The frosty weather this week in Florida (it was 25 in Orlando this morning) gave me a hankering for getting back out on the golf course.

So, I met buddy Charlie to give me a golf lesson. He’s a really good golfer and I’m not, although I do have rather nice looking golf shoes, if I may say so myself. When I arrived at the driving range Charlie quickly handed me off to the golf pro, Lee, with a cynical “he can help you more than I can” quip. In only one hour Lee improved my golf swing significantly.

Before Lee got a hold of me there were certain things that I thought were important to good golf swing. Like not falling down or throwing my clubs in the water. After spending an hour with Lee I had a new perspective on what my priorities should be. Lee knew his stuff.

Your station is like that.

The things we understand are the things we tend to perceive as important. If the only things we understand are where to place the spot sets, the latest contest idea, or the wacky morning show bit we tend to elevate those things to being more important to the listeners than they are.

If we don’t understand the power of an emotion connection, conveying beliefs in values in meaningful and relevant ways, and being a reflection of what is important in the listener’s life, we tend to undervalue their importance to the station’s success.

Here’s your lesson…

List five things that are distinctive about your radio station. For instance, if another station plays the same songs, music is not a distinctive. (See Frost Advisory #672).

Now look at those five things and prioritize them on which is most meaningful to your listeners. No cheating. I said important to your listeners, not important to your general manager, his wife, or your board of directors.

The next step is to focus on the things that are distinctive to your station AND most meaningful to your listeners.

After you understand your distinctives and priorities we can start fixing the rest of your golf swing.