CCM Tip #88 – What To Do When You Can’t Say Something “Meaningful”

Recently in a coaching session, the air talent complained about how many ultrashort song intros we seem to have, and asked whether she should try and rush something meaningful into a very small space.

Well first of all, intro times, like lengths of songs or whether they have “cold” endings, tend to be cyclical. (Although we’re now being told that to make up for PPM’s “ear blindness” to some frequencies, songs SHOULD have extremely short intros and end “cold”. This, of course is ridiculous, like telling Van Gogh that his paintings need to be larger, or that they “need more blue.”)

Anyway, here’s what I told her:

No, do not try to cram some “meaningful” thought into too short of an intro. The message won’t come across like you intend it to, and you’ll sound out of sync with the song.

Instead, when you can’t say something meaningFUL, say something MEANINGFULLY.

“89.3 KTRY…Casting…Crowns” – for example. We have a habit of tossing our artists’ names out like everyone knows them and understands them. But of course, in a format with music that tends to be unfamiliar to any new ears (and even to some of our frequent listeners), that’s kind of an oversight. So simply saying the group’s name like I illustrated above, allows you to not only inflect it in a way that might sink in better, but you also sound like you’re actually LISTENING to the song, and have an emotional investment in it.

You can even just say ONLY the name of the station over a very short intro (“89.7……KTRY”) like it actually MATTERS.

This is all part of really mastering your vocal instrument, and will make you much better as a voice actor, not just a voice. But the main thing is that it’s non-invasive in a very good way, because you have a chance to say something with Emotion.

Tommy Kramer
Radio Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)