Tommy Kramer Tip #100 – Perishable Food

April 28, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

This tip may seem pretty obvious, and I wish it were. But apparently it’s not, from what I hear flipping around the dial and working with Talents who tell me, “Yeah, I meant to do something on that, but I forgot to.”

Some Content is like perishable food. If you don’t use it quickly, it’ll go bad. If you have something that is time sensitive, find a place for it on the air NOW. Otherwise, it’s like you bought food, put it in the refrigerator, and then just let it sit there and spoil.

Yes, some other stuff is like a can of beans up in the pantry. It can be used anytime.
Here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Use the “perishable food” first.

2. Then throw the other stuff away. We’re not survivalists stocking up for the end of the world.

Seriously, if it’s the day after Memorial Day, for instance, and special ceremonies were held all over your city yesterday, you’d better talk about it today. By tomorrow it’s old news.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #254 – The Top 10 Reasons Stations Aren’t Successful

April 26, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

I’m told that these weekly Frost Advisories are the most widely read programming thing around in the format these days. My guess is that this one will top them all as people see their own situation and secretly pass along to their teammates with a “See, I told you so!”

Buckle your seat belt!

#10 – Success is never defined

It’s easy to think yourself successful as long as that remains vague and without form.

“One reason we’re able to believe that we’re better-than-average leaders and drivers and spouses and team players (and radio stations) is that we’re defining those terms in ways that flatter us. The ambiguity in terms like “leader” or “team player” enables our illusion. That’s why it’s so much harder for us to fancy ourselves better-than-average pole vaulters.” Chip and Dan Heath, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.”

#9 – Lack of vision

This year is the same as last year is the same as next year. If you don’t know where you’re going any road will lead you there.

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” Jack Welch

#8 – Fear of change

We crave familiarity. We’ll even borrow someone else’s if necessary. “What do you like here?” we ask at a new restaurant. The most familiar is always the status quo, which is deadly for change.

“The unsuccessful person is burdened by learning, and prefers to walk down familiar paths. Their distaste for learning stunts their growth and limits their influence.” – John Maxwell

Stay tuned next week for more.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #99 – What to look for in a Coach

April 22, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

It’s easy for air talents or Program Directors to shy away from coaching. I get that. For one thing, most people think “critique” when they hear the word “coaching”. They assume that the process will be a negative one, like being called into the principal’s office for throwing spitballs.

(I would actually just work with you on making the spitball nice and tight so it flies well, and then making sure you’re aiming at the right person.)

Here’s the process—or at least, my process: I’m not looking for what you do wrong so there’s always something to pick on and correct. A coaching experience based on that negative foundation isn’t going to do you (or me) any good. Yes, we’ll address whatever holes there might be in your education or techniques, and correct them, but that’s not the real purpose. The real idea is first, to find out what you do best. And second, gradually get to where that’s all you do.

There are several other fine coaches—Valerie Geller, Randy Lane, Tracy Johnson—that work the same way. But not all of them. When you get ready for a coach—or as a PD, come to the realization that, just like a baseball manager, you need a pitching or hitting coach—choose wisely.

There’s not ONE pro golfer, baseball player, or football player who doesn’t have a swing coach, batting coach, or position coach. You hear actors all the time talking about who taught them. Tom Brady has a coach. (A head coach, an offensive coordinator, and a quarterbacks coach, as a matter of fact.) Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and others have worked with dozens of the best golfers in the world. I don’t know Butch, but Haney is a friend, and Hank’s methods and mine are amazingly similar. Yes, he’ll point out what you do wrong, but he’ll help you build your game around your STRENGTHS.

And that’s what you should be looking for.

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2015 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #253 – There Is No “AND”

April 19, 2015 John Frost Leave a comment

A music radio station consists of two basic things: the music, and everything that isn’t the music.

The music fulfills one need; the everything else fills another.

I think of content as that non-music element that “adds value” to a music station. Frankly, that’s quite different than what we hear most; blabbering that interrupts the music.

My friend Brant (not his real name) is a very well-known radio pro. I’ve heard him to do content that is as profound as anything I’ve heard from someone who wasn’t a real preacher. But that’s not what makes him special. What puts him at the top of his field is that he can do that AND say something so funny that milk squirts out my nose!

It’s the “AND” that sets him apart.

The problem with most Christian radio stations is not that they’re all that bad, it’s that everything is the same note. There is no “AND”.

Image what your favorite song would sound like if it had only one note; same lyrics but no chorus, no middle eight, no key change. It would still be the same song, in a sense, but it would no longer have the very dynamic range that made it your favorite.

I reckon’ God did this right. He could have made a rainbow with only one color, a giant yellow arch in the sky following a thunderstorm. But that would have been McDonalds. Instead He used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

What colors of the rainbow is your station missing?

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #98 – Friendships are formed by the exchange of Opinions

April 15, 2015 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

The whole object of being on the air is to get people to actually come to know you, instead of your just being a voice giving information, or a promotional machine. Content that connects with the listener each day is obviously important.
But there’s a ‘secret ingredient’ in every truly great air talent I’ve ever heard: being perceived as a friend.
And friendships are formed by the exchange of opinions.

In real life, if I don’t know how you feel about something or how you’d react to a certain situation, I may like you, but we’re not close.
Friendships grow as you learn more about someone, what that person thinks and feels.

…and friends may not always agree with each other. Honestly, that doesn’t matter, as long as you’re not just slapping the listener’s values in the face. I have a couple of dear friends—guys I’d give a kidney to—that I’ve argued with for years. We each have our opinions, and express them. Sometimes they’re the same, sometimes not, but we’re just trying to get to the complete thought. “Winning” the argument isn’t something we even think about.
(Note: For on-air purposes, we’re not trying to start arguments; we’re just trying to not be invisible audio wallpaper.)

The listener needs to know what you think. Your opinion, to compare to his/hers…maybe even adopt your thought as their own.

Hmmm…reading this over again, I hope my two best friends don’t both need a kidney at the same time.

Goodratings.com

Monthly Archives: April 2015