Here’s a question for you: What stood out on your show today? Anything? A funny line? A really connective ‘take’ on something? A phone call that surprised you?
Great radio is about Memorable Moments.
If YOU can’t remember anything that stood out on your show today, no one else will, either.
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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.
In the last tip, I mentioned one of my earliest mentors, Howard Clark. Howard was part of the original air staff of the legendary KFRC in San Francisco, and later in life returned to his (and my) hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. And believe me, just listening to Howard was a lesson in how there are endless opportunities to do real Content.
One day, later in both of our careers, Howard shared his vision. He never worried about Content. He said if you’re paying attention to the song, to the artist, to the city, to the mood of the people around you, something will come to mind. And if it doesn’t, just do a nice, professional break. (But even then, sound ENGAGED in what you say.)
To quote my friend John Frost, “It’s a shame that most people have never heard someone as good as Howard, much less worked with him.”
But those of us who were around him can still spread the word.
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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.
“Content Creator” may be a new title to the You Tube/Tik Tok generation, but to those of us in radio, it’s been part of our lives for a long time.
So, if you’re just starting out in this business, or if you’ve been around for a while and want to refresh and refine your Content, it boils down to two options:
(1) Be of Service. This can be about where to get relief from the heat in the dog days of Summer, helping out storm victims, or simply sharing what the station does that makes us a part of our community.
(2) Entertain me. No matter what format you’re in, if there’s not true Entertainment Value in your show, it’s going to be really difficult for people to become fans.
Filter everything through those two goals, and do your best in both.
(And remember, you can even accomplish both at the same time.)
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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.
Most air talents talk about “it”. A great air talent talks about us, and how “it” affects us.
Many air talents struggle for Content, but you can see Content pretty much everywhere if you think about how to make “it” about us, and if you do it the right way.
And the right way….is always to tell stories that paint pictures.
This doesn’t just apply to obvious “do Content here” breaks. Painting a picture can actually be done in a very few seconds.
Example, from comedian Rodney Dangerfield – “I told my dentist my teeth were getting yellow. He told me to wear a brown tie.”
Without diving deep into these two areas, you can be good, but you’ll never be great. Skills are one thing; nuance is a different thing altogether. It takes a little brain work. Forget about your voice; forget about trying to force a punch line in, and explore how to pull people toward you (in as few words as possible; we’re busy).
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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.
There are only two basic types of Content: it’s either observational (you saw it or read it), or it’s experiential (you actually did it).
So…your initial camera angle will be either Observational or Experiential, and either way will work. It’s your choice.
But remember this: no matter which path you choose, some of YOU – what you think or feel about it – HAS to be in there, or it’s just quacking into the wind.
Side bar: This is the great mistake that people make by thinking that social media posts are “Grade A” Content. If you haven’t actually seen it or experienced it, you have no way to connect with the listener. Be wary of the “click bait” disease. Just because there’s a posting about it, and a bunch of people with a lot of time on their hands commented on it, does NOT mean that it’ll automatically work on the air.
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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.
It’s very possible to become overwhelmed by what you’re required to do by the higher-ups. Research studies, guidelines for Content, listener profiles that only provide one side of the equation, etc. can hamstring an air talent to the point that you can feel like there’s nothing you can say. Or you second-guess things, wondering if you’re meeting the sometimes lofty guidelines that are presented to you.
So, let me simplify things for you.
Everything we say on the air should either [A] reinforce what the station is all about, or [B] be about what we have in common with the listener.
There is nothing else.
The brilliant PD’s know this, and don’t get sidetracked with too many thoughts in mind.
Who are you? Why should I listen to you? How are you like me? Those are the unspoken questions in the listener’s mind.
Simple. Have a great day!
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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.
Here’s a quick check of your Content: I believe that all that matters is what matters.
If you’re just doing “fluff” bits, even if something creates a chuckle, it’s not necessarily gonna make someone come back tomorrow. But that person probably will if you’re the best at talking about what matters to him or her.
Don’t misunderstand me – this doesn’t mean that you have to be “news-ish” or boringly serious all the time. That would go against everything I believe in. If you can make people laugh, that’s a great skill. I’m just saying that if you’re funny about what matters to the listener – the situation that he or she can identify with – not just a Subject that just fell out of the sky, you’ll be much better.
