The Future of Callout COMMIT TO A WEEKLY MEETING MAKE IMAGING THE SHOW A PRIORITY GET THE MOST OUT OF TALENT CREATE MORE ANTICIPATION FOR CONTENT

COMMIT TO A WEEKLY MEETING

Everyone connected to the show should attend a weekly planning & brainstorming meeting using 100% of the available, creative brainpower at your station. Make everyone responsible for "at least" one idea from the following suggested categories: · Phone topics · Personal experience stories · Feature/game audience interactive · Guests/interviews · Production piece (song parody, etc.) · Promotion/stunt idea · Continuing story line Also, get out of the station once a quarter for a half day brainstorming session to plan for upcoming rating periods. Visit Randy Lane website »

MAKE IMAGING THE SHOW A PRIORITY

Great imaging speeds up the process of getting an audience familiar with the show. It also exposes it to many more potential listeners. Keep in mind that many people listen to the station but may not listen in the mornings. Remember the value of buying a commercial schedule on your own station! If you run a promo ten times per day (including during the show), that's over 3,000 times a year. If a 30 second commercial sells for about $1000, that means you're getting the same advertising that costs a major advertiser $3 million a year. That said, you want the promos to sound exceptionally good! Pinnacle Media Worldwide »

GET THE MOST OUT OF TALENT

Many programmers and managers in general, when given the mandate to take charge, go overboard and try to control others by telling them what to do. "Telling" or "dictating" only gives you the feeling of being in control. A dictator usually upsets and demoralizes the staff. Talent will be subservient in your presence but behave differently behind your back with resentment and poor performance. Recall is also better for those who are not just told, but are shown and then able to experience.If you are just "told" something, then recall after 3 months is only about 10%. If you are "told" and "shown" then recall is rises to 32%. If you are "told", "shown" and "experience" something then it increases to about 65%. Begin using broad questions and then, increasingly focus on detail. Use "what", "when", "who", "how much", and "how many". One question that rarely fails to contribute value is, "What action have you taken on this so far?"... followed by, "what were the effects of that action?" A good coach plays the, "what if game..." For example: "What if you had a large enough budget? What if you had a producer...two producers? What if you had a delay or a better phone system?" Another good way to explore options is to continually ask, "what else"? Click here to Email Randy Lane »

CREATE MORE ANTICIPATION FOR CONTENT

There are two types of teasing: "Vertical" teases up and down the hour within the same show. "Horizontal" teases across one day to another with a cliffhanger. Horizontal recycling is more difficult to do but the benefits of doing it are potentially, greater! You can often stretch time spent listening an extra 15 minutes in the same day, so it can merit the extra time needed to make it happen. Add a column to the show's content schedule that includes a "coming up in the next couple of days". Horizontal sells should be longer and more exaggerated than vertical sells. It is not too much to spend 3 minutes selling something that is going to happen at the same hour later in the week/next day. Stage it with "I can't believe we got this", "I'm more excited about than anything else in my radio career". Try to leave the audience with "cliffhangers" or other content that will be resolved on the following day, at the same time. An example of a cliffhanger would be if the female show player thought she was pregnant. The cliffhanger would be, "She's going for the test today, we'll have the results tomorrow at this same time, I promise." Use the "80/20 Rule": Always leave the listener wanting to know more. Give them 80% of the story and leave out the resolution to drive them crazy so they have to keep listening for what you tease. Finally, suggest the talent take an improvisation class. Why? Most morning and breakfast shows are doing improvisation. What they must practice is the ability to take something small and expand and build on it, which is the essence of improv. Taking an improv class will 1) Teach talent how to build and expand the content and conversations. 2) Sharpen listening skills. 3) Build confidence. 4) Get the creative juices flowing. 5) Improve team rapport and bantering skills, and teach your talent to contribute unselfishly for the team. Visit Randy Lane Website »