Remembering the Great Dan Daniel: Six Principles Behind the Success of One of America's Premiere Air Talents

Dan Daniel was one of the great air talents in America, being a standout in New York City for 42-plus years before he passed last week all too soon at 81.

With minor edits, this is a piece I wrote at the end of 2002 when, while still at the top of his game, “Dandy Dan” chose to retire from doing a daily show. At the time I wanted to share some of what I believed to be pillars of success of one of America’s best talents.  Now I’d like to share them again as part of Dan’s legacy: a gift to everyone who puts their heart into their work every day – because that’s what Dan did.

Thanks, Dan for the joy you gave us through the years on the air... and off the air for the priceless gift of friendship.

Miss you, “Trip.”

_____________________________________________________

For 42 years he'd been "king of the hill, top of the heap, a-number one" in New York, New York. 

WCBS-FM midday host Dan Daniel (5th from left), one of America's greatest talents and a fixture in New York City radio for 42 years, chose to relinquish his daily show Tuesday while still at the top of his game.

The effect will be as impossible to ignore as a person with a missing front tooth.

Dan left an indelible mark on me during the nearly five years I was privileged to be his Program Director at WYNY-FM in New York City. In the 11 years that have passed since then, I've thought a lot about the things that made Dan such a great talent (they're also what make him a great human being). I've distilled that rather long list down to six principles I believe not only contributed significantly to Dan's incredible success but also helped define him as a person.

Put your heart in it.

Dan never sounded like he wished he were anywhere but on the air. Every show was like a gathering of close friends who you were truly glad to see, and it was only when Dan was there that the get-together was complete.

No one knew this better than listeners. They'd call. They'd write. They'd show up at remotes to see him even though it may have taken them hours to get there and even though they'd already met him dozens of times before.

And they'd tune-in faithfully. Dan's daily passion for his show became our daily passion for listening. We loved listening to him because we knew he loved being with us – which is pillar number two.

  

Love your listeners.

Early on I concluded that Dan loved his listeners just about as much as they loved him. And like any relationship, he worked at keeping the bond strong.

He tuned in to what was important to them and paid attention to what they said.

He was patient with them, faithfully answering the same questions they'd been posing for years ("Hey Dan - who's size 9?" referring to his sign off "Love you all especially you size 9." With a hearty laugh, Dan always said, "My wife thinks it's her!") with such genuineness and enthusiasm that you'd swear it was the first time in his life that anyone cared enough to ask for his input.

Dan made it a point to seek out listeners at appearances - not that this was necessary. Listeners would have found him even if he tried to hide. One time when the Marlboro Country Music Show was in New York, I accompanied Dan as he worked nearly all of Madison Square Garden. It went on for hours! Every smile from Dan was genuine, every handshake an appreciative "thank you" for listening.

Simply put, Dan Daniel made people feel special. He made them feel as if they were the only ones in a sea of thousands. He made them feel that in fact it was he who wanted to spend time with them, not the other way around.

And it was the same way when you listened. Dan's cume may have been a quarter-million, but on my radio it always seemed like it was just Dan and me.

Be an observer.

Dan could research anything for his show and regularly did, but his greatest content was more often rooted in the things he saw around him, what he thought about those things, and how those things made us all feel.

"All" and "feel" are key words.

When I'd go with Dan to an appearance, I could count on hearing listeners recite edited versions of Dan's breaks. They'd wait in line to retell Dan something they'd heard him say perhaps months earlier - and then often they'd remark that when they heard it, they were just thinking or feeling the same way. These weren't soapboxes or rants they recalled, but Dan's observations and brief asides on life that cut through the noise of New York and found a home in listeners' hearts and memories.

What seemed to come so naturally and effortlessly for Dan is, in fact, a skill not easily mastered.  But Dan had it honed and perfected, the result no doubt of a lifelong practice of observation, being in the midst of listeners whom he well understood, and weaving these moments into stories and points-of-view.

Paint local pictures

Think it's hard "being local" where you are? Try it in New York with over 14-million people 12+ and 20 metro counties. Dan did it with word snapshots of neighborhoods, by referring to products by their local brand name rather than their generic categories, and by using New York-isms as naturally as any native (which Dan wasn't).

Dan talked the way we talked (albeit with a slight drawl sometimes) and talked about what we were talking about.

He rooted for the home teams, always using just enough information to let you know he was a fan like you. But Dan talked less about the score or facts you could find out anywhere. Instead, Dan helped you experience the fans' reaction when Bernie hit the game-winner. He'd let you feel what it was like on the subway there and back.

Dan painted accurate pictures because he knew his market and his listeners so well.

Be real

Dan was always "one of us." His words and attitude let you know he was your fellow commuter and your walk-to-work-pal, trudging through slushy winters and sweating through sticky summers.

For years he defined afternoons in New York, and drives home on the Turnpike, the L.I.E., the Sawmill, the Belt and the Major Deegan were tolerable only because you had Dan going through it with you.

