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Dear Radio Fanatic,
It's good to know that our talent development sessions are helping radio personalities get better and enjoy their airwork more. The thing is, I always learn from the sessions, too ... and I'm excited to be able to pass along those learnings to you.
Our March teleseminar was a great learning experience, too; our guest, "Jock Doc" Jay Trachman, talked about his "one-to-one" philosophy and what it takes to connect with the listener.
More teleseminars are on the way; check in at www.killerjock.com/teleseminars.htm in the coming weeks for details.
Audio from past teleseminars are available at www.killerjock.com/teleseminars.
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Thanks for reading,
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Every athlete knows that it takes a lot of practice to get good at your sport ... and it's the same with air work. To improve on the air, often you have to do some exercises off the air.
In our next article, below I'll describe one such exercise, and in the following article as well - and other articles and in our aircheck sessions, other exercises will come up ... so it's important to understand how to approach them.
You never want to attempt to do on the air an exercise designed to be done off the air. The exercises address skills and habits you're trying to acquire or perfect; they often involve contortions and exaggerations that sound awful, but they're supposed to; often that's what it takes to break a habit or correct a flaw.
Also, when you're on the air you want to keep your attention on just one thing (by now you should know what - or should I say who - I'm talking about); if you're trying to deal with a bunch of other things it will throw you off.
The point of doing a particular exercise is to internalize the principle involved, not to have to think about it. This only happens over time, with repetition. So set aside a half hour or more every day to practice; the more time, the faster you'll master the skill. [TOP]
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR FREE AIRCHECK REVIEW? It's a funny thing ... everybody who's had a session with me has received benefits they've been able to use right away, and many of them elect to continue with more. So why haven't you taken advantage of my offer? I'll give you a free session, no strings attached - no pressure. If you don't want to do any more sessions, that's fine. But if you do, additional sessions are just $30. You can even use National Voice Exchange credits instead of cash: each session is one credit. Let's give it a try! You have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. Contact me today via e-mail, or call 949-533-4912.
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Let's face it, written scripts are a part of on-air life. Every hour, you're doing liners, promos, weather, maybe live spots, etc. How do you keep all that stuff from getting in the way of relating to your listener?
A better question: How do you use all that stuff as a way of relating to your listener?
The answer: You don't read the script ... you tell the story instead.
To be comfortable in the telling, we have to break the reading habit. Here's a good exercise for this, when you're not on the air (see the preceding article):
- Take a short (10-15-second) news story, promo, PSA, whatever; read it over a couple of times so you understand it.
- Put the script aside. Take a moment to envision your ideal listener - I like Jay Trachman's expression, "Personal Listener" - and tell your listener the information in the script. (Some of you like to practice with a real person - a friend or relative.)
Do this exercise regularly every day and you will see improvement in your ability to work without a net. Gradually increase the length of your script, and reduce the length of time you look over your script before telling the story.
When you feel you're ready, start applying this principle on the air. When you first do this, it'll feel uncomfortable, and frankly, your air work may suffer for a couple of days. That's normal, so don't let it get you down; when you become more confident, you'll sound better, more natural, more conversational than ever.
For more ways to personalize your performance, see our February Radio Voices at http://www.killerjock.com/newsletter-archives.htm. [TOP]
Do you find yourself rushing through some of your breaks ... and/or overemphasizing the wrong words and phrases ... sand/or peaking too softly ... and/or talking in a spurt/stop rhythm?
No matter what issue or combination of issues you have, there are things you can do - again, using off-air exercises - to smooth out your delivery.
Rushing
Rushing through a break or part of a break is usually caused by wanting to get past something you've done a million times before - a promo, the weather, a liner, etc. So the first point is, remember that you're telling your listener something; focus on the listener, relax and talk.
If you have a habit of talking too fast in general, try this exercise:
Grab a piece of copy - magazine, paper, cereal box, anything - go off by yourself and read aloud ... but as you do, make it sound like a tape running at half-speed. Dddddrrrrraaaaawwwww ooooouuuuuttttt each word, exaggerating your mouth movements as you read.
Do this for 15-30 minutes every day. But don't think about it when you go on the air. Over time, your on-air delivery will mellow out naturally.
Speaking Softly
This is usually from a natural shyness. We'll use an exercise to address the delivery, and over time, the improvement in delivery will lessen the shyness.
Here's the exercise:
As before, grab a piece of copy, go off by yourself and read aloud ... but this time, read LOUDLY - as loudly as you can - and quickly, also exaggerating your mouth movements as you read. Your voice should come from your gut; deepen it to a growl.
Do this for 15-30 minutes every day, leaving it outside the studio door. Over time, your on-air delivery will be more assertive and confident - and so will you.
Uneven Delivery
To smooth out your delivery, read aloud as quickly as you can, exaggerating your mouth movements as you read. Don't worry about stumbles and mistakes - just keep going. As you do this more and more, notice where your eyes are on the page; over time, read ahead more and more. This gives your brain extra time to process the text.
This drill is good for stamina and for thinking ahead. Do this off the air and you'll be smoother on the air.
Remember, the more time and attention you invest in practice off the air, the better you'll be on the air. Even if you don't have any of the challenges we covered, devote some time to reading aloud - normal pace, normal voice - and you'll sound more confident and make fewer mistakes.
If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know! [TOP]
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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.