'Be The Star Player'

There is a radio station based in the city I live in that isn’t a great ratings performer.
Each book that comes out they have either held their lowly position or gone down slightly.
It’s a little sad to see because it is a station with great potential.
They just seem happy to plod along and maintain their current status.
I have been listening to them on and off for the past week trying to figure out what it is that isn’t working for them.
The list is long.
The music is wrong, the focus is wrong and their overall image is disconnected.
However, that’s not what interests me.
I pay special attention to the presenters.
Even with a poorly focussed product, a good presenter can pull decent ratings out of the fire.
But in order to do this, they need goals. They need direction.
It’s obvious, listening to this station, that they get none of these.

Today I listened for one-hour non-stop.
I ended up shouting at my radio (I can get a bit passionate about bad/good presentation)!
‘Stop talking’, I cried. ‘For the love of God, quit talking now’!!

I’ll give you an example of what I was listening to and why I got a little carried away.
Let’s say the station is an Oldies format. Just for argument’s sake.
And let’s say I was listening to the afternoon drive presenter.
The first thing that drove me crazy was the amount of crutches he used.
“A very good afternoon to you”
“Hope all is well in your world”
“How is your Friday afternoon going for you”
“The weather is awful out there today”, that sort of thing.

Next was the biggest crutch of all: the time check.
It was great to know that it was “5:15” and then”5:21” and then”5:25” and let’s not forget “5:31”.
I would never have thought to look at my watch if I needed to know the exact time (every five minutes)!

Then there was the needless back sell.
An example being, “That was Elvis Presley there”, (no kidding).
This was followed by more needless back selling that told us nothing, moved the station no where and sounded like the presenter was speaking just for the sake of it (which he was).

The biggest crime I heard, however, was two fold.
In this one particular link, the presenter proceeded to do a piece about Lindsay Lohan, the actress.
This could be a fine piece of showbiz fluff.
However, let’s remember the format here.
We’re talking Oldies.
We’re concentrating on an audience that enjoys that style of music and the people that went along with it.
Is Lindsay Lohan someone that an Oldies audience will relate to?
In my opinion, no.
To me, it’s like working on a Country format and doing a major piece of 50 Cent,
What is the point?
Well, you say, she’s a big star.
That’s true. Sometimes big stars are worth the mention.
That could come down to you making a programming decision on that one yourself. I only give my opinion on that.
However, the Lindsay Lohan piece lasted a full two minutes and twenty three seconds, (yes, I did time it. Pathetic, I know)!
That’s a lot of time on one idea. On a music station.
The killer for me, though, was the fact that the presenter was reading it. Out of a magazine. A magazine that I had read last week.
I remember the article. I remember sitting down and reading the very same article. Word for word.
He was reading something to me that I had read for myself one week ago.
Why did he do this?

He did this because no more is expected of him.
The station’s standards are low.
Their expectations are low.
Their level of commitment is low.
Their basic requirements are low.
Their feed back to the presenters is low.

They really sound as if they don’t care.
Why should he put any extra effort into his link if he doesn’t feel the need?
The PD won’t say anything.
The GM won’t notice.
Why bother?
The very fact that it ‘sounds’ as though he his presenting is enough for him.
By reading an article, he is giving the listener nothing.
If you are going to present a piece on Lindsay Lohan, wouldn’t it be better to put it into your own words? Put your own unique spin on it? Make it your own?
The journalist that wrote the piece did just that. Why would a radio person be lazy and think that that was good enough.
Well, possibly for that very reason: it’s just ‘good enough’.
Not ‘good’, just ‘good enough’.

Even if the expectations placed on you by your PD are low, there is no reason to plummet to that level.

That presenter let himself down.
He didn’t let the station down (they’re doing a pretty good job of that themselves, without his help).
For the four hours on the air, he was the radio station. He could have made it sound like the market leader, just by raising his game.
He could have related to me and been my friend and sounded the same as me.
Instead he was just another ‘DJ’, going through the motions waiting to go home.
In fact he said so:
“I’ll be here until six o’clock”.
He actually told us when he was quitting work. It was obviously on his mind.

No matter the feed back or level of expectation – you be the best you can be.
You give it all you can give it.
Hey, if the station is performing poorly and you are performing brilliantly, just think how you will stand out!
Your work rate will sound amazing compared to any lethargic co-workers that happen to be on the schedule.
You will be the main person on the station.
That presenter I listened to didn’t sound bothered and neither was I.
I won’t be listening to him again.


To find out more about being the ‘Star Player’ contact brian@bmacmedia.com

http://www.bmacmedia.com
Passionate About Radio.

"Everybody Out"!

