Monthly Archives: July 2023

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #529: You Have Ten Seconds

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You have ten seconds to “get” me…to make me want to listen to whatever else you have to say.

If you don’t get me in that ten seconds, then nothing else you do matters. It’s simply human nature to decide quickly whether or not something is a waste of time.

So think about what that opening ten seconds of whatever it is you’re going to talk about is going to be BEFORE you open the mic. No matter how good you are, this is something you can improve.

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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 #528: Go, Stop, Go – A Voice Tracking Tip

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There are so many voice trackers these days, and if you’re in that world you know that it’s hard to keep improving if you’re not on the air in real time and don’t get any feedback that you can trust. Here’s a simple system I recommend that’ll improve your work and keep you sharp. It’s “go, stop, go.”

Go. Record an hour of breaks.

Stop. Listen back to them, all in a row. The whole hour’s worth of breaks. You’ll pick up on whether you sound repetitive, or if you fall into bad habits like always going down in pitch at the end of a sentence, or sounding like you’re talking – but not necessarily like you’re actually talking TO someone. Recut whatever needs to be better.

Go. Now go forward and cut the next hour.

Rinse and repeat. Do an hour, listen; do an hour, listen. Don’t just cut all of it in one lump and plop it into the system thinking that you “got it”.

An added advantage is that taking that little break after cutting each hour’s worth of audio will refresh you. That’ll help you sound better, too.

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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 #527: Surprise Me

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Like most people, I listen to the radio at some point every day. I hear promos. I hear commercials. I hear songs. I hear people trying to sound cheerful. I hear people trying to be funny.

What I all-too-rarely hear is something that actually surprises me.
Gee, I wish that wasn’t true. Surprises are great.

I want Surprises. I loathe The Obvious. And I’m not alone. People want companionship. They want entertainment. They want pertinent information. (We’ve all heard the voice-tracked Talent that’s really cheerful while a tornado is headed our way.)

Don’t fall for the “This is good enough” trap. “Good enough”…never is.
SURPRISE ME.

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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 #526: Trying to Orchestrate the Reaction

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Lately, with Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. I heard several stations trying to orchestrate the reaction to a giveaway for those days, saying things like “You’re gonna like it!”

How do you know? (You don’t. After all, one person’s “great” prize is another person’s “yard sale” junk.)

Besides coming across as just trying a little too hard to generate excitement, you’re also telling me (the Listener) what to think; what to feel. This will always fail with a large portion of listeners, because a LOT of people – wait for it – like to make up their own minds.

The easy cure is to tell me that you think I’m going to like it. “I think you’ll really like it” is what you’d tell a friend – if you wanted to stay that person’s friend. Telling a person what you think their reaction should be can erode a friendship pretty quickly.

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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.