Monthly Archives: June 2024

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #577: A Simple Guide to Giving the Weather

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It’s a shame that so few music stations do a good job of giving the weather forecast. An air talent clonking through it like it’s the biggest chore in the world is a drag, but by far, the more irritating form is the person who has to give every single little detail. Let me help you with this…

UNLESS YOU’RE FACING SEVERE WEATHER, the forecast should be short and sweet. What’s the high today, the low tonight, maybe the high tomorrow, and tell me if it’s going to rain (or snow). That’s it.

No “Partly cloudy with a thirty percent chance of showers today, then turning to mostly cloudy tonight and a forty percent chance of more showers or thunderstorms. Tomorrow, again mostly cloudy with a fifty percent chance of showers. High today in the high seventies, then we’ll see an overnight low in the upper 60s. Tomorrow’s high will be around 80. Currently, it’s 79 in Saddlebag, in Turkey Beak City it’s 76, and here at the KRKL studios, it’s 77.”

In case you think I’m joking, what set off this review is that I did actually hear a 111-word forecast recently!

Let’s make it easy. …4 guidelines:

(1) Anything less than 50% is “a chance of rain.” Anything higher is “a good chance of rain.” I don’t care about the amount of cloudiness. (“Cloudy,” “some clouds,” or “clear” is definitive without being analytical.)

(2) “Currently” is an unnecessary word. Of course it’s “currently”. You wouldn’t say “and two days ago, it was 75.”

(3) Pick a number. It’s not “in the high seventies.” It’s “High 78” or “high near 78.” (Then if it doesn’t make it to that temperature, God changed it. But at least you knew what it was supposed to be. Same with the low. Not “low thirties.” Instead, use “low 32” or low near 32.”) This sounds more accurate, and lends credibility. (“About” or “around” just says “I don’t really know.”)

(4) No one cares what the temperature is at your studio (wherever that is), or at the airport. I’m not in your building, and if I’m at the airport, I’m leaving town, and I no longer care what the temperature is.

Hope this helps.

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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 $576: The First Secret to a Great Team Show

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In the last tip, I talked about how the old Jack Benny formula (giving each member of the cast or a guest the spotlight) applies today.

Let’s take it one step further – how a slight modification of that principle is the secret to being a great team show.

It’s simple: If each member of the team does his or her best to make the OTHER person sound good, you’re going to be fine. If that’s not the case, there’s an imbalance of power, and that doesn’t work nearly as well.

I did five team shows in my on-air career, and have coached hundreds of them. I can spot whether or not a team show “has it” in ONE break. So can the listener.

– – – – – – –
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 #575: How the Jack Benny Format Applies to Radio Today

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If you’ve never heard it (or seen his TV show on some classic channel), the Jack Benny Show was groundbreaking in its day. And it still has a basic formula that I assure you WILL work today: he made everyone else the star.

Whether it was his announcer, his wife, a singer, a guest, or any other cast member, Benny was quite willing to take a back seat. He never minded being the butt of a joke, overshadowed by another comedian, or made to look like a fool.

The result? People LOVED HIM. Yes, him. They liked the other cast members, too, but people felt sympathy for – or empathy with – him.

I can’t stress how important this was in my own career, and how many people I’ve coached to use this technique. It always works.

Put your ego aside.

The more you willingly give the spotlight to someone else, the more people will like you.

One caution: In a team show environment, remember that the “side people” can’t completely take over the show. The headliner still has to shine, too.

– – – – – – –
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 #574: The Best Phone Call Tip

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Music format or Talk format – it doesn’t matter. There’s a real art to creating a phone call “culture” – which I’ve written some about before. But the actual taking of a phone call (or airing one live) can often be messed up in the first few seconds.

Here’s how to avoid that, in two easy steps:

  1. Greet (or bring on) the caller.
  2. Then SHUT UP.

From that beginning, you can then move on to wherever the call needs to go.

Here’s why I recommend this – most phone calls go awry when I can’t hear what the caller is saying. Two people talking at the same time (or one being buried by the phone interface) is unlistenable.

Note: I strongly urge shows in music formats to always tape and edit phone calls before they get on the air.

For Talk formats, live calls are even more likely to suffer when there’s talkover. Be Patient. A second or two of dead air won’t matter if the call is good.

– – – – – – –
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.