Doesn’t Play Well With Others

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual starts in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

It was kindergarten, my first year of school, at a small school in the Mohave desert. I thought I was doing ok, but then the report card came out with that dreaded admonition.

Doesn’t play well with others.

That appears on my report cards many times in my early years. You might think that’s because I was always trying to take control and tell others what to do. But you’d be surprised, because it was the opposite. I always removed myself from the others, where I could be in my own.

I was painfully shy up until my senior year in high school. Some people who know me now can’t believe it, but it’s true. I wasn’t at all social.

But I knew and saw plenty of the other type of “doesn’t play well with others.” Always had to have their way, would take toys from the other kids, and generally tried to boss around a bunch of other five year olds.

Sometimes I think they all grew up and got into radio.

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Frost Advisory #215 – If Only The Words We Use

If only the words we use were compassionate words… and not distant newscaster words.

In our format, what if we only used the words of a friend, not those of a scolding teacher, or a detached observer.

I literally heard these words on a radio station this week:

“Extricated the lone occupant…”

…which, I guess, means that someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife was trapped in their car when heroes (someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife) came to their rescue, something those heroes do almost every day for someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife.

Instead of instructing and scolding, I wonder how many more people would listen if if our stations were known for the caring and loving people on the air.

What if the key to your station’s impact was contained in these simple words:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15

Tommy Kramer Tip #60 – Know When To Stop

After you’ve become a successful talent, one of the most significant challenges with your show’s Content is knowing when to stop doing something.

People listen for 10 minutes – 20 if you’re lucky. Huge fans of the show will listen longer, unless they feel that it’s just rehash. Then, even they will go find something else.

So try this on for size:

[A] Whatever you do, treat it as a “one-off” break, meaning that it could stand alone. Plan to move on to something else the next break.

[B] But IF you get a decent reaction—a phone caller, for instance, or if you have a teammate on the show that might have a different “take” on it, okay, air that.

[C] Everything else on that subject now has to EARN being on. This means it has to cover NEW ground, not just repeat a point that’s already been made or give a second example of something we already heard.

Think of it like movies with sequels. Almost every time, the sequels get worse. The 4th Indiana Jones movie, the 4th Lethal Weapon movie, the additional 3 Star Wars movies, or any Jennifer Aniston movie.

Frost Advisory #214 – Names, Names, Names

“My friend told me to call because you called out the name of my daughter. I’ve never listened to your station before!”

Stations that play the Family Name Game® understand the power of a name. A community of voices introducing traffic or weather, birthdays, anniversaries, can all be used effectively to create word-of-mouth. (They can also be used ineffectively adding clutter).

Share A Coke - Tyler

Coca-Cola’s new campaign invites you to #ShareaCoke with the someone whose name is on the label. This a ‘trigger’, something designed in that creates a reason to act.

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Frost Advisory #213 – They’ve Closed My Favorite Restaurant!

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The sign on the door said CLOSED. Our favorite Mexican food restaurant back home has closed its doors.

It would be easy to assume that the food went downhill, the service got worse, and the mariachis started singing “La Bamba” off key. But none of those things happened.

The restaurant stayed the same, but everything around them changed. Ironically, it was a victim of being in a neighborhood that was booming. Apartments and office buildings sprouted up all around hiding the restaurant from ravenous fajita-hunting motorists. Trendy new restaurants made what was hidden easily forgettable.

The same thing can happen to your radio station.

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Tommy Kramer Tip #58 – What We SAY to Jocks Versus What They HEAR

Gary Larson, the creator of The Far Side comic strip, had this great two-panel cartoon.

The first panel was titled, “What we say to dogs.” A guy scolding his dog was saying “Okay, Ginger! I’ve had it! You stay out of the garbage! Understand, Ginger? Stay out of the garbage, or else!”

The second panel was titled, “What they hear.” Same drawing – the guy pointing his finger at the dog, but the dog is hearing him say, “Blah blah GINGER blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah GINGER blah blah blah blah blah.”

This not only applies to the Listener – you have to be talking about things that he or she CARES about – it also applies to your Air Talent. Say you’ve had a coaching session, and decided that for the next two weeks, you want the Talent to work on being concise.

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Frost Advisory #212 – Driving Miss Daisy

It felt really weird. The seat was uncomfortably close to the steering wheel. She couldn’t see out of the rear-view mirror.

It felt weird because my daughter Daisy was sitting in MY car. It was designed for my comfort, not hers.

Driving Miss Carly

That’s the problem in attracting new listeners to your station. We are comfortable with it, but it can feel weird to them at first particularly if they have some preconceived notions about this “Christian radio thing”.

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Morning Minute – The Brilliance of the Founders

“But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations… This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.” – John Adams

It’s the fourth of July and we’re celebrating the birth of our nation. In a moment of retrospection, it struck me that the founders of our nation were brilliant in how the crafted the heart and framework of the United States of America. Continue reading

Tommy Kramer Tip #57 – OWN the Information

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…”

Or there’s the “attribution” thing of “This morning in the Dallas Morning News…”

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