Dan actually DID commute like so many of us, taking the train into the City and walking to the station from Grand Central; he walked the walk.

He was compelling because he was real.

Be a Cheerleader

Dan championed the music he played, the stations he worked at, and the people he worked with.

Frequently his song wraparounds would include a piece of a lyric with a tie-in to something relevant. Or he'd point out a previously unknown fact or share a positive comment about the song or singer.

I swear that there are some songs I began to like only after hearing one of Dan's intros or outros.

Station events and promos received the same treatment. No hype, just the right phrasing delivered with genuine enthusiasm and a specific reason or two that would make me want to participate.

He never failed to mention his fellow on-air talent - whether it was something he heard on their show or something that gave listeners a peek behind the curtain. It was always positive and heartfelt.

What you got on the air you also got in the halls. As a programmer, I can't recall a time that I didn't look forward to one o'clock, because that would mean I'd see Dan in the building. He never failed to elevate my spirits. We could talk about anything together - from family to business. He was as great a listener and observer inside as well as outside the building,

In every conversation I recall having with Dan, it was evident that I had his complete attention. This had nothing to do with my position because, PD or part-timer, you were all the same to Dan - special. He was never above or below your level. Never hot or cold. Never asked for any privilege that 42 years in New York radio entitles one to. To do so would have been way out of character.

Dan frequently told me that he wasn't interested in reliving his past glories (trust me, if he ever wants to do so, he has enough to keep him busy for years). To him it was the excitement of today and the promise of tomorrow that mattered.

As of today, I'm just one of a quarter-million New Yorkers who already misses hearing Dan Daniel on the air. But maybe our loss will be another town's gain.

Around the country perhaps some PD or talent who is very passionate about their craft will read this and be inspired by Dan, just as I have been.  And maybe soon, listeners in these cities will experience some of Dan's "secrets" subtly woven into their favorite jocks' shows and appearances. 

Now wouldn't THAT be some cume to brag about! 

Huffington Post writer David Hinckley who for 35 years wrote for the New York Daily News has Dan's career highlights here.

Related posts: The Kings of Radio here; Traits of Market Icons here.

Photo credit: Joanie Chin @Joanie_ues. L to R: WYNY Team Members Jay Michaels, Mike O'Malley, Bill Rock, Shelli Sonstein, Dan Daniel, an unidentified person, Randy Davis and Jim Kerr

Your Morning Show On TV: How to Get the Most Out of a Cutaway

Whether your talent is already appearing on a local TV morning show or you're attempting to make this happen, your probable goal is to increase your morning footprint and have those TV viewers sample your morning show.

But these cutaways will have the greatest impact if they also add value to the TV station.

Here are four steps to maximizing your TV opportunity:

1 - Make the TV morning show look good. Just as in a multi-person radio show, each player - in addition to being interesting in their own right - needs to give others in the room opportunities to look smart, be funny, etc.  Same goes for you and your TV partners.  If the TV talent look forward to your segment because it gives them an opportunity to shine, the segment will be significantly better.

2 - Prepare something fascinating to share. This is not the time to wing it. You’ll either be perceived as interesting and entertaining or a waste of time – there’s not much in-between. 

3 - Engage the TV talent in your story.  Let them know in advance what your content is so they can prepare, participate and look smart to their viewers (making you look smart too of course).

4 - Always deliver a dual call to action:  “Watch the TV partner and listen to your morning show.”  Give a reason for each.

Have an experience or tip to share?  Leave it here.

The Legacy Challenge

Like any good New York Yankees fan, I spent this past season trying to exceed the Minimum Daily Requirement of Derek Jeter.

Lately that hasn’t been hard to do, especially these last few weeks with all the videos - from the Re2pect commercial, to the Made In New York Bronx walk-through, to Jeter’s farewell to the crowd at the Stadium   

But the “Legacy” spot may be the best tribute of all, as players (kids and adults) paid their respects by modeling themselves after someone who inspired them.

That spot reminded me of why so many of us got into radio: because of a talent we connected with. 

Just like the players in “Legacy” we emulated our heroes’ styles, recreated what they were famous for, and perhaps envisioned ourselves doing their job along side them one day.

Admittedly I can find a baseball analogy for just about anything, but I frequently use this one about coming to bat and opening the mic.

No one in the majors is invisible when they come to the plate. Tens of thousands of fans are watching from the stands and ten times that or more are watching on TV or listening via radio. And they have high expectations. 

Perhaps because we seldom have the opportunity to make a visual connection with listeners while we’re on the air, it can be easy to forget that tens of thousands of our station’s fans are focused on us and what we say when we ‘come to bat.’

And they too have high expectations.

You can bet no major league batter walks to the plate without a plan. Yet, just speaking for myself when I was on the air, I know there were too many times when I opened the mic and wasn’t as prepared as I could have been.

I’d like to have those breaks back.

I’d like to have another chance to run as hard as I could to first on what inevitably was going to be just an infield groundout.

Being on the air is easy.

Being great on the air is not.

