Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #261 – The Little Things Matter More than the Big Things

No matter how many songs in a row you play or “commercial-free zones” your station may promote, radio is still at its core about the CONNECTION between you and the Listener.

A great Consultant can help you map out a Strategy, but the essence of Coaching is about how many ways there are to carry out that strategy. And when it comes to engaging the listener, and making that person want to listen longer or more often, sometimes the little things matter more than the big things.

Here’s an example, from morning team Tom & Ana on Contemporary Christian station Spirit 105.3 in Seattle:

Yesterday, Ana talked about the story of the woman named Nicole McGuinness, who was on a TV show, HGTV’s “Beachfront Bargain Hunt”. (You may have seen this story, too.) A doctor, Erich Voigt, noticed a lump on her neck, and commented about it on his Facebook page. Another person saw the posting and advised him to contact the show’s producers, which he did, and then told Ms. McGuinness by email that she should get it checked.

It turned out that she has thyroid cancer, and thanks to Dr. Voigt, she’s now getting treatment for it.

Great story. But then Tom weighed in, with “Thank God for high-definition TV, where a doctor could SPOT this!”

That little comment, a different ‘camera angle’ that told every listener something about Tom, is what CONNECTION is made of. And it said more than any liner, or having a contest winner, could ever say. It was personal, and it was powerful – one of those things that supposedly anyone COULD have observed, but HE DID.

Well done, Tom.

What did you do today, or this week at least, that showed your heart, your concern, and a less obvious take on something that touched your listener?

When it comes to “Stationality” (the great term that Lee Abrams came up with years ago), the big things matter – but often, the little things matter more.