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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)
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 (read
more - Tip #4) You hear often that someone is "funny." "He's so funny." "I love to listen to his show because it's funny." But is it "funny," or is it "fun" that we're talking about? There is a difference, from a performance and planning point of view. "Funny" is certainly "fun," but "fun" doesn't necessarily have to be "funny." The Andy Griffith Show was a great example of being both (read more - Tip #5) Think about how many Morning Teams you’ve heard that have a decent energy level, but they just don’t seem to move very efficiently. Frankly, in many situations, the decision to have a Team Show in the morning overrides whether or not a qualified team is available, or whether the PD has the proper techniques for coaching them. If you find yourself thinking, “They just take too long” or “They’re good, but they just talk too much,” here’s a tip to help coordinate them fast: When the subject changes, the person speaking changes (read more - Tip #6) |
"How Do I Get There From Here?" Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #7 (listen to the MP3 audio version of #7 by clicking here) If you want to talk about something that isn’t local, unless it’s a giant national headline, it’s likely that you’ll get a “who cares?” reaction in the mind of the Listener. Whenever I hear a Talent struggle with this, I ask, “How do I get there from here?” Usually, this is because the Talent is staring through “the wrong end of the binoculars” and looking to find things that are “interesting,” instead of things that are RELEVANT. But suppose you have chosen something relevant, but it’s just not local. Here’s how you get there from here: COMPARE whatever it is you want to talk about to something that is local, so it becomes visual and familiar to your listener. You want to form some "bridge" or connection to that subject that ties it into my life, or something that I care about (or at least KNOW about) right here, in THIS city, today, instead of just abruptly bringing up "something from Mars." Yes, there are a few—very few—exceptions in the syndication arena (Stern, Rush, Focus on the Family), but they connect through very targeted subject matter that isn’t dependent on being local. By and large, you really can’t succeed with generic content that could happen in "Anywhere, USA." (One other major point: Have an ENDING. Example: On a team show in Dallas once--because we had a local TV appearance and both of us felt that we looked really heavy on TV--we were able to get into a story about a guy who used to weigh 1400 pounds, but he'd gone on a strict diet, and now had "slimmed down" to "only" 1000 pounds! If the best we could have "tagged” it with had been some guaranteed-to-fizzle-out line like "I'd still hate to see his grocery bills," it would have just been punchless. But my brilliant partner ended the break with, "So what do you say to him now?" "Hey, Frank....you're a RAIL!") Remember--always ask “How do I get there from here?” And if you can't get there from here, don't go there. © 2007 Tommy Kramer
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