What’s your unique skill? What’s your plan for every break? Will you give it all you have, knowing that those listening could number between four and six figures, and that they're hoping for something great to happen when you open the mic?

What will you do on your upcoming breaks that will motivate today’s listeners to want to be a part of your show tomorrow… and perhaps even inspire others to follow in your footsteps?

That's the great Legacy Challenge.

PS: A tip of the cap to Paul Konerko of the White Sox – another great player who retired this weekend.  Here’s a nice piece on Paul from the Chicago Tribune.

Hearing vs. Listening: Providing Quality Feedback to the Question, “Did you hear the show today?”

“Did you hear the show today?” is an oft-asked question talent poses to programmers, managers and consultants. Their expectation is usually for a “yes” followed by some feedback.

It sounds nit-picky, but the better question would be, “Did you listen to the show today?” Hearing is passive but listening is active and Critical Listening involves thinking about and evaluating what you heard.

We do a lot of Critical Listening at A&O&B and if you’re a programmer you no doubt do as well.

A while back I spoke to a group of GMs and Market Managers on “how to critically listen to your radio station.”  The goal was to help these GMs and MMs be better critical listeners of their stations by identifying key programming elements and creating a framework to help them evaluate what they heard. 

This could then be turned into a coaching tool for their PDs as well as helping the sales department better communicate the station's benefits to clients and prospects.

Of course these ideas are appropriate for programmers as well.  If you’re a long-time programmer, you’ve probably internalized much of this making your critical listening and feedback more ‘automatic’ than a step-by-step process. 

However if you’re new to critical listening or have moved to a new format, you might consider developing a joint GM/PD plan to help insure you’re both on the same page.

STEP 1: Create a listening roadmap.

“Critical listening” means evaluating what you hear. But because there are so many components to the final product, your critical listening will be more effective if you have a plan that will serve as a reminder of what’s important and help you focus your listening. It will also keep you from becoming sidetracked by any single thing, good or bad.

Later the plan will help you assess what you’ve heard and discuss it with the talent.

Start your listening road map by completing the following:

1. Broad and narrow target demos and ratings goals

2. Lifegroup values and interests

3. The needs/wants/likes of the station’s cumers vs. partisans

4. Unique value positions or advantages of the talent and the station and how these are leveraged (keep the list short)

5. Music position and focus

6. Most important activities going on at the station this week

7. The big 'talk-abouts' for listeners

STEP 2: Record specific evaluations and observations as you’re listening. Make notes on how closely the on air product matches each of the items in your listening plan. Consider:

1. Overall, how aligned is the product to the target listener’s tastes and values?

2. Are the music position and music focus clear and reflective of the overall strategy?

3. Is the talent content and focus in sync with the target and ratings goals?

4. Does the imaging reflect the right attitude and communicate relevant messages?

5. Can you readily discern the station’s unique advantage(s) and core benefit(s)?

6. Are today’s most important station elements and tactics receiving the most attention?

7. What other factors (service, community commercial load, imaging, etc.) are important to consider in your competitive environment?

8. How organized did the show sound? Was the content spread evenly throughout your listening? Were there quality teases that made you want to hear the pay-off? Were there social components?

9. If you’re listening to a morning show, how well did it help define the station?

10. If there were multiple players on the show, how was the chemistry? Did each get to stand in the spotlight?  Was it easy to understand each player’s role and why they are important to the show?

11. Did what you heard meet the three major wants of country users: 1) plays the best music, 2) makes me feel good when I listen, 3) has talent that sounds like my friends and not like disc jockeys?

12. What did you hear that would make you want to listen again tomorrow?

STEP 3: Using specifics from your listening, discuss what you heard and take any necessary actions.

If the listening met or exceeded expectations, can the envelope be pushed further? Can what we did well in one area be applied to another?

If the experience didn’t match the expectations, did the disconnect stem from a lack of knowledge, difference in vision or interpretation, action/execution, or something else?

Write a few sentences to summarize what you heard and the actions you’re taking; this will be useful in your next critical listening session.

If you’re going share the results with the talent in a formalized setting, it’s always helpful to have the audio available to play.

Have some tips on critical listening? Feel free to share them here.

Larry Lujack and the Skill of 'Being Real'

Google Larry Lujack and you’ll get roughly 73,000 results.

His passing December 18^th generated an outpouring of accolades from listeners and co-workers alike.

I asked Country Aircheck Publisher/CEO Lon Helton about growing up listening to Larry and later working in the same market with him when Lon was at Chicago’s WMAQ.

“He was just so compelling .... you were afraid you'd miss something if you didn't listen.  People today talk about being 'real' on the radio like it's something new that they have invented.  Lujack was as real as it got ... often in full blown curmudgeonry. You had the sense he'd say anything he wanted to on the air ... and you just didn't want to miss it.”

Echoing Lon’s words, many of the tribute pieces cite Larry’s uniqueness, having a point of view (often sarcastic), being himself, and relating to ‘everyman.’ 

In his blog Chicago media expert Robert Feder’s called Larry, “real, relatable and unlike anything (listeners had) ever heard on the radio before.”

