I’ve been there so I know how monotonous it can easily get when you do the same shift on the same station day after day for years. Talking into and out of many of the same tunes thousands of times, doing the same sponsored benchmarks, promoting the same annual events, mentioning the same traffic trouble spots and weather that’s exactly what it should be for that season of the year. It’s understandable why many radio on-air talent can start to sound like they’re going through the motions. But, nobody wants to listen to someone who comes across as bored doing what they perceive to be a dream job. So, here are some things we can all do to keep from falling into that low energy on-air trap.
Remember that anytime we talk on the air it’s the first time someone is hearing us and our radio station. Sounds simple, but it’s an easy lesson to forget when we are holed up in a studio every day and unable to see whose on the other end of that speaker. Where I live in DFW about 340 new residents are added every day. Obviously that number is not as high in smaller markets but it’s usually not zero. There are also life changes affecting existing residents that might shift their listening habits causing them to land on a new show. As well as long-time residents who stumble on the station for the first time thanks to a new promotion or some clever outside marketing. So, its good to always treat every talk break like someone is hearing us for the first time, because statistically that’s very likely.
When we’re repeating something multiple times in a shift it may be repetitious to us but not to most listeners. While there certainly are diehard P1s that tune in for hours on end, they are few and far between. According to research, the average radio listening occasion in the US lasts about 9 to 10 minutes across all formats and markets. So, during a four-hour on-air shift our audience is turning over roughly 24 times.
My first few years behind a microphone my original radio mentor, my father, used to tell me there’s never a bad day on the radio. He told me this quite often because my natural state is to be sarcastic and self-deprecating so, if I’m not careful, I can come across as pretty negative on the air. That’s fine in small doses, if it’s funny. But, what I learned over the years working with some truly incredible on-air talent is that our job is to host a party people actually want to attend.
It doesn’t have to be fake either. Positivity doesn’t have to be manufactured and put-on, it can come from a passion for what we’re doing, the music we’re playing, the community that we’re proud to live in or just the fact that we’re lucky enough to do something that only a handful of people get to do. Talk into a mic and share our words with the masses.
That’s one of the main reasons I’ve shifted my approach to coaching on-air talent over the years. While I still point out a couple things that need work, after patting them on the back for some things they’re doing right, my main focus in aircheck sessions is to encourage them to enjoy the process of creating great radio and motivate them to bring the energy to every single shift and never take a break for granted.
What do you think? How do you encourage yourself to bring the energy on-air on days where that’s not so easy? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.
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Andy Meadows is the Chief Editor of Radio Update and the founder, CEO and lead consultant at Radio Station Consultant. He’s also the host of the weekly Radio Influencers podcast series for Radio Update.