It’s a strange phenomenon in radio stations that the On Air studio is often seen by other members of staff as a nice place to ‘hang out’.

I have no doubt that you have experienced the production guy or sales person, walk into your space (usually when they are bored), just to have a chat and kill some time.
Usually they will come in on the premise that they have something to tell you.
This is followed up with a, “so how are you”? , type of question.

How are you??
You’re busy.
That’s how you are!
You’re working. You’re concentrating. You’re thinking. You’re writing. You’re editing. You’re planning. You’re generating an atmosphere. You’re performing. You’re focusing.
That’s how you are.

What you are not is :
You are not in a position to chat. You are not in a position to humour another person’s mood. You are not there to fill their need for conversation. You are not there to discuss anything other than what is relevant to that particular show on that particular day.

If you think you are, you are fooling yourself.
If you find you have five or ten minutes to chat while in the studio, then you are not working hard enough at your gig.
Let’s face it. The only people in your building who know what it’s like to be on air are your fellow presenters and other members of programming staff.
The rest of the people at your station, (sales, admin, promotions etc), all think you have an easy job that requires little preparation, planning or concentration.
All you are doing is playing music and talking every now and then.
How difficult can that be??
Well, way more difficult when you are constantly and needlessly interrupted!
They look in the window and see you standing there, apparently idle.
What they don’t understand is that, while you may be physically standing still, you are working. You are thinking. Planning ahead.
How does the next item fit in with the last one?
How can I word the next link?
What’s my ‘out’?
Do I have time to edit this call before my song ends?
You are working.
Don’t expect them to understand this. Chances are they never will.

But you can set ground rules that make it obvious you won’t accept unnecessary intrusions.
The only people who should be allowed into your room at any time are the other members of your show team and your PD.
That’s it.
No sales person should ever walk across the threshold. No promotions. No admin.
Ever!
“No sales person ever? But what if they need to tell me about a promotion for that day”?
Well, first of all they need to get to you before your show.
However, I concede, this is not always possible.
The route to take is this:
They need to tell your PD. Your PD will then decide if what Sales need to say is important enough to disturb you. It is then the PD’s job to go and relay the information to you.
Of course, the PD will also have to wait until you are ready to speak.
If you are up to your eyes for the next ten minutes then both the PD and the sales member will have to wait.
If you have ninety seconds to edit a call into twenty seconds and then get it on air before the ad break finishes in two minutes and nineteen seconds, then you really don’t have then time to chat. Do you?
Let’s understand this. A radio station is only as good as the sound coming out of the listener’s speakers.
You are that sound.
Disturbing you disturbs the radio station.
A good PD will know this.

If you are uncomfortable about asserting yourself in the On Air studio when situations like this arise, here are some phrases you can use to politely get your point across:
“Just a moment, I’m editing”
“Can you give me five minutes”?
“I have to take some calls”
“I have to get this on the air in ninety seconds”
and
“Can you come back when I’m done with this next link”?

Most people will accept these as reasonable.
If, however, you are still having problems with people killing time in your room, then have a word with your PD.
He/She will be happy you have approached them because it shows that you care about your work and want to concentrate on making your radio station sound as great as possible.


To hear more about the On Air environment, contact:
brian@bmacmedia.com

Brian.

http://www.bmacmedia.com

Passionate About Radio

"What's So Funny"?

As radio presenters, we are always told how important it is to relate to our listeners. How it is essential to reach out to them and be just like them.
We do this in lots of different ways – some consciously, some unconsciously.
For instance, we will relate stories to their lives. We will Hook and Tease them using references they are familiar with.
Basically we want to get on their ‘good side’. We want them to like us.

One way we unconsciously do this is through laughter.

When we laugh we are basically saying to our listener that we are good fun to be around and that we are happy. That is when we laugh genuinely. Maybe a co-host has brought on a spontaneous laugh, maybe something you have ad libbed has made you laugh genuinely.
However, there is another laugh that we sometimes use. This laugh actually ends up doing us more harm than good. It is a crutch and a ‘turn off’.
This laugh is the Nervous Laugh.
You’ve heard this laugh used by presenters everywhere.
The presenter says something that they’re not sure about or is nervous about saying or has made a slight formatic error and loses their way and to show that they are just fooling around will follow the comment up with ‘The Nervous Laugh’.

Example: “I see Paris Hilton is in the news again today…….I tell you what, I’m sick of her whining……heh heh heh”.
Or: “Looks like that song doesn’t want to start. Oh the joys of live radio…..heh heh heh”.
You might cringe when you see these sentences written down. That’s because they are cringe worthy. That’s because they have happened and we all know that using the laugh as our crutch is our automatic response.

