Tommy Kramer Tip #135 – Chinese Handcuffs

 

No doubt you’ve seen “Chinese handcuffs”, that little woven tube that TRAPS your fingers inside it.  And the more you struggle, the tighter it gets.  You have to relax to get free.

The same thing goes for what you do on the air.  Don’t overthink what you’re doing, and don’t try too hard.  Make it simple, and easy to consume.  If you try to do too much, or it gets too complicated, I’ll just turn the radio off and go get a burger.

Surely you’re better than a burger!  (Actually, most air talents are more like “ham” sandwiches.)
: >)

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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 #289 – More Than Just a Radio Station

I reckon’ the Christmas season brings out the best in our format.  More people tune in than at any other time of the year.  When done well, this can be a station’s much-discussed “next level”.

Over the last several weeks I have heard some amazing stories and songs.

I heard the story of a single mom of three kids who had work two jobs and clean houses at night to make ends meet.  Listeners generously gave her kids a Christmas they couldn’t afford for themselves and pulled together to have HER house cleaned, as well.  (A big deal.  Ask any female listener.)

Stories and songs.

I heard the story of a family on the verge of being evicted from their home due to the dad losing his job and mounting medical bills from one child’s injury from a car accident and another child’s epilepsy.  The station, its listeners and clients stepped in to make up the difference on their overdue bills so they wouldn’t lose their home, and blessed them with a Christmas tree and gifts for all the kids.

Stories and songs.

Perhaps most the most amazing I heard was told by the daughter of a Vietnam vet that had a leg amputation.  Wayne pitched in with a wheel chair.  Sheri offered up a wheel chair ramp, and another donated a motorized scooter.  But the most amazing thing to hear was the generosity of a company that made prosthetics offering this Vietnam vet the ability to walk again.

Stories and songs.

z88_zophie-update

Our format can be so much more than the ubiquitous 52 minute music sweeps, the best mix of this and that, and traffic and weather together on the 10s.

So, for the coming New Year, it is my hope that those in our format adopt this New Year’s Resolution:  To create radio stations that matter.

After all…

It doesn’t matter what we say if what we say doesn’t matter.

Tommy Kramer Tip #134 – Bob Dylan’s Method

Even the Beatles were inspired by Bob Dylan. Fifty years after he exploded onto the music scene, you probably still hear Bob Dylan’s songs every single week, in all sorts of different formats, by dozens of different artists. And even though he’s got that raspy voice nowadays, thousands of people still pack the house when he plays.

I saw an interview with him once when the notoriously tight-lipped Dylan answered a question about his “method” by saying, “Take what you KNOW, and build on it.”

That’s great advice for anyone in radio, and there are several different ways for us to apply it:

1. Never bring up a subject that you really don’t know about.

2. Never pretend to know something you don’t. (It always shows.)

3. Never be satisfied that what you’ve “always known” is still valid. Update, upgrade, learn more all the time.

And as my friend Valerie Geller says, “Always tell the truth, and never be boring.”
Note: Get Valerie’s new book here. (There’s an audio version, too.)

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_14/190-5088797-6317507?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=valerie+geller&sprefix=valerie+geller,aps,240

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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 #288 – Donald Trump and Your Radio Station

So, what do you think about Donald Trump?

My guess is your response is something other than tepid.  Love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him.

“He identifies what the base feels and thinks, and then gives it expression.” Kathleen Parker.

This particular political writer’s comment was in the context of a criticism, but there is something to be said for giving expression to what your base feels and thinks.

donald-trump

When was the last time your station got the kind of response Donald Trump is getting?  In other words, when was the last time your station gave expression to what your listeners feel and think that it resulted in a standing ovation?

My talented friends at The Fish in Atlanta recently granted a Christmas Wish to Dee, “a victim of a marriage gone wrong.  She escaped with three kids and nothing more than the clothes on her back” read my friend Taylor Scott.  The station had over a hundred thousand views within the first few hours on Facebook and YouTube.  That, my friends, is a social media standing ovation!

Why?  Because it tapped into what their audience feels and thinks.  Compassion and lending a helping hand are core values reflected by the station.

Dee’s Christmas WishA Christmas Wish miracle happens to Dee in Atlanta!

Posted by 104.7 The Fish on Friday, December 18, 2015

Who’d da thunk it?  Maybe Christian radio can learn a thing or two from Donald Trump.

Tommy Kramer Tip #133 – The Obvious Place

Actor Bob Odenkirk was on Sundance Channel’s “Close Up with the Hollywood Reporter” not long ago, and talked about reading scripts that are submitted to him.

He said the thing that he doesn’t like is when he starts to think “well, this is gonna go…here.” Then he second-guesses himself, thinking “I’ve just read too many scripts. It won’t go there. Give it a chance.”

But then, all too often, it DOES go to the Most Obvious Place—which is disappointing to him as an actor. (And as he knows, it’s disappointing to the audience, too.)

That’s our challenge every day. Let’s not do the most obvious thing, ending up in the most obvious place, because it’s a letdown.

Push yourself to think of some destination that’s not where other people would go. Surprise me!

Only when radio stops being typical will it be great again.

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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.