is lots more fun than that.

2. You can do radio until you keel over at the microphone. There’s no age limit. As long as you sound good, you’ll have a job. TV is much more cosmetic-driven, and you can “age out” quickly.

3. You get to do things that are pretty special. Not a lot of jobs offer that. You get to help people, give away prizes, and not have a job that feels like you’re just breaking big rocks into smaller rocks every day. (I once gave away $25,000 to an eight year-old girl on the day before Christmas! What a privilege.)

In my opinion, although there are exceptions, TV tends to be the shallow end of the talent pool. Pretty much anyone with a basic skill set can read and point. Maybe you should aim higher than that.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #525: Hubie Brown and Your Dollar

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The great NBA coach Hubie Brown, also a master “color man” for NBA games for years, has this great saying, “He gives you his dollar.” (Think Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, etc.)

That means the player gives you everything he has every game, a “dollar” rather than, say, 40 cents.

I’ve helped many stations in the search for air talent over the years, and that ingredient is always what we look for. I feel that a good talent who doesn’t give it a full-out effort every day is cheating the station – and himself/herself.

All the “flash” in the world can’t make up for a lazy work ethic. Give it your “dollar” every break, every hour, every day you’re on the air. You never know when someone who could change the course of your career might be listening.

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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.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #523: Did You Get Noticed Today?

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Times have changed. Local stations often don’t sound local. Syndicated shows tend to talk about generic subjects because they can’t be specific to a certain city or state. Huge radio companies are so weak in coaching the talent that many air talents have never had a coaching session.

So let’s start your process with a basic question: Did you get noticed today?
And while we’re going there, if you missed work today, did any listeners notice?

Every day, you have a chance to carve out the same kind of career as a Paul Harvey or Howard Stern or Bobby Bones or anyone else you want to name. So…who are you? What’s your brand of humor? What emotions do you show on the air? And most importantly, what do you have in common with me (the listener)?

I tell people all the time to “crack your chest open and show us what’s in there.” THAT is how you get noticed.

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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.