CCM Coaching Tip #18: The "2 Words - 2 Words" Technique

by Tommy Kramer, KramerMedia.net

I'm big on giving air talents specific tools to use, not just talking about "pie in the sky" aspirations.

We hear about "telling stories" every day, but exactly HOW to do that is usually never really explained; only "critiqued". This is like learning about heat by putting your hand down on a hot stove. That's not Coaching.

Here's a foolproof method for laying out any break:

• Write down 2 or 3 words for the "open."
• Under those, write down a couple more words for the next "copy point."
• "Rinse and repeat" with the "2 words" mechanic.
• Then write down a couple of words for your "exit."

So let's take a story and "workshop" it:

Having a baby.
Planning birth.
Baby NOW.
No pictures.

It comes out on the air like this...

"If you've had kids, or you're about to, here's what you go through...you plan EVERYTHING, from packing a suitcase ahead of time to putting the doctor's number in your phone to laying out the quickest route to the hospital. This woman in Florida, Amy Beth Cavaretta, did all of that, but then she gave birth in front of the hospital! (Oops.) Oh, and on top of that, her husband is a photojournalist for a Miami newspaper! Ewww. Believe me, pictures of the birth are NOT something that guys want to see."

The "2 words, 2 words" technique is the radio equivalent of the "storyboard" that a film director uses to lay out each shot of the movie in advance. IN radio, this way of laying out a break keeps you CONCISE. (Always a good thing.)