Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #11 – Real People Can’t Talk

Posted on August 7, 2013 by tommykramer

As radio continually beats the concept of “telling stories” to death, it’s important to remember that real people can’t talk.

That’s why—in music radio—we edit phone calls, so we can tighten them up, take out redundancy and sentences that don’t add anything, and remove irrelevant names of people we don’t know (or care about). Real people—people who are not trained professionals—aren’t likely to have the skill set to hold the listener’s attention as they tell a story. The average person is likely to go off “chasing rabbits” at any moment, which you know if you’ve edited very many calls. They mean well; they just don’t have the “chops” to keep it from bogging down.

And normal people usually aren’t great writers, either. They tend to stiffen up and use “print language” when they write, instead of the natural, everyday “street talk” that we want to use on the air. Keeping in mind that only people with cataracts want to be read to, when you do want to put someone’s email or Facebook posting on the air, please don’t just read it verbatim. The way it works best is for you to tell as much of the story as you can in your own words, just quoting an occasional line from them. That way, you can keep the story moving, leaving out repetition and unnecessary details that can easily make a genuinely heartfelt story come across like an A. A. meeting.

Now please don’t misinterpret this to mean that you shouldn’t put phone calls on the air, or share someone’s Facebook comment or email. Those ingredients are great, IF you make them airworthy.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #10 – The Cone

Posted on July 31, 2013 by tommykramer

The great Neil Young once introduced a song by saying: “Here’s a song guaranteed to bring you right down. It’s called ‘Don’t Let it Bring You Down.’ It kind of starts off slow, then fizzles out altogether.”

Pretty funny, but now think about how many times you’ve heard something on the air start in a fairly interesting way, but it just doesn’t go anywhere.

That’s usually because the jock didn’t really give any thought to the Subject expanding or contracting. It just kind of sat there. So frustrating.

You’ve probably heard the old saying that Content is King, and that’s true to the degree that you can’t make something matter to the listener. But once you have a solid piece of Content, PERFORMANCE is King.

Try looking at each Subject like a cone—big and wide at one end, small and pointy at the other end. The big, wide end of the cone is the global perspective, the subject that’s on everybody’s mind. From there, you want to bring it down to a very personal place—the small pointy end of the cone.

Or you can do the opposite—start with something very intimate and personal, and then show how it applies to everyone.

George Carlin used to describe this as “big world” or “little world.” I think those definitions are good, but the whole idea is that one leads to the other.

The “cone” concept always works, and it’s really easy. If you’ll try it, I think you’ll be amazed at what it does to your air work.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #9 – TELL Me

Posted on July 24, 2013 by tommykramer

This was the way I used to start my seminars: I just got restless listening to the station that was on my radio, so I hit the ‘scan’ button. It landed on your station. I don’t know what the station’s call letters are, what the format is, what the dial position is, or who you are.

If you’re in a female-targeted format, you should know that SEVENTY percent of women say they find their new favorite station by hitting the scan button. Not by seeing a billboard. Not by seeing a TV spot with your morning team – whom I don’t know – standing in front of a “money machine” spewing out cash. Not by hearing about it from a friend. Just by hitting the scan button.

I don’t have the data yet on what the percentages are for men, but if you think of how most guys flip around on the TV remote when they search for a show, it should be obvious that every single time you open the mike, you’re probably talking to someone that hasn’t heard you before, or hasn’t heard you for a while.

Make it easy for them to come into the fold. To paraphrase the old Motel 6 TV ads, “Leave the light on for them.”

Never assume knowledge on the part of the listener.

“Here’s Toby…”

Toby who? Toby Mac, the great Christian artist? Toby Keith, the great Country artist? Toby Maguire, the guy who played Spiderman? (I didn’t know he could sing.)

TELL me.

“We’ll play the Family Name Game at 7:30.”

And what is that? Do I have to guess someone in your family’s name? (I don’t even know all MY relatives!) Is this about my kid? How do I get in?

TELL me.

“Later on, we’ll give you a chance to win free groceries for a month.” When is “later on?” Ten minutes? Next? At 7:40?

TELL me.

Anytime you assume that I know what you’re talking about, you’re just asking me to hit the scan button again. But if you’ll just make it easy for me to get my arms around it, I may come back again tomorrow.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #8 – The 2-Question Content Filter

Posted on July 17, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 8 – The 2-Question Content Filter (click to hear the mp3 version)

Years ago, I wrote a tip called “The 3 Questions,” basically about thoughts to “sift” something through before you put it on the air. But one of them had to do with being local, which doesn’t really help someone on a network, or doing a syndicated show. So here’s an even more whittled down version that I hope will make things incredibly easy for you.