There are plenty of references to his kindness off the air as well.

But “real” seems to be one of the most oft-use descriptor of his on air performance.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear Larry Lujack on a regular basis. But I did grow up listening to the great talent in New York City (you don’t have to live in a big city to hear great talent) and later got to be part of teams that included radio giants Dan Daniel, Jim Kerr, Cousin Brucie and Scott Carpenter.

They too share the trait of being real and being interesting. They have a point of view, a sense of humor, a deep understanding of who listened and why, an infectious love of what they did, and the ability to simply be themselves in a way that made spending time with them a daily ‘must.’

Their secret sauce: being real without being self-absorbed.

No one really wants to hang out in real life with Cecily Strong’s SNL character the Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party.

But we all want to be in the presence of the Larry Lujacks of the world.

What On Air Talent Can Learn from Actors and "The Sound of Music Live!"

Acting is hard.

If you don’t believe it, look at some of the reviews otherwise-superstar Carrie Underwood has gotten following her performance in “The Sound of Music Live!” on NBC last week. Even members of the actual Von Trapp weighed in! 

Among other things, great acting involves timing, showing and evoking emotion, always being in character and developing skills for being "in the moment" no matter what.

If you want a textbook lesson from the show, watch Audra McDonald’s riveting performance of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” . In what is arguably the highlight of the broadcast, Audra is not only totally authentic in that you believe she’s sharing from her heart, she's also appears to totally absorbed in communicating her thoughts to Carrie's Maria and is 100% convincing that this is the first time these words have ever come out of her mouth.

How McDonald does do this? The Wall Street Journal asked and got this response.

“Just focus on what Mother Abbess is really trying to do. And what’s she trying to do is give Maria some serious tough love and kicking her out. She’s saying no, you can’t run from your problems. This is opportunity in your life knocking on the door saying here we are. Here is your life. This is your destiny. And I’m not going to let you run away from it because it seems scary. So If I focus on that I think I’ll be okay. If I focus on–”oh this is a hard song, I hope I don’t screw up,” then I’ll screw up.

Be in the moment and focus on your scene mate.

Those are keys according to my actor-daughter who I asked to weigh in on the performance and what a radio talent whether working with a partner or a caller can learn from actors – especially McDonald’s performance in this scene.

“A good actor notices everything their partner does and responds with a point of view backed by how he or she feel about what the other person is saying or even how that person is saying it. Actors look at things and react according to how it makes them feel.”

I asked for an example of how an actor or an air talent could practice something like this.

“Look at a lamp and ask, ‘Do I like this lamp? How do I feel about the color/texture/design? Does it inspire me to want to decorate? Does it remind me of my ex's lamp who I hate and therefore want to pick up this lamp and smash it against a wall?’  That's one way an actor can practice being ‘in the moment.’”

Several years ago talent coach Tommy Kramer and I did a presentation that included several talent sharing tips via videos. “Listen, really listen to what your partner is saying” was one of the tips from J and Julian – then of Chicago’s B96).

Arguably one of Carrie’s best moments was also the “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” scene. Her welled-up eyes looked pretty convincing.

Perhaps she was focusing doing exactly what an actor does: focus intently on what her scene mate – Audra - was communicating. That in turn may have maximized Audra’s own performance.

Maybe none of that was true at all.

But if it was, it really makes the point about the power of listening and responding to the moment.  

Making A Difference - for Better or Worse

How cool for country radio to have two of its artists- Darius Rucker and Randy Houser - featured on Saturday Night’s Making a Difference segment on NBCNightly News (watch that segment here).

Both are members of Musicians On Call (Chuck Wicks, Chris Young, Joanna Smith and Mark Wills are also among the Nashville-based volunteers) an organization that connects musicians with hospital patients and often results in bedside performances. 

The NBC segment featured Darius and Randy performing for patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Musicians On Call's executive director cited medical benefits of music while patients and parents voiced their appreciation.

This is a great example of doing good not only mattering but getting noticed.

Recently I was in a market conducting listener panels and the groups could not stop talking about all the great things that one of our morning hosts does for the community (he's also strong on the air). Without even needing to pause and think, the group reeled off half a dozen specific ways he’d made a difference in the community over the years.

They felt connected to him in a special, personal, and very positive way. 

Doing good and getting noticed.

Contrast those two stories with these.

A General Manager who, on pitching his station to an agency in New York City, was asked, "Morning shows...those are the guys that run around the building with underwear on their heads make dumb jokes right?"

Or (worse) the Todd Schnitt-Bubba the Love Sponge trial that drove the Jury Forewoman to vow, “I am never listening to the radio again.”

The choice to become a positive force in a market is a choice each station and talent can make.

And if it’s true that the media reports roughly seventeen “bad news” stories for every one “good news” story, it’s incumbent on us not only to find ways to make a difference, but to tell our story as well.

Start spreadin’ the news.

Can You Do A Show Like Taylor Swift?

