Another Day, Another Form

If you've been reading my blog for very long, you no doubt know that I love forms.  They organize and create systems, making for consistency.

Here's a good one 97 Country/Lakeland PD Mike James created back when he programmed WQIK/Jacksonville:

I am sure Mike, always competitive, has come up with much better ones than this many times over, which is why I feel free share it now with you. 

We all get in ruts after doing the same things for too long.

Is it time to suggest a new prep form for your team?  Sometimes that's all it takes to reinvent and refresh for presentation and content.

5 Ways To Build Loyalty To Any Radio Show

From old pal Cliff Dumas who doesn't call himself a "talent coach," but prefers "talent mentor:"

1.    Every break in PPM stands alone, so each break must be a positive, fun and entertaining experience for the listener .
2.    Create memorable benchmarks for horizontal, day-to-day listening.
3.    Build ideas around personal and pop culture topics that create talk. Innovation fuels greater occasions of listening.
4     Develop short term "story arcs" around relevant content that carry people to the next day. (Can’t be missed moments) In PPM, listening longer is really about occasions of listening verses lengthening time exposed on a certain day.
5.    Seize moments and discover opportunities to reflect and showcase our characters through relevant news and pop culture events relatable to all.

I'll have a good form to use as you evaluate these things tomorrow.

Make Prep A Priority

There are few things that can make a greater difference to a radio station’s sound than show prep.   

The difference between personalities (and especially morning teams) that prep material in advance and those that don’t is audible and awesome.

Some characteristics of the morning team show that doesn’t prep:  

• They tend to have one “bit” through the show.   
• The only thing they do to create listener interaction is contests and prizes.
• Their content is purely “off the news” with little or nothing local.  
• They ramble because they haven’t worked out where the bit’s going to end.

A multi-person team simply must do at least some group prep.  Certainly, the classic "generator" vs "reactor" character balance can be a crutch if the reactor never knows in advance what the point of the content is.  How do you know when the bit is over if you don't have any idea where it's going?

 

If your people are sloughing (show prep) off, work with them, encourage them, provide them the time and atmosphere, if possible, in which they can prepare material for tomorrow’s show.