In the last tip, I said “Your show really is a movie without the camera.”

After you get past learning “the basics”, then develop a real Personality on the air, you’ll hopefully reach a stage in your career where the ego disappears and you actually just get in a zone where it’s almost impossible to have a bad show.

But I believe it requires getting outside of radio, mentally, and seeing each “Content” break you do as a little movie (without the camera).

What do I, as a listener, FEEL when you talk about something?
Great movies operate on an emotional plane. Example: ‘Star Wars’ wasn’t really about special effects. It was a space western, focused on good and evil. And two of the best decisions that George Lucas made were (1) picking Alec Guinness to play Obi-wan Kenobi, and (2) getting James Earl Jones to do the voice of Darth Vader. Because they’re great actors, and just their voices alone define what their characters are all about, and where the plot line is.

Think about this as you put something on the air. For instance, as you edit a phone call (or take one live), where’s that place that you’d get out, if this were a movie? I hear so many calls where the air talent just won’t take that first “exit”, and apparently can’t keep from summarizing or editorializing or playing psychologist. (Which poisons what we just heard.)

Really think about how you frame Content. First, select a camera angle and identify what emotion is at the core. Think about how to ENGAGE the listener. Shape the vocabulary. Decide if you want to use some music under it. (Hint: it should “cradle” what’s being said). Have a definite ending in mind.

When your show is like a little movie we watch every day, you won’t have to worry about your ratings.

If you haven’t gotten to this level yet, get a coach. (I actually know of one you could use. )

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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.

Geez, I hate the word “topic”. It sounds so cold and formal. (I use “subject” in coaching.)

Here’s why – nothing is a “topic” in or by itself. The deeper end of the pool in the search for on-air Content is when you add YOUR FEELINGS (or story), so you’re not just reading a social media posting, then asking for people to call in and do your show for you.

When it becomes personal, that’s when it’s actual Content. Without that, it’s just noise.

– – – – – – –
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.

In honor of Jimmy Buffett’s passing, I’m using his song “”It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (sung with Alan Jackson) as the starting point for this tip.

Some questions for you:

When you get off work, is what you want to here “somewhere” radio? You know…generic playlist, generic Content. Or would you rather hear songs that you love, and songs we think you’ll grow to love, and Content that relates to your life, today?

On a great radio station, it’s 5 o’clock HERE. NOW.

God bless you, Jimmy Buffett. And everyone else, wear sunscreen.

– – – – – – –
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.

In the olden days, there were two factors that were utmost for a radio station to succeed: Reach, and Frequency.

Reach was about the signal. Without a good signal, it was hard to build a bigger audience.
Frequency wasn’t about where on the dial a station was. It was about what are now called listening “occasions” – how often or how long someone chose to listen to you.

Today’s radio world is more varied in terms of reach. People can listen to online streaming, through your station’s app, or through several different “umbrella” radio apps. The transistor radio of the “Happy Days” generation is now simply your smartphone.

But frequency is still a huge challenge. Because of the way ratings are calculated, several instances of listening add up. It’s not only about someone turning it on and keeping it on. It’s also about someone coming BACK to you after turning it off or surfing for another station.

And the music game has changed, because through Amazon music, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, etc. it’s now possible for me to hear every song you play WITHOUT you.

The lesson here is a simple one: if you want to be listened to nowadays, just providing the “right” songs isn’t enough anymore. You have to be engaging, entertaining, interesting, and RELEVANT.

Personality is the companion to – and with good formatics, part OF – the “listen”. Without personality, you’re just a playlist.

This doesn’t mean you have to be funny. Laughs are fine, but not required. Being a part of the listener’s day is about what I call “the touchstone” – you and me, connected BY the music and the Content. If you’re just looking for things you can add a punchline to, that’s just an exercise. What MATTERS to the Listener today is what you take, filter it through your own observations, experiences, and opinions, and put on the air.

Surprisingly, a lot of people have no real idea who their target listener is. If you don’t, talk to the PD asap.
Just remember: Everything you do that doesn’t matter (to the Listener)….doesn’t matter.

– – – – – – –
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.