So what’s so bad about that?
Well, in order to figure this out, let’s take a look at why people laugh, in general. What is it that a laugh does and why do we feel the need to force one?

Here’s the Science Bit!

The reason we, as human beings, laugh is Social Interaction.
When we laugh, we release a chemical in our brain called Oxytocin. Oxytocin helps us to feel calm, serene, loved, happy, relieved. All wonderful sensations.
We laugh for lots of different reasons.
One being, Relief.
What is the first thing most people do after a fright? They laugh.
You’re watching a horror movie. The main character is looking in the mirror in their bathroom when suddenly a face appears in the background. You get a fright. Then you laugh with relief when you realise it is just a movie and they ’got you’. The laugh releases Oxytocin into the brain and you feel better.
That’s what laughing does.
It’s why the punchline of a joke works so well. We are brought on a little journey during a joke, when suddenly the punchline arrives and surprises us with a twist we didn’t see coming.
Surprise. Laugh.

So how is this a Social Interaction?
Well, studies show that people are more likely to laugh out loud when in a group as opposed to being alone.
A great example of this is when you read/hear a joke.
I could write a joke here for you now. If you find it funny, chances are you might smile or chuckle a little to yourself.
If I was to tell that same joke to you in a room full of other people, you are more likely to laugh out loud. It’s a social thing. In the group setting you are attempting to share a feeling with others. You are trying to be similar to them.
It’s why people feel very left out when they are the only ones in a group not to get the joke. We have all felt a little left out of things when everyone else is laughing except us. They all got the joke, you didn’t. It actually can be quite upsetting. Why? Because you are the only one not socially interacting. You are not part of the group.
Jokes work in a group setting because laughter is contagious.
The reason laughter is contagious is because we are all releasing this mood altering drug (Oxytocin) into our brain. We are all on a High. We are all sharing this high and are all interacting on the same level. We are sharing and bonding.

The radio presenter that can make their listener laugh is using this feeling.
Humour works on the radio because when we make our listener laugh, we are literally affecting them physically. You have influenced a chemical reaction in their brain.

What trait do single people say is most important to them when looking for a partner?
Sense of humour.
It’s that important to our social outlook that it is regularly number one in attractive attributes. We actively seek out people that can make us laugh.
Making another person laugh helps to develop deep pathways in the brain that help keep you both together.
It’s why we have a favourite comedian. They make us feel good. The affect us physically.

On air, you can develop this type of relationship with your listener.
I’m not suggesting that you change your style and start firing off one-liners and rim shot jokes in every link.
Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a funny presenter. That’s OK. Not everyone is a comedian. But everyone is human and as a human you have the ability to laugh (genuinely).
When your listener laughs at something you say you have just:
a) Socially interacted with them,
b) Created a chemical reaction, and
c) Developed a bond with them.
(By the way, women create more Oxytcin than men. Handy to know if you are trying to attract more female listeners).

Verbal humour also works best. Which is one reason why being on the radio is great. It’s like the joke read or the joke heard. The heard version will always create a stronger reaction.
Verbal humour works so well that people in day-to-day life attempt to re-create it when using the written word for communication.
Have you ever sent a funny Text message and ended it with a Smiley face? Of course, who hasn’t?
Or sent an e-mail with ‘LOL’ at the end?
The person reading your message might not know that the message you sent was meant to be funny……but you make sure they do by placing a ‘humour symbol’ at the end.
That’s you socially interacting with the other person.
The same way a presenter tries to socially interact with the listener.

Let’s get back to the guy in the studio. He has just made a little error on air and covers it up with a quick “heh heh heh”.
What does this say to the listener?
It says that the presenter is trying too hard to be part of the group.
Human beings have the ability to tell the difference between a fake laugh and a real laugh. And the difference is enormous.
The real laugh is a genuine thing. It is a basic thing. It shows that we are all part of the one feeling.
Part of the one group.
We are all similar and belong together.
We are all sharing this feeling and bonding and creating a relationship.
The fake laugh shows that you are trying to get into the group. You are outside the group. You don’t belong. You are not like me.
Fake laughing can be quite detrimental to your on air persona.
In my opinion (and it’s just my opinion) it is one of the most damaging crutches a radio presenter can have.
At it’s most basic level, it is saying to the listener “I am desperate for you to like me. Please like me. Please”.

A genuine laugh will help forge a deeper relationship with your listener.


Have a great show!
Brian.

To find out more about ‘Laughing on the radio’, contact:
brian@bmacmedia.com


http://www.bmacmedia.com

Passionate About Radio.

"What Time Is It" ?