On any number of levels it’s hard not to be incredibly impressed with Taylor Swift.

But watching her at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York do a ‘Live on Letterman' segment Tuesday night, I was way beyond impressed. 'Wowed' wouldn't be too much.

I want to be careful not to use the word ‘performance’ or ‘show’ in describing what I saw because the half hour or so felt far more intimate and personal. It was instead much like a feel-good gathering of close friends.

The relevance here is that, for the past 6 years, country listeners participating in A&O’s annual online perceptual study have placed a great deal of importance on ‘makes me feel good when I listen’ and ‘DJs who sound like my friends and not disc jockeys’ when talking about why they choose one country station over another.  

As they could relate to the next time you're on the air, here are some take-aways from Taylor’s performance:

• Choose your words carefully so that they sound careless.  How would you tell a friend about something that just happened to you? That’s the language you’re looking for.

• Be intimate. When you speak, strive to make it a personal conversation with a friend or group of friends. 

• When planning the show, intentionally create opportunities for these conversations to occur.

• Use body language, pauses and inflection to help make your points more salient and the conversation more interesting.  Yes, you can ‘hear’ body language on the air.

• ‘Love on the music.’ Tell a story that heightens interest in hearing the next song. Of course that works for spoken content, too.  

• Others players on the show can add power to your content. Taylor’s background singers didn’t just share the stage, they gave Taylor’s music additional power and punch with just the right amount of animation and interaction.

• Be so prepared you sound spontaneous.

• Be totally in the moment. Few at the Ed Sullivan Theater probably cared (or even thought about) Taylor’s day probably starting around 4am to prepare for a GMA broadcast. And even if they had known, their expectations wouldn’t have been any less high. Right now is what counts.

The Long Life Span of Kind Words and Dismissive Behavior

Last week I got the chance to say thank you in person to Willard Scott for a simple act of kindness and professional courtesy that he did more than 20 years ago.

It was 1987 and I was the new PD at WYNY in New York City. That night at midnight, we’d flipped the then NBC-owned AC station to Country. The following morning on the Today Show, Willard finished up his forecast by unexpectedly congratulating us on the flip and wishing us, as NBC brethren, much success.

It was unnecessary. It appeared genuine. We were thrilled and felt like we’d made a new friend.

The camera then cut to Bryant Gumbel who made a sour face while saying something dismissive about the format.

It was unnecessary. It appeared genuine. We were disappointed and felt talked down to.

This past Groundhog’s Day, Willard graciously listened while I recounted the story and offered my thanks. He even indulged me with a photo op.

After all these years I’ve never forgotten the polar responses from these two broadcasters and how it made my staff feel. If you’ve talked to listeners, you know they too can long remember how a talent has treated them and how that made them feel.

What impression will you and your talent leave today?

It could last for 20 years.

On Being Boring, Interesting or Fascinating

Facts are boring. Stories are interesting. Stories with surprises, twists and emotion and over-the-top presentations are fascinating.

Someone repeating what you’ve heard is boring. Someone sharing a new perspective or putting a unique twist on a familiar subject is interesting. Someone sharing a new perspective or putting a unique twist on a familiar subject and making you feel something that you want to share with others is fascinating.

It’s easy to be boring, which is probably why there are so many boring people on the air doing the same things as everyone else with no unique perspective and little creativity. Boring people to check-list shows: “Yeah, we talked about that at 6:40, check it off the list.” Boring shows don’t take chances. Boring shows don’t attract an audience or get them to spend time with you.

Interesting is the ante to not be boring, to have a chance of attracting an audience and getting them to spend time with you.

Fascinating is the most difficult of course. But when you’re fascinating, attracting an audience and getting them to spend time with you – over and over - is easy.

How did you treat the Ted Williams story?

Give the facts (boring)? Play audio (ditto)? Give a link (yawn)?

Or maybe you were fascinating and organized a spontaneous “random acts of kindness” event challenging listeners to give what they would have spent on this morning’s coffee to the homeless person they pass each day.

Or maybe you visited a shelter to see their needs first hand and then launched a help drive.

Or maybe you connected unemployed listeners with jobs?

Or maybe you solicited your listeners’ own uplifting “Cinderella” stories?

Most competitors are boring listeners with the same undifferentiated and uninspired facts, audio clips, links and other low-hanging fruit.

How will you take advantage of the opportunities other stations are giving you?

Radio 2010: Listening and Lifestyle Profiles...and Coaching Tool

National ratings data and lifestyle information on the major formats is again available for free in the newly released Radio Today 2010 pdf from Arbitron. Download it free here.

There's lots of good news for country:

• Fall 2009’s combined (PPM and Diary) country share was 13.4% (4.4%/4th in PPM markets and 14.1%/1st in diary markets). That’s the highest share the format has delivered since spring 2002.

• Country radio’s reach is second only to AC.

• The format was number one in every daypart except mornings (#2 behind New/Talk/Information). It was also #1 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54. It was #2 18-24, 55-64 and 65+. 18-24 was the “growth demographic” and has been “up steadily in recent years.”

