Tommy Kramer Tip #64 – Momentum is King

As you’ve heard or seen me state before, Momentum and Pace are different things. Pace is how fast you go, but Momentum is how straight a line there is between Point A and Point B. You don’t necessarily gain Momentum just by going faster. It takes being concise, and good construction, like a great writer’s book that you can’t put down.

Recently, this came up in a dramatic way as a Talk show I work with really got it, and moved effortlessly forward by keeping a close eye on the lengths of calls. I told the host to think of each call as a scene in a movie, and that while not all movies are great, we only resent the ones that bog down and waste our time. By itself, Momentum turns a “C-plus” show into a “B-plus”. Content will vary from week to week, but good editing and constant forward movement are like the tide coming in. Unstoppable.

It’s the same in every format. Given two equal stations, the one with better Momentum will always win. And it’s not just about what happens when the mic opens. It applies to your Imaging, your commercial Production, your jingles (if you use them)—everything. Example: Don’t just sit there, not even realizing that every time your Imaging ends “dry voice”, then the next song starts, you just LOST momentum. Do something about it. (Call me and we’ll build it into everything you do.)