Who Are Ya ??

I spend a lot of my time explaining to programmers what it is I do exactly.
"So you aircheck..." Well, yes. Yes  do...but not the way a PD does.
"So you train..." Yes, I do. If the person needs 'training'.
"So you teach..." There's an element of teaching alright, but not always.
"So...what is it you do??".

Can't blame them really. There's no actual, written in stone, description for what a Radio Presenter Coach does.
Some people need motivation, others don't. Some want technical guidance, others don't. One presenter may just need a confidence boost, others need to face their reality.
There's no One-Size-Fits-All method to coaching and that's tough for a programmer to nail down.
Presenters get it. They 'get it' because once we start our work together, they realise the process is aimed exclusively at them. No one else.

Swansea City coach Bob Bradley arrived at the Premier league club recently to howls of protest. He's American , you see...and the pundits demanded to know what a Yank could teach them about football.
Turns out he brought one valuable lesson they hadn't expected. When asked his main strength, he said "I know who I am".
In other words, whatever criticism is levelled at him or how many times he hears comments questioning his abiities, he can deal with them because he knows his strengths and weaknesses. He knows how to be the best he can be. He knows what will work for hm and his players and he passes that onto them.

If I had to sum up what a Radio Presenter Coach does, it's just that - helping presenters find out who they are, so they can use that on air. That helps the radio station sound confident, solid and in control wheteher it be CHR, Talk, AC...
What programmer wouldn't want that?

Thanks for asking :)  

Nobody Was Fired!

Nobody got fired!

Everyone kept their job!

Result!!

Last week, I encouraged some presenters I coach to do just 'one thing' different in their show. More if they want, but at least one thing. 

Something new, something original, something only they can do.

It's not as easy as it sounds. 

BUT - it is possible (as Broadway Bill at CBS-FM told us) "if you feel you can do it".

Getting to that stage requires work and time...once you ht that mark though, you just know you can try something new.

* One presenter developed a theme...he threw out a topic and ran with it for an hour. First time he ever tried something like that on air.

* The second presenter attempted a live call; not a pre-record. He said he was nervous in case it didn't work and he wouldn't know how to get out of it, but felt he was ready. It did work.

* The third presenter dropped the music BEDS she usually uses for her CHR-style delivery once an hour and stretched her dry read a little longer than usual. She said it sounded odd at first "just me and the silence", but (again) it worked on air.

My point?

Each presenter was looking for a way to stretch their talent. They each wanted to be 'more' on air. In order to do that, they needed to try something they had never done before. 

Part of the fear was related to rocking the boat...not upsetting the PD. We all prefer not to get the PD's attention at times like that. 

However, you have to stretch. You have to learn what you are capable of. These are tiny steps but they lead to much bigger and far reaching steps in the future.

Try something. Anything (if you feel you can do it).

These three did and they're back in work behind the mic again today :)

Got Nothing.

I hit a bit of a roadblock today.
There were three blog post ideas bumping into eachther inside my head but none of them fully formed.
So, I grabbed a pencil and piece of paper and tried to work through the thoughts. A note here, a line there.
Nope. Nothing.
Basically, I was trying to force the issue...or 'Trying Too hard'.

Have you ever had one of those days on air when your brain seems to have decided to take the day off (rhetorical question)? When the ideas have gone on holiday and your usual spark has decided to have a lie in (lots of visuals there!).
The usual response is to try harder. Force the issue. Work at it.

Sometimes it's OK to just relax and let the format do the work for you. That's what it's there for. It's alright to not always be absolutely amazing and award winning on air every day.
The 'Try Too Hard' approach can make your listener feel uncomfortable because your pace and tone and delivery all change when you try too hard, so you no longer sound like 'you'. Your pace quickens and voice raises in pitch - which is exactly what it does when you are in panic mode. Your listener is a human being (usually) and human beings are hard wired to notice these changes and to react. Panic means out of control and needy...two traits the listener is NOT looking for!

You don't need to force a conversation with great friends...that's why silence was invented!
Take a deep breath, take the pressure to perform off your shoulders, don't think about what you feel is expected of you and allow yourself some space. Then, you gradually find your way again. Listeners won't miss what you haven't done.

See? - I just wrote a blog post about nothing!

How to be Average and Mediocre.

I'm a big fan of marketing writer and thinker Seth Godin.

What he writes about 'average' and 'mediocre' can easily be used to debate radio.

If you're spending the money and taking the financial risk - average makes sense. Average output is what you want. It builds reliabiity and predictability. An average product for an average market - so you hear the same songs and similar promotions on different stations, with presenters pretty much saying what they said yesterday. 