• 26% of the AQH audience is 18-34 and 42% is 18-44. 18-34s aren’t just cumers; their TSL of 6:30 is just under the 7:00 average 12+ and close to the 7:00 for 25-54 and 7:30 for 35-64.

Non-ratings information on the country audience includes education (half have attended or graduated college), earnings (half live in households earning $50,000 or more), home ownership (70%) and interests (country audiences index high on outdoor activities and slightly above the norm on texting).

For programmers, one of the most useful pieces of data in any Arbitron report is the Audience Composition graph (the Radio 2010 AQH Composition for country is shown). Running graphs for cume and AQH give you a 'big picture' look at both plus the relationship between them.

After checking rankings and PPDV/PPM Weight, Audience Composition is usually the next place I go when breaking out ratings.

My expectations are that the 'comps' will roughly mirror our targeting (usually it does). But when it doesn't, it triggers a series of questions: from 'Is this an aberration?" to an overall evaluation of the relevance and ‘welcoming-ness’ of key station elements.

An Audience Composition graph can also be a talent coaching tool, particularly if you're concerned that a show isn't as aligned with the audience as it should be. Compare a multi-book average of the station's and the show's Audience Composition. If there are undesirable differences, challenge the talent to cite the specific audience appeal for the show overall as well as its specific features and content pieces.

Comparing their perceived targets to the show’s Audience Composition might be what you need to offer congratulations or to shake things up a bit.

From Audience Killer to Great Radio in Two Steps

The well-intentioned representative from (insert name of local charity here) comes to your studio and wants to tell you in great detail how your listeners can help out or make a donation. Unfortunately, a lot of listeners didn’t hang around for the specifics because they were never motivated to participate in the first place.

An artist is your guest and usually wants to talk about their latest CD, upcoming show, or something else they have going on right now. Listeners, disappointed they didn’t something personal or ‘behind the scenes,’ drift away as you play and the artist talks about his previously unheard song.

Both of these are audience killers.


You can’t blame your local guests; they’re rarely professional communicators. They don’t know what to say to make people respond. You can’t blame the artist; they’re in the moment and often just trying to get through yet another radio interview from another jock that really isn’t prepared beyond a few basics.

But here’s the thing: you can turn each into compelling radio if you 1) control the agenda that 2) finds and focuses on the Emotional Center.

Your agenda for the local guest is to find the Emotional Center in the story and use it to make listeners WANT to participate. Listeners can figure out HOW later. But if you don’t get me to WANT, you surely won’t get me to HOW.

Here’s a real example: a hospice spokesperson appeared on a morning show and spent 3 minutes talking about the responsibilities, requirements and sign-up procedures are for becoming a volunteer but never once gave listeners a reason to WANT to do this.


Audience killer.

But imagine the listener reaction if the interview started with and stuck to an Emotional Center: perhaps how spokesperson witnessed the daughter of a terminal patient put her arm around a hospice volunteer and, with a smile and a tear, told the volunteer how much she’d meant to her dad these last weeks, how much her kindness was appreciated, and how she’d always be a member of their family.


Find and tell a story like this and you’ll have great radio and a line of volunteers.

Similarly, while an artist may want to talk about a single or a new CD or an upcoming show, you have the chance to make if far more of an event for listeners if you create an agenda that includes mystery, a look behind the scenes, or that engages the artist in a way that reveals the artist as a person behind the star - itself an Emotional Center.


That’s the agenda Steve Stewart, WTNR/Grand Rapids’ OM/AM host of Scrubs in the Morning used for his Tuesday morning interview with Toby Keith. They got around to the new music, but not before Toby was talking like the golf playing, football-loving guy next door. You can listen to it including a feature called the “30 Second Meet & Greet” where a listener gets to end the call with 30 seconds to ask or tell the guest whatever they want.

Have an Agenda/Emotional Center interview story to share?

The 50 Minute Oil Change

Thanks to all who attended the standing room only panel Tommy Kramer and I presented Friday, 7/16/10 at The Conclave. And a very special thanks to all who created a video for us to share (credits in parentheses). Your efforts were appreciated by us all!

In creating the panel, Tommy and I wanted to share not only some great bits, but techniques and philosophies that could make you think differently about your show.

It’s no surprise that we couldn’t get to everything in our 50 minutes but you can download the complete list at http://albrightandomalley.com/.

Here are a dozen to whet your appetite.

1. Developing an Alter Ego enables you to expand the boundaries of what you can do on your show (Kevin Matthews/WLAV)

2. Keep a diary and share it with other players on the show and use it as a jumping off point for content ideas. For bonus points, have artists who visit your studio make up a song based on your journal/diary entries (Wally , WAY-FM Nashville—using his 6th grade journal.)

