Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #541: Think Like an Artist

Posted on October 18, 2023 by tommykramer

You may not think of it this way, but radio IS performance art. It’s not an “exercise”, it’s not just about mechanics. Yes, you want to play the right songs, the right number of them, and a solid rotation….blah blah-blah blah-blah.

But it’s really all just about connecting with the Listener.

Great stations seem to just sort of “hatch” themselves, and they sound different from everything else. They may have a new format for that market, or new production elements, but the differentiating factor is almost always that at its core, they see it as Art. They’re trying to entertain you. That’s the only way it really creates magic.

Watch great movies, read great books, develop a vast vocabulary and the ability to pick just the right wording on the spur of the moment. Get some coaching. It’s not just a job. (But of course it can be, IF you want to limit your own development.)

Most of the truly great air talents I’ve worked with have been constantly learning and developing the ART of engaging and entertaining people. And if I start working with someone who doesn’t get this, after the “basics”, the Art becomes the #1 agenda.

Think like an artist, not like a robot.

– – – – – – –
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 #540: Why “Happy Accidents” Happen

Posted on October 11, 2023 by tommykramer

The great movie director Arthur Penn (Bonnie & Clyde, Little Big Man, The Missouri Breaks, etc.) often spoke of what he called ‘happy accidents’ occurring during the filming. Little movements or reactions or lines that weren’t in the script, but were magical.

I see the same thing in radio – breaks that just “appear” out of nowhere and crack people up.

An example comes from my friend Wally, of The Wally Show on WAY-FM. He sent me this break with a note saying, “It works because everyone played their role perfectly and organically. I set it up with a polarizing statement for our audience. Betty (his female partner) provides the correct balance for the listener, and then (Producer) Gavin knew when to subtly add something that led me to an ‘out’ that was pretty funny. None of it planned, just a show firing on all the right cylinders.”
Here it is:

Then, with a different style, a break from Morgan Smith, afternoon personality on KSBJ in Houston. (*Salute to PD Randy Fox, who really gets this stuff):

Each of these just sort of “popped up”, but I think there’s a reason WHY:

When you get fully used to preparing breaks well, some breaks will just prepare themselves.

I’ve found that the more you prep well, the more “happy accidents” seem to happen. Shows that “wing it” more are usually sort of “hit and miss”.

It always pays to be good at constructing breaks. The improv moments “land” better as a result.

– – – – – – –
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 #539: A Lesson from Derek Jeter

Posted on October 4, 2023 by tommykramer

New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter recently played in his first “Oldtimers Game”. At one point he was asked about the current Yankees team bringing up some young players, and how to handle the pressure of playing in New York.

I think it resonates to anyone in radio who’s looking to move up to a larger market.

He said, “It’s the same game, there are just more people in the stands. I think sometimes when you get up to this level you try to do things a little bit differently, but you have to be yourself. Don’t try to do something that you’re not accustomed to. You have to enjoy yourself, and try to improve each and every day. The bottom line here is you gotta win.”

Amen.

– – – – – – –
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 #538: Not Being Predictable

Posted on September 27, 2023 by tommykramer

A PD in a large market contacted me recently, asking if I’d like to work with their morning team. Since I hadn’t heard it, he was nice enough to send me some audio of the show. He also told me that the lead guy had enjoyed a great deal of success before he came to this station.

But it was pretty typical. Several things all tossed into the air at once. Phone calls about an innocuous subject that didn’t really surprise me. A spate of multiple punch lines to a bit given by two people at breakneck speed (so it couldn’t possibly sound spontaneous). It wasn’t bad, but there just wasn’t anything special about it.

Look, I’ve worked with hundreds of stations in every English-speaking format, coaching many hundreds of air talents, and not being predictable has been a key for all of them. (Consistent = good. Predictable = bad.)

Here’s a first step: Listen to your show yourself, and be honest about whether it would make you come back and listen to it again tomorrow.

Then, weed out anything that sounds typical. Hold your feet to the fire about WHY each thing is done. “This’ll be funny” isn’t nearly as powerful as “This will be something the listener can identify with.” I can hear “topics and phone calls” anywhere nowadays. Get out of the Control Room and meet me in my car. What matters to me (as a listener) supersedes what matters to you.

Oh, and about that team show, I doubt if the PD liked much of what I had to say about it. But I can fix them – if they’ll listen.

– – – – – – –
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 #537: The Simplest Thought for Getting Great Phone Calls

Posted on September 20, 2023 by tommykramer

One of the things I’m always getting asked about is phone calls – how to get listeners to call, how to get better calls, and how to build a dependable core of really good callers. Over the years, I’ve coached hundreds of people on this, so if you want the phones to ring, here you go…

The first challenge for a large number of stations is simply how to get phone response – at all, in some cases. The easiest answer is from my friend Wally (WAY-FM) who says “If you’re not getting calls, it’s because you’re not interesting.”
The fast path to “interesting” is knowing who your target listener is, then talking about what he or she thinks actually matters today. People bond with people who share their likes and concerns. Of course.

But to get high-quality calls, “highlight reel” stuff, is a different level.
Here’s what I believe is the simplest thought to get more and better calls. Remember…

People will rarely have anything great to say about something that’s speculative in nature – “What if…” stuff. What people are best at is talking about something they’ve already experienced.

