Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #502: Talk to the Eyes, not the Ears

Konstantin Stanislavski was the father of “method” acting.  Practically every actor since Marlon Brando in the 1950s has read and/or studied his writings and techniques.

One of his main tenets is “Talk to the eyes, not the ears.”

It’s all about making things visual.  If I can visualize it, I can crawl inside it, emotionally.  But if it’s just “ad copy” or doesn’t bother to engage me visually, it just goes by unnoticed.  Or it’s noticed, but not in a good way.  It’s just noise.

“You can have a family member flown in for Christmas” is sort of generally visual, but “Imagine eating Grandma’s recipe with Grandma…” is very visual.  Then, “We’ll fly her in!” adds another visual component.

Think “what does this situation (or this behavior) look like?” and you’ll be on the right track to stand out in the sea of disc jockeys reading crap off a computer screen.


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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