3. I am T-Pain iPhone AutoTune App: hilarious for you or listeners to “sing” a song about virtually anything.

4. Your own family traditions can be the inspiration for large promotions (Tim Leary/WCTK)

5. Take the show outside the studio for the betterment of the community/world (Cliff Dumas/KSON and Bob Rivers/KZOK)

6. What’s a guy thinking: male talent gives absurd rationale to defend dumb things guys do

7. Just before the break, hold a 5-second huddle to remind yourselves of you point, your close, and how you’re evolving the break

8. Brainstorm with others in the building; you’ll get different subjects plus different perspectives on the same subject

9. Morning show team members: listen to each other for potential material (J and Julian/WBBM)

10. Study the art of storytelling and learn to be good at it; this is a life as well as a career benefit.

11. The new rule for evaluating phone calls: “too good not to air” vs. “good enough to air.”

12. Courage is essential if you’re going to grow from “OK” to “great.”

Have an idea, technique, bit or philosophy you'd like to share? Post a comment.

Book Packagers. Who Knew?

I’d never heard of a ‘book packager’ until I read Seth Godin’s blog Monday.

What struck me about the packager’s job description and skill requirements was how applicable many are to being a great air talent.

“…find isolated assets and connect them in a way that creates value, at the same time…put in the effort to actually ship the product out of the door.”

“The skills you bring to the table are vision, taste and a knack for seeing what's missing. You also have to be a project manager, a salesperson and the voice of reason, the person who brings the entire thing together and to market without it falling apart.”

If you have an air staff that has or will embrace these skills, I’m thinking you have or have the makings of a strong group of talent.

If you’re intrigued, read the whole blog especially numbers 3, 5 and 8 of Seth’s 9 rules of thumb.

Mmmm...talk-abouts

Gotta give it to Ben and Jerry’s. They’ve turned one talk-about into two, and in so doing, made themselves the center of attention.

Ben and Jerry’s will introduce a special donut flavored ice cream in honor of the Simpson’s movie that premieres this month. But don’t look for it in your store. The company says it’s only going to be out for one day and will only be available in one town (Springfield, VT).

As a talk-about, this is brilliant. And apparently the effort and expense in capturing the moment – and reaping the resulting publicity – are worth it to the company.

How much easier it is for us to capture the moment! We don’t have to mobilize a workforce to re-tool a factory in order to produce our consumable product. We just have to imagine it and talk about it.

When we talk about what others are talking about in a unique, creative, fun, interesting and interactive way, we create a sense of community where we’re talked about, too.

Of course the Simpson’s movie won’t be everyone’s biggest talk-about (although donuts and ice cream in the summer have a pretty universal appeal).

Besides, the real value of talk-abouts may be less about being “in the moment” and more about creating, on a daily basis, opportunities for listeners to feel connected to us and to each other.

Opportunistic talent find solid talk-abouts every day – from big ones like the release of the final Harry Potter book to little ones like a hometown hero, road construction, unusual weather, or the first day of school.

Want more people talking about you? Add a pint of Carpe Diem to your show (as well as to your imaging and contesting) on a daily basis. Pass out spoons to listeners and let them dig in.

Mmmm…good radio.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

What are the names of some of the people who’ve waited on you at McDonalds? Or the cashiers at the supermarket where you shop? Or the person who reads your water meter?

We see it all the time, but it’s still mildly shocking (and discouraging) to see the blank expressions on the faces of people in focus groups when we ask the radio version of the same question – “tell me the names of some of the DJs you listen to.”

In a recall universe, such memory paralysis is never a good thing.

Here are five ideas to help talent be more memorable:

1. Make content “unique-to-you” by approaching topics in a way other than the “first right answer” which is what most talent in the market will come up with. All penguins look pretty much the same.
   
2. Let listeners see more of the “real” you. It’s near impossible to remember what you don’t know or understand, nor will you make accurate recollections of things that are fuzzy in your mind. Same for things you don’t care about. Make me care about you as a person and I’ll be more likely to remember you as a talent I’ve listened to.
   
3. Similarly, use personal appearances and one-on-one opportunities (even on the phone) to deliberately engage listeners you meet on as personal a level as they will allow. The power of one-on-one is a double-edged sword; you’re going to be perceived as aloof or engaging. You pick.
   
4. Create benchmarks that are in line with listeners’ values, expectations, station image and you personally. If I’m listening to the station for something I like and the talent heightens that experience, I’m more likely to recall that talent – and in a positive way.
   
5. Become a more interesting talker. Replace “geek talk” (minutiae, execution, rules, etc) with phrasing that paints mental pictures, creates associations, or tackles topics in a fresh, surprising way. Imagine how you’d tell a friend about a great meal or funny experience you had, or about a most interesting person you recently met. You’ll cut through the wasteland of “DJ talk,” clichés and hype.

The Surprising "Real" Reason to Rehearse

We’ve all heard it. In fact we’ve all heard it too many times: a great idea that just doesn’t come off on the air as powerfully as it should have.

Sometimes a bit drags on far too long, lacking focus or a strong close, getting off track and struggling to right itself.

Sometimes it doesn’t go on nearly long enough. Ideas don’t get fleshed out, developed or exploited. The obvious is substituted for the extraordinary.

