Dear Radio Fanatic,

Welcome to the first issue of a new publication to help radio air personalities grow, published by a guy who's spent a lifetime in radio, all over the country, in all positions, all size markets, all formats. For "Version 2.0" of my consulting practice, I am working directly with jocks to help them achieve their on-air and career goals. More about me

In addition to RADIO VOICES, we have two other good resources: our web site, www.killerjock.com, and our blog, www.jay-mitchell.blogspot.com.

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Thanks for reading, 

 

I recently read some advice to jocks from another programmer - the usual stuff like, "Don't say 'outside' when giving the temperature" ... "Don't say 'right now' when giving the time" ... and so on.

Okay, being economical with your words is important ... just not as important as connecting with your listener.

Sometimes we become so focused on the mechanics - what to say, what not to say, when to say it - that we lose our focus on the listener.

When you're just starting out on the air, it's important to learn the rules of the craft. But eventually you have to transcend those rules and become a real person on the radio. That's what listeners respond to: a real person, having fun, talking one-on-one to them. A jock who is expert at mechanics - following all the rules - can easily confuse perfection with connection.

When you listen to yourself (see our next article, below), you'll hear what I mean. The tight, controlled jock can sound cold and distant; the sloppy jock can sound like a good friend.

The ideal is to be controlled and friendly. This requires learning the rules ... assimilating the rules - making them second nature ... and forgetting the rules - trusting that assimilation to keep you on track while you give 100% on your attention to the listener. TOP

FREE TELESEMINAR!

Join me for an hour chock full of performance guidance that you can use the very next day!

DATE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2008

TIME:

• 8:30 PM EASTERN
• 7:30 PM CENTRAL
• 6:30 PM MOUNTAIN
• 5:30 PM PACIFIC
• 1:30 AM GMT (FRIDAY, JANUARY 4)

To register, visit www.killerjock.com/register. Act now - attendance is limited.

The Best Aircheck

We all know we should be listening to ourselves to get better, but the experience is often unsatisfying; we don't learn anything that will help.

Mostly that's because we listen to an aircheck too soon; when we do, we are still listening from the inside - we remember doing the show and how we felt doing it, not how the listener heard it.

I've found it takes about 10 days to forget the inner experience, so you can listen objectively. But you should be listening every day ... so here's what you do:

1. First, resolve not to listen for ten days.
2. Whether you create MP3 files, burn CDs or kick it old-school with cassettes, make an aircheck every day until you have ten days' worth stockpiled.
3. After ten days, begin listening to the airchecks in sequence, so you're always listening to a ten-day-old show.

When you do airchecking this way, you'll notice that your  "outside-in" impression of a show is 180 degrees different from how you felt about it when you did it. A show that seemed tight and good at the time can sound mechanical later ... and a show that seemed sloppy and full of mistakes can sound loose and fun later.

When you listen consistently in this way, soon you'll be able to feel how the show will sound to you later - which is likely how the listener hears it as you do it - and adjust your performance and outlook accordingly ... coming closer to being consistently the jock you want to be. TOP

THE BEST TALENT SESSION YOU'VE EVER HAD - GUARANTEED!

This is not your typical "do this"/"don't do that" approach! I help you dig deep, get a lot better on the air, and have a lot more fun.

Schedule your one-hour session today. The process is enjoyable, and if you don't think it helped you, you don't pay.

To find out more, e-mail me today!

Life Beyond Radio

Radio is our life. But if radio is the only thing in our life, our air work will suffer.   The horrible truth is, most of our listeners don't care about radio - no matter how hard we try to get them to. So for us to connect with them, we have to know what they do care about.

This may seem elementary, but it's pretty common to hear otherwise very good jocks talking at the listener, with no real connection.

This is a real danger at two points in your career:

• When you're starting out, when it's likely that you're younger, poorer and less married than your audience
• When you hit it big, when you're making more money and living better than your audience.

Even if you're in a format where you match the target demo, let's face it, jocks are different! You have to work at relating to your listener.

Check yourself on these points to get closer to your audience:

1. GO WHERE THEY GO. If your station plays New Rock, go to concerts, clubs and raves. If you're an AC station, go to sports and other family events ... and maybe a John Mayer concert.
2. LISTEN TO THEM. While you're hanging out with your listeners, listen to them. What are they talking about? What are they passionate about? What words and phrases are they using?
3. TALK TO THEM. Whether it's family gatherings or social settings, get in there and have conversations. Ask good questions ... and shut up. Let them talk.
4. READ WHAT THEY READ; WATCH WHAT THEY WATCH. You can find out the most popular magazines, books, TV shows, movies and web sites by listening and talking to your listeners, as above; and by researching demographic information.
5. GET INVOLVED! I've saved the best for last. Nothing can get you up to speed faster than volunteering. You'll find out more about your listeners by working side by side with them ... and you'll find out more about your community, too! TOP

RADIO VOICES is a free monthly service of Jay Mitchell & KillerJock.com, dedicated to the betterment of radio air talent. Copyright © 2008 Jay Mitchell Associates, Inc. Permission to redistribute all or part of this document, with credit to "Jay Mitchell, www.killerjock.com," is hereby granted.