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Tommy Kramer has spent over 35 years in radio as an on-air talent, Programmer, and Talent Coach, and has worked with over 100 stations in all formats, specializing in coaching morning team shows. He was elected to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. Contact
Tommy Kramer Coaching Tips The oddest thing seems to be happening both on TV and in radio these days. The phony, insincere, pukey deejay delivery is rearing its ugly head ... (read more - Tip #1) A lot of Program Directors, in trying to coach an Air Talent, jump too quickly to the second phase of coaching -- getting an aircheck, playing samples of "things done wrong," and making the process an uneasy one for the Talent right off the bat. No "foreplay." (read more - Tip #2) Think of how many times you’ve heard an Air Talent say--more often than not, with the sound of rustling paper or a page turning in the background--"I was reading an article in this magazine yesterday," or "I saw in the paper this morning that...." My problem with this sort of thing is ... (read more - Tip #3)
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"It's My first Time" Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #4 (listen to the MP3 audio version of #4 by clicking here) I once put up a sign on the Control Room door that said: "I just got into town. I got into the car, turned the radio on, and hit the 'scan' button. It landed on your station. I don't know what station it is, what the format is, what the dial position is, or who you are. You have thirty seconds." I base everything I coach on "first time" listening. If I just tuned in--for the first time--can I get what's going on here? Are you making references to things that I don't understand, since I'm not a regular listener to the show? All too often, the Air Talent assumes that the Listener has been there for a few minutes, or that "everyone knows" what he or she is talking about. I call this "The Eminent Danger of the Assumption." Reset the stage for the Listener every couple of minutes. If you run an interview, for instance, I'd better be told who you're talking to pretty soon now, or I'm gone. Think of the "Fox Block," the little box in the top left of the screen when you watch a football game on Fox TV that tells you the teams, the score, the situation, and what network you're watching. (It’s now standard on every network.) Radio doesn't have the visual dimension to use as a tool like television does, so we have to do it verbally. As you listen to tape with your Talent, if you hear the "assumption" mentality, simply ask, "Who is this? What station am I listening to? What's going on here?" The Talent will get it immediately, and start to police himself. Plus, he'll start to ask those questions when he hears a competitor, and think that they're lame for not knowing what he knows. © 2006 Tommy Kramer
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