Games are fine; they’ll get calls. But soft or formulaic-sounding “topics and phone calls” bits are like fast food. That’ll satisfy some people. But if that’s all you’re aiming for, it’s not enough. Callers, or really good callers?

The next level:
Legendary shows know that tapping into people’s home movies always works. And the more you do that, the more a caller “culture” is created; one that’s funny and more substantial. And it ends up being always available.

It’s SO easy. But it’s an art, too, and it takes discipline.

– – – – – – –
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 #536: The End of the Table

Posted on September 13, 2023 by tommykramer

This is primarily a team show tip, based on an aircheck a friend sent me of him and his new female partner.

He’s very conversational. She’s LOUD. And this is something I hear a lot. People (regardless of gender) on the radio seem to get LOUD when they’re talking to each other.

I don’t understand that. You’re supposed to be friends. Why are you shouting at each other? And why are both of you shouting at me?

You want to talk loud enough to be heard at the end of the dinner table, not to be heard at the end of the continent.

– – – – – – –
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 #535: It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere

Posted on September 6, 2023 by tommykramer

In honor of Jimmy Buffett’s passing, I’m using his song “”It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (sung with Alan Jackson) as the starting point for this tip.

Some questions for you:

When you get off work, is what you want to here “somewhere” radio? You know…generic playlist, generic Content. Or would you rather hear songs that you love, and songs we think you’ll grow to love, and Content that relates to your life, today?

On a great radio station, it’s 5 o’clock HERE. NOW.

God bless you, Jimmy Buffett. And everyone else, wear sunscreen.

– – – – – – –
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 #534: A Lesson from Coach Jimmy Johnson

Posted on August 30, 2023 by tommykramer

If you’re not familiar with NFL Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson, watch the pregame and halftime shows on Fox. To be brief, Johnson won a National championship in college, then, in just 5 years from starting 1-15, he won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

He’s also a powerful motivational speaker, and one thing he told a group of athletes several years ago really struck me: “Fatigue…makes cowards of us all.”

If you’re out of gas in the 4th quarter, you’re liable to lose.

Radio is the same way, but not physically. Since a lot of what we do is repetitive, it’s easy to slip into mental fatigue. Reading that thing on the screen for the 90th time can lead to sounding “dead” or perfunctory. You may paste a smile on it, but since people FEEL far more than they hear, you can’t really hide from everyone.

Keep this in mind: there are people in jobs so much worse than yours, they’d trade places with you in a second. We’re lucky – blessed, actually – to make a living by talking.
Let that thought be your extra mental ‘fuel tank’ when you feel out of gas. Be right here, right now, talking to me when that mic opens. Every time. You can rest during the commercial breaks.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #533: Grammar Police Stuff

Posted on August 23, 2023 by tommykramer

“They had to choose between him and I.”
No…just no. It was between him and me. “Between he and I” isn’t right either. “He and I applied for the same job. And it came down to that. They had to choose between him and me.” This is called the object of the preposition.

“And I was like, ‘I don’t want to go,’ and he was like, ‘But you have to.’”
The word “like” flies into every conversation like sand at the beach – useless, but people can’t seem to stop it. Try, “I said, ‘I don’t want to go.’ Then he shouted, ‘But you have to!’”

“So…I went to college on a scholarship.”
Why does everyone start a story with the word “So…?” “So” is the result of something. “I bashed my thumb with a hammer, so I needed a really big Band-Aid.”

All of these things are fine if you’re a 15-year old ‘Valley Girl’ in 1983. But 40 years, later, sounding reasonably educated is a must. If you can’t express yourself in a way that shows that you passed 7th grade English, you may never get that great job that went to someone else. And you may never know why you didn’t get it, because no one’s going to bother to tell you. They’re just going to go on to the next resume or demo.

However, it’s surprising how easy it is to correct things, if you just accept them and work on them. And if you don’t think this stuff matters, then don’t do it. Maybe that’ll work out…but what if it limits you?

This wasn’t meant to be a scolding. Anyone I’ve ever worked with knows that I want everyone to get a great job, and to love doing it. Life is just better when you like what you’re doing. So sound smart. See where that leads.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #532: Talking vs. Talking TO Someone

Posted on August 16, 2023 by tommykramer

We’ve all heard the station that thinks talking LOUD works, and that people like that.
And we’ve all heard a massive number of air talents that just read stuff off a computer screen with no emotional investment at all. They rattle it off, then move on the next thing.

Shout, Rattle, and Roll.

These things, of course, do nothing for the listener. (Or a client or a sponsor.)

So here’s this week’s tip – ask yourself this question:

Are you just talking, or are you talking to someone?

Some people don’t sound like they’re talking to anyone, or certainly to no one in particular.
Others do okay, but then go on ‘automatic pilot’ when they read something.

This is the starting place. First you “see” (or at least imagine) the listener. Then you simply talk to that person. Not “announce” or “present” to them. Just talk.

Easy, right?

Yeah, so easy that the finest actors in the world spend years learning how to do it better. (Most of them have a coach.)