Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #632: A Content Tip from Bob Dylan

In the last tip, I mentioned Bob Dylan. To cut to the chase, think about his song “Like a Rolling Stone.” Even if you take away the imagery and the storyline, one lyric rises to the surface over and over as Dylan starts each chorus asking, “How does it feel?”

And THAT is what you should be thinking of as you shape your Content each day. How did this thing that happened FEEL?

Without a discernible feeling, an identifiable emotion, it’s just a bunch of factoids. Incidents, maybe opinions. But what did it FEEL like?

If you can’t answer that, the idea is an incomplete thought.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #776 – How To Be Friends: A Programming Lesson From Back To School

When I was a kid I can remember staring at the bulletin board in the hallway eager to see what the next few months would be like. Each teacher posted a list of the kids that would be in her class the upcoming year. Frankly, I wasn’t that concerned about which teacher I was assigned. No, I was more concerned with whether I’d be with my friends; Rodney, David, Buddy, and Julian. And maybe even that I’d have a chance to be around that pretty girl Marlene.

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Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #631: Cool, not Cruel

There was a time when it was in vogue to be overly audacious, tricking people with prank phone calls, embarrassing people, making fun of them, etc.

I thought it really sucked, because to me, it seemed kind of cruel. I didn’t – and still don’t – get why it would be okay to demean the listener, or use that person as a “prop” for something that you wouldn’t do to a friend or coworker. Continue reading →

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #774 – The Simplest And Most Profound Idea For How To Program A Great Radio Station

It’s a funny thing. With these weekly Frost Advisories, I try to share insights about programming basics (how the sausage is made stuff, don’tcha know), while also challenging the more seasoned to strive for The Big Idea to transform a station and a listener’s mood, perspective, and life. Some get this while many have never thought about it. In my career, I’ve been at either place in different seasons.

Just this week I was evaluating a station that sounded like it was nothing more than a sequencing of elements. Like the automation system was programming the station. One element played, then another. Then something else came on and another element played. No design. No emotional spectrum. No meaningful content.

It was like an audio version of Whack-a-mole. Hit it and move on.

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Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #629: Listening to Yourself, and Why It’s Important

Shockingly, many, many times over the years, I’ve found that an alarming number of air talents never, or hardly ever, listen to their own shows.

Here’s why it’s important: You need to hear yourself as others hear you. That’s how we improve.

If you simply listen while you’re checking your email, or updating your social media, you’ll subconsciously hear when you sound rushed, or like you don’t really care about something, or if you make grammatical errors that undermine the points you’re trying to make.

Listening to your own show just once a week can and will make a dramatic difference in how sharp you stay, or how quickly you change a weak area.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #628: My Reflection

Radio isn’t dying, but in many cases, it isn’t thinking, either.

It’s so simple, but why do we not hear this all the time?

My reflection (as a listener) is the mental picture that could change the course of your career.

Here’s the deal: As a listener, I want to be able to picture myself in the scene you’re creating or describing. If I do, you and I have connected – the magic word in radio.

If I don’t, well, there are lots of other listening options.