CCM Coaching Tip #29: Back to Basics

by Tommy Kramer, KramerMedia.net

This is the time of year when I like to go back to basics with everyone I coach, because with the holidays coming up, you should want your techniques, your mechanics, and your mindset to be so well grounded that all you have to do is focus on Content.

So, here are some of my "tune up" basics...

1. Tighten up your board work to be slick and smooth. Not too anxious, not "asleep at the wheel." FEEL the music, match its tempo and emotional vibe, and come in at just the right time. We hear WAY too many people "jump the gun" and come in too early on the end of a song (especially on a "cold ending" song, which drives the listener crazy), or do the opposite, come in too late, which just sounds lazy. Every song has a "last, logical point" where you should come in and talk, or hit the next element. Learn them.
2. If you're in a team show or have a guest on, never forget the power of a simple hand signal, so your timing is crisp, but not rushed.
3. NO surfing the internet, checking your social media, texting people, checking your email, etc. AT ALL while you're on the air. The time for that stuff is before or after the show, not during it. I didn't see anybody in the World Series pull his phone out and check his Facebook page in the batter's box. Be pros.
   If you need to find a name or something, okay, that's what the internet is for. But then let go of it.
   One of the saddest things I can see is when an air talent (or members of a team show) will just be sitting there staring at their phones or computer screens, instead of getting your thoughts together for the next break. Great air talents are 'present' in every moment, on or off the air.
4. Vary things; strip away habits. Your only rule should be to say the name of the station first, so the listener already has in her head WHERE she heard whatever follows. EVERYTHING else should vary.
5. And most importantly, connect your Content to the LISTENER's life, and do it as soon as possible in a break.