There are 2 questions to ask yourself about anything you want to put on the air:

1. WHY is it on?

Just because you think something is funny, for instance, doesn’t mean that it’s Relevant. (We’ve all heard enough “Stupid Criminal Stories.”) Just because your station’s listener profile says that your target is a 35-year old soccer mom with 2 kids doesn’t mean that every little thing your brat—uh, I mean your “little angel” does is worth talking about. And a huge thing to remember is that “interesting” is not the same as “compelling.” If all you do is talk about stuff the listener has a passing interest in, the station that talks about what’s most top of mind—what matters most to your listener TODAY—is going to take that person away from you.

2. Where are you going with it?

There has to be some sort of “destination” or “resolution” that you reach with everything you talk about, hopefully with a “reveal” or surprise element at the end that I couldn’t see coming. If you just end with some tired platitude, or you always try to come up with a funny punch line, you’re not going to raise the bar even one inch.

I always thought “What will I say that not everyone else will say?”

Eventually, that thought got even more refined, and became “What can I say that ONLY I WOULD SAY?”

Now, after having taught this technique to over 1700 people on over 330 radio stations. The ones who ‘got it’ have become extremely successful. The ones who didn’t are still trying to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Dan Aykroyd, Steven Wright, Jerry Seinfield, Larry David, Rush Limbaugh—each of these comedians has a unique “take” on things, and you should, too. (And see, even in that, there was something that not everybody else would say.)

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #7 – You SECOND

Posted on July 10, 2013 by tommykramer

The most important part of any Content is how you begin it. There’s a Grand Canyon-sized gulf between “I love it when he shares stories about his life” (which is good) or “All he ever does is talk about himself” (which is bad…very bad). Like almost everything in radio, it’s all about the language you use.

If you want to engage the listener right from the get-go, take the words “I” and “me” and “my” out of your vocabulary in that opening sentence, and do one of these two things:

1. Start by referencing the Listener in some way, THEN talk about whatever it is or tell your story. Or…

2. Start with the Subject, THEN serve up your thoughts about it.

Subject or Listener first. You…SECOND.

Yes, this is different from real life, where we often begin by talking about ourselves. But that’s because in real life, we’re talking to friends, family, or acquaintances. It’s a little different in radio, because you have to assume that someone just hit the “scan” button and landed on your station—someone who doesn’t know you. If the perception is that you’re only capable of seeing the world in terms of how it affects you, that’s not going to be nearly as powerful as the “connective tissue” of putting the Subject first or referencing the Listener first. You want to “pull up a chair” for the listener, then reveal your thoughts.

For example, let’s use the Aaron Hernandez story, the former NFL star accused of orchestrating a murder…

“I was thinking about this Aaron Hernandez story…” is just you talking about you.
But “If you’ve been keeping up with that Aaron Hernandez story” is about ME (the listener). Now go on ahead and give me your “take” on it.
Or “The Aaron Hernandez story is getting stranger every day…” is about the Subject. Now that it’s “on the table,” tell me what you think about it.

It’s counter-intuitive, I know, but man, it works like a charm. And your show doesn’t sound like “Now I’d like to talk about me” every time you open the mike.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #6 – How tall is King Kong?

Posted on July 2, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 6 – How tall is King Kong (click to hear mp3 version)

In the wonderful 1980 movie “The Stunt Man,” where a fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt guy, the kid keeps getting surprised by how different the movie world and its special effects make things appear onscreen that don’t exist at all in real life. The wonderful Peter O’Toole, as the Director, keeps asking the new stunt man, “How tall is King Kong?”…the point being that the model of the “giant” ape in the original movie was only three and a half feet tall, but we were made to believe that Kong was SIXTY feet tall.

It’s the same in radio. Our “King Kong,” whatever that may be—a contest, a station event, a Promotion of some sort online—is, to us, only three and a half-feet tall. It’s OUR JOB to make it sound larger than life to the Listener.

I hear jocks every day that take contests and Promotions for granted, and sound less than enthusiastic or even bored as they talk about them.

But if you’re not really interested in it, why should I be, as a listener? I’ve even heard Talents put these things down! They’re “too hip for the room,” and have lost sight of the fact that for the listener, winning something or going to some event is a BIG DEAL.

This is all part of my “Camera Angles” technique (Tip #2 in this series). If you can’t find a way to make that contest or station event sound as tall as King Kong—the 60-foot version—you might want to find a big box to empty the contents of your desk into, because you’re going to be leaving soon. (“I’ll bet you make THAT sound big when you talk to your friends about getting fired.)

: >

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2013 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #5: 2 words – 2 words – 2 words

Posted on June 26, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 5 – 2 words – 2 words -2 words (click to hear mp3 version)

I’m big on giving air talents specific tools to use, not just talking about “pie in the sky” aspirations.

We hear about “telling stories” every day, but exactly HOW to do that is usually never really explained; only “critiqued.” This is like learning about heat by putting your hand down on a hot stove. That’s not Coaching.

Here’s a foolproof method for laying out any break:

Write down 2 or 3 words for the “open.”
Under those, write down a couple more words for the next “copy point.”
“Rinse and repeat” with the “2 words” mechanic.
Then write down a couple of words for your “exit.”