I love it when you arrange to meet a person at a certain time and they show up promptly, don’t you?
You know the feeling of saying to a friend, “I’ll meet you at 6:30 outside Starbucks”.
6:30 arrives, you are there and bang on time, your friend arrives.
It shows respect and appreciation.

The opposite is also true though.

How annoying is it, standing outside a coffee shop or a store for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes waiting and waiting for someone to show up?
“What’s their problem? Couldn’t they phone to say they were running late”?
We’ve all been there and I’m sure it can drive you mad.

When your friend shows up late, or just not at the agreed time, it shows that they are not really paying attention to your needs, your requests or your time.
They reckon that a ‘rough’ time frame ought to do the job.

On the radio, we need to show up on time for our listeners too.
Now, I’m not talking about showing up on time for your gig! That’s a given. I think your PD might have a word or two if you arrived in the studio twenty minutes after your show starts!
What I am talking about is when we give our listeners Time References.
It’s a tool we use a lot on air.
“Coming up soon”
“That’s on the way”
“Later this hour”.
That sort of thing.

But let’s take a look at what those time references mean and how your listener processes them.
Imagine listener #1 is called Bob.
Bob is sitting in his car in traffic on the way into work. He’s listening to the radio and has stopped on your show. He is a semi-loyal listener to your station as he likes the music and sometimes he gets a laugh out of it. That’s what connects him to you.
Bob knows the traffic is pretty light today and he will get to the office in about fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, you are back in the studio putting together the best show you can.
You’re heading into an ad break and decide to Forward Sell an item.

You say,
“Led Zeppelin is re-uniting. Their concert here in town is already sold out. But I’ll tell you how you could win the last two tickets to the show a little later this hour”.
OK. Well done. You did a nice Forward Sell. The PD will be happy with the link, you will be happy with the link, but Bob in his car might not be.
Bob knows he has fifteen minutes left in his journey.
He has no idea when you are going to tell him about the ticket giveaway.
Bob happens to be a huge Zeppelin fan and would love those tickets.
Fast forward fifteen minutes and Bob has arrived at work. You have done one more link in that time, but did not yet mention the ticket giveaway.
Now Bob is annoyed.
Why is he annoyed?
Because he didn’t get the information he wanted. He ran out of time. He had to get on with his life.

So how do we avoid annoying people like Bob when we Forward Sell like this?

By being Specific.

Give specific times.
“Led Zeppelin tickets to give away. I’ll tell you how within the next fifteen minutes”.
Now Bob has a solid time frame to work on.
That suits him perfectly. What luck! He is able to listen for that amount of time and knows he will hear the information he wants.
That’s as long as you keep your word and ‘show up on time’. As long as you do as you say.

Saying, “On the way”, “Later this hour” and “Coming up soon” tell us nothing.
All they mean is that you will get around to it eventually and in your own time. You haven’t decided when exactly that time will be yet but hey- I’ll get back to you!

Specific.
That can take different forms.
One is actually announcing a time; “The Mystery Voice is at 6:30 this evening”.

Another is saying the word ‘Next’ (into an ad break or feature), “Led Zeppelin are next”.
That means that when this feature is over, I will hear Led Zeppelin. No later. No extra waiting around. I can hang around for that (thinks Bob)!

The last one is giving a time frame. Later this hour won’t cut it for your listener, but “In the next ten/fifteen/twenty minutes”, will.

By the way, I wouldn’t go further forward than twenty minutes. Anything after that is asking a lot. Unless you are promoting a station feature (like a Morning Show item) and need to follow a liner on this.
Other wise, if it’s an element in your show that you want to promote, then twenty is the max.



Your listener will appreciate your decisiveness on this. He/she will appreciate the fact that you are giving them specifics. They don’t want to have to hang around endlessly waiting for you to figure out a time that suits you. They have a life to live and won’t have the time to hang on your every word. But if you say “Within the next fifteen minutes”, chances are they may decide that’s an OK amount of time to wait for the payoff.

Oh, one last thing.
It’s possible to be too specific sometimes!
“Coming up in eleven minutes” would be too specific!!
I don’t think the listener is sitting there timing you. They don’t have the stopwatch on them!
Why not go all the way and say “Coming up in eleven minutes and twenty nine seconds”!?
You get my point.
The important thing, of course, is to then do as you say.
If you say ‘twenty minutes’, it better be no later than that.
If you say ‘next’, it better be.
Otherwise you will annoy Bob and he may not trust you in the future.
You have to deliver on your promises.

Don’t make Bob wait for you. Be there when you said you would.

Oh, and enjoy your coffee!

Brian.


To find out more about ‘Time Reference’, contact brian@bmacmedia.com

http://www.bmacmedia.com