CCM Coaching Tip #44: Staying Curious

by Tommy Kramer, KramerMedia.net

Our format is more than just our faith and stories about our kids. But you'd never know it from listening to the Content of a lot of CCM stations. We get so focused on the "mom with 2 kids" listener profile that it's easy to have blinders on when it comes to other forms of Content.

Here's an example of something I talked about with a morning show in Texas the week that the NBA Finals ended. The day after the final game, they hadn't mentioned it on their show at all, not even as a News item. The reason, of course, is that the station's listener profile assumes that women don't care about Sports.

But first of all, it was front-page news that at least deserved a mention. Plus, what mom wouldn't want her kid to be as successful as Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors? MVP of the NBA Finals, his first championship. And if you saw the postgame interview with him, you saw HIS mom pull him toward her, and say "You did it!" as she kissed him on the cheek - a beautiful moment that any parent can identify with.

It only took two minutes on Wikipedia to find this:

"Durant describes himself as a 'high school kid' and enjoys playing video games in his spare time.He is very close with his mother, Wanda, a relationship that was detailed in the Lifetime movieThe Real MVP: The Wanda Pratt Story.A Christian, Durant goes to chapel before every game and has religious tattoos on his stomach,wrist,and back."

"What's on your radar screen" is pretty much the starting point for every great talent. Staying CURIOUS is often what makes something work. And it saves us hearing about the "cute" thing your 3-year old did that MY mom would have spanked me for.

Now I'm certainly not saying that you shouldn't talk about your kids. But if that's pretty much all you do, you're missing other opportunities to bond with the listener in different ways.