This was a hard lesson for me to learn in my own on-air career. But the great Lee Abrams, my Program Director in both Chicago and Cleveland, said to me one day, “Tommy, you can’t try to be funny every break.” That was a key building block in what I became, and in what I coach today.
EVERY mood is welcome – as long as it matters. And being truly Entertaining certainly isn’t just about punch lines.
Focus. What is your listener waiting to hear your ‘take’ on today?
– – – – – – –
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.
Years ago, when I was riding my Brontosaurus to work, I was paired with a partner named Rick “The Beamer” Robertson to do a morning team show in Dallas. I drove there from Louisiana to talk to the P. D. about the gig, and met Rick for the first time when he arrived about a half-hour later. The first thing he did was to stick out his to shake, and say, “Hi, I’m Rick, your mail-order bride.”
I knew we were going to get along.
The station, sadly, wasn’t that great, but we worked hard to have a great morning show, and did well. It was a lot of fun.
But here’s where you get something to think about…
There was a galvanizing moment a couple of weeks into the job, when Rick and I had breakfast together after the show. (We did this regularly, and it’s something I recommend.) We were going over some stuff that worked well that morning, and Rick pointed out that when I talked about something personal, we got a lot of “Me, too” reactions. (And those listeners’ stories.)
Beamer was laugh-out-loud hilarious, but more performative. Over the next few weeks, we used his lightning-fast wit and a couple of performance bits, but we made a point of diving into his personal life quite a bit.
Frankly, he didn’t like this at first, but I explained it to him this way:
(1) My family and friends all knew that if they didn’t want something on the air, they shouldn’t let me know about it. Everything, every day, was fair game for Content on the air.
(2) The show couldn’t be just about us. It needed to be about ALL of us. To get people to reveal things about themselves, we talked about what we felt.
It worked really well for him, and brought out things in Rick that made him more familiar and three-dimensional.
That’s the lesson: The reaction that you want is “Me, too. That’s how I feel.”
Note: there’s a trick to this. If you just come across as always talking about yourself, that’s not good. So how do you avoid that, but still share? Specific techniques that, once you master them, lead easily to a “reveal” is a big part of my coaching. If you read these tips regularly, you’ll spot the Easter eggs.
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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.
I coach show prep and Content constantly. One of the questions I get asked about most is, “How do I make a subject work on the air?” Sometimes it’s a good idea, but that air talent just can’t seem to find the “connective tissue” that really clicks with the audience.
So, a couple of simple guidelines about Content:
1. Keep in mind that if it’s not Relevant, it WON’T work. I’m listening for the things that apply to my life, today. Period. A story about “Growing wheat on Mars” is of no relevance to me. (I’m hesitant to even get on a plane these days. Someone might decide to open the door at 25,000 feet.)
2. But if it IS relevant, simply tap into an Emotion that we have in common about it, and it WILL work. Every time.
It’s a drag hearing emotionless conversation or a lame attempt at trying to make something matter just because you thought of a punch line.
Answer this question and you’ll be on the right track: “How does it affect me (as a listener)?”
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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.
Years ago at a radio gathering in Nashville, a dear friend and outstanding morning show talent and I did a Content seminar.
My friend had himself drifted a bit himself, doing old creaky bits like “This Day in History” and “Stupid Criminal Stories”.
…until I started coaching him. In the seminar, we talked about dropping stuff like that, and being more real-life and specific to his area, when a person in the audience asked what was wrong with trying to get a little humor out of something like “This Day in History”.
I explained that it’s “empty calories” in diet-speak, because it doesn’t really tell us anything about you. And since it’s just factoids, there’s no connection between you and the listener doing stuff like that.
Then I said, “You need to be talking to the woman who’s in the grocery store and has a hundred dollars…but the bill just rang up as 120 dollars, so she’s having to take some things out of the shopping cart, and she’s embarrassed.”
Talk about what people FEEL. It cannot fail. You’ll be a star.
Yes, there are techniques involved, but I’ve seen this work for literally hundreds of people that I’ve coached.
What do you have to lose by throwing away stock bits that don’t mean anything to anyone now? Crack your chest open and let us see 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
© 2024 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.