Sometimes on multi-person shows, some of the players don’t seem to understand their roles and either struggle to contribute or miss opportunities when it’s their moment to shine.

The result is too often the push of a button and the search for something more interesting and entertaining.

The bad news this happens a lot. The good new is this doesn’t have to happen to you.

You only need to do two things: learn how to rehearse properly and then rehearse faithfully.

Unfortunately merely mentioning the “R” word to many jocks causes eyeballs to roll and excuses flow. “I like to go with the moment.” “There’s no time to rehearse.” And my all time favorite, “I like to go for the reaction in the room and rehearsing would ruin this.”
(Oh, yeah. The reaction of one or two other people in the room is more important than the reaction of the 10,000 people listening right now on their radios.)

Actually I’m convinced that the resistance to rehearsal stems from a misunderstanding of the real reason to rehearse: to thoroughly stimulate your creativity, to enhance and enlarge an idea, and to grow your skills and the skills of those around you.

Rehearsing your content has nothing to do with memorizing lines and everything to do with discovering them. A great rehearsal is the opposite of “restriction;” a great rehearsal is about expansion and experimentation. A great rehearsal is about empowering talent to fully exploit his or her skills so that a raw idea can be transformed into an extraordinary piece of entertainment.

Now that you know the real reason to rehearse, wouldn’t you like to try it? Here’s a rehearsal routine you can start using today:


1. Summarize the bit in no more than two sentences including opening, body, conflict, and resolution.
2. Have a “discovery” time with your partner(s). As you share your concept with them, they share back with you how they can best be a participant, incorporating their characters into the concept and expanding on the original idea. Apply the same technique if you’re a solo performer, thinking about how the various aspects of your personality can be leveraged to fully develop the original idea.
3. Edit and block. Expand the strongest points and eliminate what doesn’t add to the entertainment.
4. Do a final talk-through of how this is going to play.


And, while it’s not exactly a rehearsal, listening back to and deconstructing a bit after it has aired will help you see what worked best/added to the bit (so you can do this more) and what didn’t work/detracted from the bit (so you can eliminate or improve).

Rehearsing will improve the execution and performance end of your show of course and that is important.

But the real reason to rehearse is about something much bigger. The real reason to rehearse is to experiment with new ideas, to transform the “average” into the “inspired,” to create stand-out content, and to expand your skills and the skills of the people you work with beyond where they are now – perhaps even beyond where in your wildest dreams you thought they could go.

Are you thinking about rehearsing in a new light? Are you inspired to give it a try?

Let me know how it goes.

"Caring" As A Strategy for Managers and Talent

My visit to see my parents this past weekend included a couple of trips to Starbucks and some local radio consumption. Saturday morning I was listening to WIOD’s Aron Bender interview author A. J. Scribante (“Shelf Life: How an Unlikely Entrepreneur Turned $500 into $65 Million in the Grocery Industry) – not because I have designs on doing the same, but because it was what was on my dad’s car radio and I didn’t want to change his pre-sets.

The interview was interesting enough despite a few clichés at the end – one of which was, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

A few minutes later over coffee I opened my monthly email from “The Point” (http://www.bluepointleadership.com/) which contained a similar-themed article from Susanne Biro, a former barber-turned-executive coach who attributes her success as a stylist not to her scissor skills, but because she fostered a caring relationship with each client. She writes,

…My clients were no longer just clients but rather, we became two people who had genuine respect for one another. And above all, here's what I learned about leadership: more than anything else what we all want is someone to genuinely care about us - to tell us the honest truth, to challenge us, to stop seeing us as our predetermined roles (whether it be CEO or barber) and start seeing us as people with the potential we desperately want to see in ourselves. The key word here is care. When we believe another person genuinely cares about us and our success, we will grant that person concessions we will not grant others…

People are the business of leaders. Our main task is to treat others in such a way that they want to bring all their unique gifts, talents and discretionary effort forward to achieve a collective goal, the goal of the business. And so it is that each of us must master the art of effectively interacting with people in order to get things done. This, perhaps above all else, is the leader's real challenge.


Certainly this is a good reminder for those of us who coach our staffers, helping them to recognize and fully utilize their skills.

However there’s insight here for talent as well. The best talent are often seen by their listeners as having the same characteristics: understanding, respecting and caring about them. In other words, someone with whom they have a one-to-one relationship.

The next time you’re listening to a show, listen for what sounds like a personal conversation between the talent and the listener – a one-to-one dialogue built on mutual interests, insights, understanding, friendship and respect.

And if you want to read about a talent who was a MASTER at one-to-one, visit the articles and archives section at http://www.albrightandomalley.com/ and scroll down to a piece I wrote a few years back called, “42 Years On Top: Six Principles Behind The Success Of One Of America's Greatest Air Talents…Dan Daniel.”

Let me hear about your efforts!

mom


Susanne Biro is Director of Coaching for Bluepoint Leadership Development. She may be reached via email at mailto:%20susannebiro@bluepointleadership.com