- Read more—all kinds of publications and online media.
Talk to people you’ve never talked to about topics you’ve never discussed.
- Carry a notepad or recording device with you at all times (smart phone). Note everything that makes you stop and think or feel or wonder. Write it down immediately; judge it later. Don’t decide not to write down the idea because you can’t immediately figure out how you’d be able to use it. If later in the week, when you review a particular note, you can’t think of a way to use it in your show, you can cross it out.
- Become a Personality Detective: At every incident you encounter, ask yourself, “How can I use this for my radio show?”
- Question every Radio Rule you’ve ever been exposed to. I didn’t say “throw out” or “ignore,” but do question. And maybe end up throwing out or ignoring a couple.
- Stop doing things on your show that you do only because you’ve always done them. Is there still a reason to do a particular feature? If not…Why are you still doing it? Inertia is a leading killer of radio programs.
- Whenever you speak into the microphone, ask yourself, “Would I be interested in what I’m saying, in the way I’m saying it?” If you’re bored, odds are your listeners are, too.
Whenever you speak into the microphone, ask yourself, “Why should my listeners care?” Can’t think of a reason? Change either the message or the way you’re delivering it.
- Don’t think about your voice unless you’re still in your first three months on the radio. It’s the content that matters.
- Respect your listener. If you think of your listeners as idiots and your job is to talk to them daily, that doesn’t really say much about your career.
- Care about your listener. It’s easier to connect to people you care about.
- Remember that you always sound happy. If you’re not getting rich in radio, at least have fun.
Pic AI generated by Envato Elements.
John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming consulting firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. Did you find this article useful? You can leave a comment below or email John at John@Lundradio.com.