So let’s take a story and “workshop” it:

Having a baby.

Planning birth.

Baby comes NOW.

Pictures.

It comes out like this…

“If you’re a parent, or about to become one, here’s what you go through…you plan everything, from packing a suitcase ahead of time to putting the doctor’s number in your phone to laying out the quickest route to the hospital. This woman in West Boca Raton, Florida, Amy Beth Cavaretta, did all of that, but then she gave birth in front of the hospital! (Oops.) Oh, and on top of that, her husband is a photojournalist for a Miami newspaper! Ewww. Pictures of the birth are not something that guys want to see. Now if you had pictures of how the baby was made…”

The “2 words, 2 words” way of laying out a break keeps you concise. (Always a good thing.)

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #4 – The 4 Requirements of a great Air Talent

Posted on June 19, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 4 – The 4 Requirements of a great Air Talent (click to hear mp3 version)

There are four fundamental requirements of a truly good air talent:

(1) Be a good ambassador of the format. Each format has its unique qualities. Country is different from Album Rock. Contemporary Christian is different from Smooth Jazz. HOW they’re different is part of what you’re here to show. Consider the difference between Classic Rock and Oldies. They’re NOT the same.

(2) Be a good “tour guide” for the station—its features, artist pool, website stuff, Promotions, Contests…all that it has to offer.

(3) Be a good deejay (in music formats). That means [A] being patient, not trying to cram too much in, or doing more than one main subject in each break; [B] “riding the wave” of the music by matching each song’s tempo and emotional vibe; and [C] fitting each song, which means not trying to do ultra-serious Content over a “happy” song, or sounding like the music doesn’t matter to you, or like you’ve just been waiting impatiently for the song to end, so you can talk.

(4) I have to learn something about you, and not just what you think. I also want to know how you FEEL; what’s in your heart.

Now ask yourself if you’re doing these things every day. If you’re not, maybe you need some help.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #3 – The First Exit

Posted on June 19, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 3 – The First Exit (click to hear mp3 version)

Okay, so you’ve gotten the hang of being “the Moon” instead of trying to “be the Sun.” And you’re really working hard at coming up with “camera angles” that set you apart from everyone else. That’s great! BUT THAT’S NOT ALL.

The biggest step is still in front of you: Taking the “First Exit” out of things.

Simply put, it’s the first line of “resolution” as you do a break. Not the first “funny” line, necessarily, because some Content isn’t funny. And, of course, you don’t want to get out before your point is made. (I believe the Latin term for that would be subjectus interruptus.)

Face it, most air talents just beat things to death. They get to laughing about something in the Control Room, “riffing” and throwing in more stuff, until it all just turns into a big bag of mush. There’s no Momentum in that. It’s like buying a ticket to see someone, then they lock the doors so you can’t leave the theater.

The first line or remark that gives “punctuation” or “resolution” to the break, GO! Just hit the button, go into the next element, and STOP TALKING. Don’t go on to make another point, or “wrap up” or “summarize.” Don’t throw in the call letters again, or give a time check, or do a tease, or play some recorded “bumper” that says your name, or in any way do anything that impedes the progress. Just GO FORWARD. RIGHT NOW.

If the ending you planned (but didn’t get to) is really great, simply reset the subject later, and do that line. But 99% of the time the FIRST exit is the BEST exit, because it adds an element of surprise to the show.

Being less predictable is the best thing you can give the listener.

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #2 – Camera Angles

Posted on June 19, 2013 by tommykramer

TK Tip 2 – Camera Angles (click to hear mp3 version)

In the previous tip, we talked about how to “be the Moon, not the Sun” and choose only what matters most to the listener today to talk about in your show Content. (Of course, there are the formatic elements, and the various aspects of the station—events, contests, promotions, etc. But this is about the real-life stuff that reveals who you are and bonds you and the listener together.)

The real game is selecting the right “camera angle,” just like the process a movie director goes through in rehearsal, or putting together a “storyboard” of each shot he’ll use. Where he puts the camera decides how the story will be told. That’s why a Steven Spielberg or James Cameron is so successful. They use that camera to show—through their eyes—what they believe to be the most compelling view of what’s happening in the scene. And with the great directors, it’s never exactly like anyone else’s.

Let’s take an obvious example, the Oklahoma tornadoes. Is that about the loss of life, the damaged or destroyed buildings, how much it will cost to rebuild, or what the government is going to do about it? Or is it about the amazing stories of people surviving under tons of rubble, or the tireless sacrifices of the first responders, or how WE can help?

How you choose to talk about it – where you put your “camera” – determines whether or not you’re just another radio quacking noise, or you’re someone whose opinion and perspective I want to hear. Choose carefully, or risk “death by button.” (One of the other buttons on my radio, or apps on my iPhone.)

Note: There’s more. Each time you talk about a given subject, you should choose a different camera angle, so it’s not just a repeat of what you said before. It’s an ART, not just a skill.