Category Archives: Radio coaching tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #552: The 3 Technique

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If you need a good example of how NOT to bring more people into the fold, Sports broadcasting is it.

The other day, I watched an NFL game, and the “color” commentator said, “They’ve got a linebacker there playing three-technique…”
Huh? What does that mean? The average viewer (or listener) has NO CLUE. Apparently, it means that some linebacker either has three legs, or just ordered three pizzas from Dominoes.

I’d bet that nobody knows what “three technique” means except defensive coordinators or died-in-the-wool superfans.

So, instead of being an idiot, try this: think of the listener as being AT LEAST as smart as you are, but NOT necessarily as informed as you are.

Make it easy for me. It’s either that, or you’re constantly talking over people’s heads. Guess which works better.

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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 #549: Contests – ONE Step

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Wow, there are a lot of Contests and Promotions going on these days. But many (most?) of them don’t seem to generate a ton of interest. The reason is simple: they’re too complicated.

“Stop by each of their 5 locations and register at each one.” Nope. Not gonna happen.

“Go to our website and sign up. Then listen for the Daily Clue all month long. When you hear your name called…etc.” No. I don’t have that kind of time.

“Tell us why you think you should win these tickets…” I don’t want to tell strangers my life story in order to win two tickets to a concert where all I’m going to hear is tuneless bellowing from the tone-deaf people around me.

“When you hear the duck quack, jump from the top of the tallest building in town. As you fall, look for the clown in the 12th floor window. Wave to him with your LEFT hand and give him our “secret sign”. Then, before you reach the bottom floor, flip your body over and try to land face down on the sidewalk in front of the building. If you have the most body parts left inside the chalk outline that we’ve drawn on the sidewalk, that puts you (or more likely your surviving family members) into a drawing for a free one-day pass to Disney World! (Plane fare not included.)

No…just no. ONE step is what works. “When you hear this sound (sound effect plays), be the 9th caller and you win!

Keep it simple, or just have the same 30 people win every prize you ever give away. Better yet, offer something that people DREAM about having (or doing). Then just let me take one step to win it. You’ll be amazed at the response you get.

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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 #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.

– – – – – – –
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 Show 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 #545: You’re Not the Expert

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You hear this all the time – an air talent weighing in on something, drawing conclusions or espousing opinions without any clinical background.

Here’s a message for you: Stay in your lane. You’re a deejay (or Talk show host), not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. The EXPERT is the expert. You’re the conduit for putting the Subject on the air.

Don’t try to be what you’re not. Try to be the best at what you are.

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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 #542: A Tip for Anyone Who’s New to a Market

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New to a market? Here’s a great tip:
Take a different route to work each day. You’ll see where construction is going on, what stores are opening (or closing), etc.

It’s easy. Just turn one street sooner, or one street later from your normal route. Learn the neighborhood, then learn the city. It’s much better to see and feel the vibe than it is to just be given some claptrap about who the “average” listener is.

Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman was a great example. One day, he was plugging a station event, and instead of just giving the name of the location or street address, he added, “You know…it used to be the bank building, and before that it was the Mexican restaurant…”

Genius. Immediately, you know that he’s the guy from HERE, and everybody else ISN’T.

You could be that guy, too. It just takes a little exploring.

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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 #539: A Lesson from Derek Jeter

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New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter recently played in his first “Oldtimers Game”. At one point he was asked about the current Yankees team bringing up some young players, and how to handle the pressure of playing in New York.

I think it resonates to anyone in radio who’s looking to move up to a larger market.

He said, “It’s the same game, there are just more people in the stands. I think sometimes when you get up to this level you try to do things a little bit differently, but you have to be yourself. Don’t try to do something that you’re not accustomed to. You have to enjoy yourself, and try to improve each and every day. The bottom line here is you gotta win.”

Amen.

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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 #538: Not Being Predictable

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A PD in a large market contacted me recently, asking if I’d like to work with their morning team. Since I hadn’t heard it, he was nice enough to send me some audio of the show. He also told me that the lead guy had enjoyed a great deal of success before he came to this station.

But it was pretty typical. Several things all tossed into the air at once. Phone calls about an innocuous subject that didn’t really surprise me. A spate of multiple punch lines to a bit given by two people at breakneck speed (so it couldn’t possibly sound spontaneous). It wasn’t bad, but there just wasn’t anything special about it.

Look, I’ve worked with hundreds of stations in every English-speaking format, coaching many hundreds of air talents, and not being predictable has been a key for all of them. (Consistent = good. Predictable = bad.)

Here’s a first step: Listen to your show yourself, and be honest about whether it would make you come back and listen to it again tomorrow.

Then, weed out anything that sounds typical. Hold your feet to the fire about WHY each thing is done. “This’ll be funny” isn’t nearly as powerful as “This will be something the listener can identify with.” I can hear “topics and phone calls” anywhere nowadays. Get out of the Control Room and meet me in my car. What matters to me (as a listener) supersedes what matters to you.

Oh, and about that team show, I doubt if the PD liked much of what I had to say about it. But I can fix them – if they’ll listen.

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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 #537: The Simplest Thought for Getting Great Phone Calls

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One of the things I’m always getting asked about is phone calls – how to get listeners to call, how to get better calls, and how to build a dependable core of really good callers. Over the years, I’ve coached hundreds of people on this, so if you want the phones to ring, here you go…

The first challenge for a large number of stations is simply how to get phone response – at all, in some cases. The easiest answer is from my friend Wally (WAY-FM) who says “If you’re not getting calls, it’s because you’re not interesting.”
The fast path to “interesting” is knowing who your target listener is, then talking about what he or she thinks actually matters today. People bond with people who share their likes and concerns. Of course.

But to get high-quality calls, “highlight reel” stuff, is a different level.
Here’s what I believe is the simplest thought to get more and better calls. Remember…

People will rarely have anything great to say about something that’s speculative in nature – “What if…” stuff. What people are best at is talking about something they’ve already experienced.

Games are fine; they’ll get calls. But soft or formulaic-sounding “topics and phone calls” bits are like fast food. That’ll satisfy some people. But if that’s all you’re aiming for, it’s not enough. Callers, or really good callers?

The next level:
Legendary shows know that tapping into people’s home movies always works. And the more you do that, the more a caller “culture” is created; one that’s funny and more substantial. And it ends up being always available.

It’s SO easy. But it’s an art, too, and it takes discipline.

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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.