Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #339 – The Coaching “Starter Kit”

It’s hard to find time to coach the talent.  Program Directors these days are busier than ever.  Let me try to help you.  Here’s the coaching starter kit, from my perspective…

  1. The first question a talent has is usually “How long will the session last?”  My standard answer is “Not long.”  We get past that quickly by zeroing in on whatever has to be “serviced,” but then moving on to the one step FORWARD that the talent should work on.  That should be something more artistic, if at all possible.
  2. People who fear coaching have either never worked in a true coaching environment – (just critiquing an air check is NOT it) – or they’re just afraid of change.  It’s up to you to turn that fear into welcoming the sessions.  Coaching should be Personal, Individual, not some “cookie-cutter” exercise.  You want the station to have consistency from show to show, but each Talent is different within that framework.  Stress both of those things.
  3. The real focal point is to get the Talent to see the “goal” as always getting a little better.  It’s an ongoing process, like learning to play a musical instrument.  It takes some work, but it pays you back for the effort.

Realize that some people you help get better will end up leaving.  It’s inevitable.  But you should WANT to be the breeding ground for people who move on to better things.  When you’re recognized for that, you never have much trouble finding someone who wants to come work with you.


Tommy Kramer

Tommy has spent over 35 years as an air talent, programmer, operations manager and talent coach - working with over 300 stations in all formats. He publishes the Coaching Tip

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