A Checklist for CCM Stations

Since this is the last tip for Contemporary Christian Music stations that I’ll be writing for All Access, the idea here is to be encouraging, and to help you get to the next level where your air talent is concerned.

Many Contemporary Christian stations sound very good right now, but there are still too many that haven’t found that ‘magic ingredient’ yet. I’ve been fortunate to work with just about every mega-successful CCM station over the past 28 years, so let me share with you some of my core principles that we work on…

First of all, remember that listeners FEEL more than they hear. There are so many distractions these days, all at once: driving, cell phones, the radio’s on, the kids in the back seat are yacking away, was that a sheep I just hit, or a small man in a sheepskin jacket? (Thank you for that image, George Carlin.)

These things make the difference:

1. You are, to some degree, a voice actor.
   
   A slight pause before making a point (or revealing something) – rather than racing along through a break – will make it stand out.
   
   Matching the tempo and/or the “vibe” of a song makes you a part OF the music, rather than an interruption to it.
2. Content.
   
   Content should always – always – be about what you and the listener have in common. Does she care? Having a “mild interest” in something is not the same as when it really matters to her.
   
   Start with the Listener first, or start with the Subject first, THEN add you. Not the other way around. If you start by talking about yourself first all the time, that will work against you.
   
   And remember that the EMOTION at the core of a subject is what you want to key on. It’ll shape your vocabulary and your delivery.
3. Camera Angles.
   
   I’ve been coaching this concept since the early 1990s. If you place yourself in someone else’s shoes, you see the story in a different way. It’s about you if your baby’s having a tantrum as you try to order your morning coffee in the drive-through at Starbuck’s. But if you tell it from the perspective of the employee trying to take your order while your baby’s having a tantrum, it’s a different story.

I hope these points help you become better and more focused. God bless you all for giving my articles some of your time. Find hundreds more coaching tips at my website, kramermedia.net.