Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #556: Your Show is a Movie

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. )