Prom is a magical time in a student’s life. There are so many things to think about and prepare for.

Here's a source of trouble...starting a workout program with your significant other...

Start by realizing that your content choices are marketing decisions.  Everything on the air affects your brand, your image, your equity with listeners.  When we think about improving stations, we usually think about adding new features.  That’s backwards.   Spring Cleaning starts with getting rid of anything that isn’t premium A-List material.  In order for new ideas to emerge, old ideas have to fall.  New technology replaces old.  This means that you may be getting rid of things you love, but are no longer effective.

Organization experts teach you to put everything in one of three piles:  Definitely Keep, Trash, and Donate.  Our version is:  Keep it, Dump it or Repurpose it.   Be brutally honest.  Is it worthwhile?  is it worth being on the air?  Keep the things that work.  Eliminate forever those that don’t.  If you’re not sure, find another way to do things.  Don’t allow “let’s think about it”.  Force a decision.  Make a commitment.  Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.  Decisions are progress, and force you out of your “rut”.

When evaluating your show, follow these guidelines:

1)  Everything boring gets dumped.
2)  Everything average gets DUMPED or CHANGED.
3)  Everything we’re not sure about gets dumped until we are.

As you eliminate features, you’re going to feel vulnerable.   Your “go to”  features are disappearing.  Lots of things are cut, and as a result get better.  Artists cut out songs to make a better album.  Film Makers edit great scenes to make a better movie.  I edited my book Morning Radio Revisited by more than 50%…and it was better.  There are more works of art in storage at the Louvre than are on display.  Disneyland stays fresh and relevant because they retire the “worst ride” on a regular basis, regardless if it’s still popular with some of the guests.

In many cases, you don’t need to find new content.  It’s addition by subtraction.  Your show gets better with less clutter.  Focusing more of your time, attention and creativity on fewer elements allows you to develop each piece of content more deeply, execute it with more precision and increase the chances that it resonates with listeners.

Once you eliminate, rebuild your content with “new”.  This is a fun, creative process that challenges  and re-energizes your show.  It also shakes you out of your “comfort zone”.  Your energy level will naturally increase because you will be more alert.  You can’t just “go through the motions”.

Let me know if you’d like some help!  I’m a good “cleaner”.

We use cellphones every day. But for a growing number of people, staying connected is an obsession.
According to a study by SecurEnvoy, a company that deals in mobile phone technology, the fear of being apart from your cellphone is on the rise.

there's so many people texting while walking and getting injured in London, that they padded the street signs...

With time away she has a new perspective, and sees radio through a new “frame”.  In her email, she commented about how much has changed in radio, and yet in many ways, it hasn’t changed at all.  I agree.  But what I really loved is the following comments from her note to me:

“I am absolutely loving being back on the air. It is funny how different my perspective is now. I empathize and sympathize so much more with the poor bastards who have real jobs and are miserably driving to and from work — I truly get that radio needs to be their outlet and release, and being boring and serious is doing them a disservice. Plus, my newfound appreciation for having a job I love with a fantastic creative outlet motivates me to work so much harder at being fresh and topical. And, oddly enough, the 10 years of law practice has somehow allowed me to look at the overall business picture in different and more sophisticated way — hard to explain, but I think it is a good thing.”

If you – or someone you know – is looking for a terrific air talent, intelligent, and with perspective, let me know.  She’s available now.  Oh, and it can’t hurt that she can help you with legal advice : ).

There are five steps:

1)  Hook.  A magazine attracts attention to their story by the headline.  Your hook serves the same function.  This is where you seek to capture their interest, and you have to make in personal (for them), relevant and fast.  There’s  no time to waste.  You have 6-8 seconds to get the hook in and lure them deeper into your contest.  The hook should rarely be about you, but rather to set up your story that supports the hook.

2)  Set Up. In the magazine metaphor, the set up is the first paragraph.  It’s designed to pull you into the rest of the article.  Your set up should be quick and to the point, the first step toward the Payoff.  This is where you develop the topic so they understand where the segment is going.  What drama will you create? Why is it important?   How can you set it up in one line?  One phrase?   Once they’re hooked, give them enough detail to hold the interest.  In some cases, such as the Jeff & Jer segment below, your personal story can serve as the setup, particularly if you are inviting listener participation.
3)  Dress Up.  In this step, you accelerate toward payoff.  How will you embellish, exaggerate, provide detail and color?   How does every piece take the audience toward the payoff?   This is usually where your personal story could be used.   If it’s a phone topic, and your story was parts of the set up, this is where listener interaction comes into play.

4) Payoff.  The most critical element of the process is having an exit.  What’s the outcome?  The end of the story?  What is your out?  Some bits don’t have a natural punchline, but rather depend on the talent’s ability to know when a peak has been reached and getting out quickly.

5)  Black Out.  Once it’s over, it’s over.  Many great breaks are ruined going for one more punchline, one more joke, one more phone call, one more payoff.  Find your exit and take it.

More often than not, personalities start with their story and as a result, they fail to hook the audience.  A great topic falls flat because they haven’t made it relevant through the listener filter.

Here’s an excellent example of great bit construction from Jeff & Jer, currently the morning show on KYXY/San Diego.  Jeff hooks the audience in the first line of the break.  He then tells a couple of anecdotes from his personal life as the set up.  Listeners contribute their stories, taking them even further (dress up) and they leave the listener wanting more by knowing “when to say when”.

A Wisconsin man was hospitalized Tuesday after he leaped in front of his estranged wife’s Dodge Durango in an attempt to prevent her from voting for a candidate other than Gov. Scott Walker.