Nice and safe. 

But (he says), for groups - average can mean mediocre. Not worth seeking out. Boring. And remember, your listeer listens in groups of one.

Average stuff is fine for a while. It's taken for granted, not talked about. 

It's fine...until something new and above average shows up. 

As a presenter, you generally have very little control over station output...music, promos etc. What you DO have control over is what comes out of your mouth.

It can be average = mediocre = taken for granted.

Or you can try something.

I'm not saying you need to go out and break format and shock jock the life out of your listener...but try something that's not average. Try raise your game. Mediocrity is not why you are on air. Be great at what you do. Be above average every day.

Life's too short to be average at something you love. 

Got Prep?

There are lots of Prep services out there...you may have tried a few. You may have tried them all!!

Sometimes the radio station you work for has a station subscription but if not, it can be an idea to take a look around and see what's available.

Some of the BIG sites such as Radio-Online or Complete Sheet offer free trials. In the UK, Francis Currie's Radio Warfare is worth the £1 for one week trial period.

I have been in touch with the creator of Pepper Prep recently. It's well worth a look.

It's designed so that everyone can afford it. The owner has added a 'Pay per Day' option because (as she says) she is "well aware that some individuals only need to buy prep a few times a month". 

Very true. You don't always need lots of prep every day. Sometimes your life gives you enough :)

The service has been around for a couple of years, so it has legs now. It's based in Canada but can easily be used by presenters/podcasters/internet radio stations anywhere.

This is NOT an ad for PepperPrep...I'm just passing on a nice find. 

Oh and last of all -  The referral program is quite simple for subscribers. For every person you refer that subscribes, you get two weeks added to your subscription.

Your call : http://www.pepperprep.com/

What Laurie Anderson taught me about radio.

I recently bought tickets to go see Laurie Anderson in concert. That Laurie Anderson...the 'O Superman' woman. I'm a huge fan (personal musical taste there mayte!)
In an interview a few years back she was asked to describe what she does. She said, "I'm a multi-media artist".
The interviewer asked her what that means...she said "I don't know...but it gives you something to write ".

Her point was - she likes to sing. She also likes to speak, she enjoys writing poems and long essays, she creates video and audio, she dances and sits, she conducts and plays, she plays a violin and electronic keyboard, she uses on stage visuals and darkness. She does LOTS of stuff on stage...each one with it's own description. Each one with it's own relevance at that time. So, 'What do you do?' is an impossible question to answer.

It's the same with you. A 'Radio Presenter' is a talker, laugher, provoker, teaser, messer, information giver, surpriser, emotion bringer, story teller, antagonist, musicologist, agony aunt, debater, friend, annoyance, creator, innovator....

You get the idea.
Yes, you are a 'Radio Presenter'...but don't let the label hold you back from being whatever that means to you at any point in time.

You can be that 'O Superman'...or 'woman' :)

Why you can NEVER 'Be Yourself' on air.

Have you ever been told 'Be yourself' on the radio?
Good advice...if you know yourself inside out - which most people don't.

I prefer - 'Find the part of you that you want to present on the radio and be THAT'.

Let's say your name is John. John at work is different to John at home or John at a party or John alone. Same person, different interpretations. It depends on where you are and who you are with. Radio is just an extension of that.

'Be yourself' is too vague.

Think of the superstar presenters - Stern, Moyles, the late Gerry Ryan in Ireland.

Each one has/had ONE particular charaacteristic that they became known for. Think of Stern and you know exctly what to expect...the same for the others.
They take that one trait and expand upon it; but that one trait is their foundation. They build the other rooms and floors on top of that.

The listener needs to know what they are listening for. Then you can begin the process of building around that.

 If Chris Moyles jokes for 3 hours on air and then wants to be serious for 20 minutes, we accept it - because he built his foundations strongly.

To have any chance at success though, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Questions only YOU can answer.
What are your values and beliefs? What motivates you, gets you passionate, angry, sad? What do you find funny, tragic? What will you say/won't you say on air...?

And on and on.

If you don't know who you are then how can the listener be expected to know who you are?
It's impossible to communicate your message effectively without doing this. Impossible!

Imagine all of these other presenters trying so hard to be something on air - and they don't know what that something is. So they use crutches and clichés and "Hey how are ya" because they don't know.
And that sounds super unnatural (because it is) and that's what turns listeners away. It's not just the cheesy lines, it's the unconscious feeling of not knowing who that person is. This person on the radio seems odd because nobody they know speaks like that.

So...who are you?