tips on how to sound professional on air??

[16.db]

I wonder would any one have some tips on how to sound professional on air .
What's best to say and best left out
I 'm asking this because I'm starting to see irratating habbits
coming on when i'm on air such as giving out the phone number
too much and the dreaded 'and the time is '
help me' what the do's and don't do's

[KJ]

Avoid giving out the time over and over again if possible, this is only really for breakfast shows and (at a push) Drive time

Im not one to give tips as Im a bit fond of one or two radio no no's myself (using the phone number as an on air "crutch" is typical pirate radio) but one thing I will say is practise, practise, practise! If you're particularly nervous or new to it all get yourself an overnight shift where you can iron out all the little problems and let your hair down The more nervous you are the more likely the show will be a disaster - so just relax and enjoy it!


Help him out here guys, Im sure we could *all* use some tips ;)

KJ

[16.db]

Thanks Kelly Jones have recorded myself and noticed that I say
the same stupid words and phrases over and over again so I
have decided to ban certain words it makes things difficult but
hay can't stand bad habbits starting out.

Thanks for your help

[patdj1]

Hey, 16.db!

Courtenay.

TIME-CHECKS: B'fast, every link. Drive, maximum every 1/4-hr depending on station policy. (What's the point on a Dance outlet?)

If you're on B'fast, ID first, then time....and there's no need to be incredibly accurate! "Nearly 8:00," "Just gone 1/4 past 7," remembering that it's really hard to go anywhere and not SEE the time! It's on buildings, your watch, your radio, your TV and your cellphone if you really need to know the minutes!

(I sometimes do that, "Time is...." shite. Don't you kick yourself EVERY "time??")

SCRIPT IT: Be busy during songs writing out your next piece! That way you can actually SEE the things that are going to sound dodgy and weed 'em out.
As we progress, we get busy recording and editing calls and stuff, but we should, still, at least scribble out the order of what we're going to do next; after all, if we've prepped properly, the actual script got done before we got into the Studio!

Cheers!

Pat.

[Elaine]

Ye i tend to say the phone number a little to often sometimes but if i just think, if i was listening at home id like to hear the phone number alot...i mean somtimes u could be impatiently listening to a station waiting on the ph number to be read out to request a song......Every link is a bit much though (so i better give that up lol) I could moan about all my other bad habbits on air but id be here all day lol.

I will say one thing though..... i think everylink should start with the station name.

[patdj1]

Hey, Elaine!

Courtenay.

Firstly; "Station I.D. first."

Yes! Just do it. It associates the station's name with the on-air thing that just happened....and as long as that's something good, cool. Just do it! No discussion.

Secondly; phone numbers.
Anyone who's ever worked on a Telethon or Radiothon will telly (!) you that the flow of calls is directly proportional to the number of times you give out the phone number, BUT, people will only call you if you've got something they want (maybe requests, prize-draw etc) and THAT'S how you get the ball rolling.

After that, I think it's best to give the phone number as you go into the on-air call:-

"(I.D.) You can get straight through to me on 83-12345; Hey, Pat, it's Elaine. Wassup?"

See how that keeps everything sort of 'relevant'? SAY IT VERY CLEARLY, though! We get USED to saying the number we work with: how many times have you rung a Company where the receptionist charges through the Company name at an indecipherable gallop, leaving you wondering if you've rung the right place? It's because that receptionist says the name a hundred times a day, knows it by now and just wants to get to the bit about who she can't put you through to!

If you're low on calls and you've prepped nothing else to do instead, design a link that'll do nothing but give the number and a listener-friendly reason to dial it. DO THIS TOO OFTEN AND EVERYONE KNOWS YOU'RE PLEADING FOR CALLS AND THINKS, "OH, NO ONE'S LISTENING TO THIS STATION - MAYBE I SHOULDN'T EITHER!"

BTW: 16.db started this thread asking how to sound "professional" on the Radio.
Let's face it, "professional" just means, "Doin' It For Money!" and we hear a lot of jocks Doin' It For Money who sound crap.

How about, "How to sound BELIEVABLE"?

Any comments?

Pat.

[RadioFriend]

I’m still not convinced that there is a right or wrong way of doing this Job, We all know what sounds dreadful but that’s because we work in radio but what about the punter? Does the listener really hear the small “nitty” things we talk about here.
If I’m driving my car in Cork I will have one ear tuned to my girlfriend (because I have to) and one tuned to Red or 96 but that’s because I’m a Radio DJ.I’m listening to hear if the DJ is tight, sharp, witty and hanging on to see how well he can ride the intro of the next track without crashing.
RTE Radio 1 is arguably one of the best Radio Stations in the country but you will notice the presenters are above the Rule Book crap. The presentation style is laid back, no tight links, no concerns to how many times the phone number is given out. …But of course we know this works there because of the format.
So are we talking about different Radio Styles for different formats…?
The answer of course is yes as we all know. So if there is a Rulebook, is there a different one for every Station format. We are told to be ourselves On Air but that’s complete crap. Nobody will survive on a Station being themselves. Does Rick O’Shea go on like that in the Pub? I bloody hope not but yet in my opinion he is doing the best Radio in the country. I love his show but there is no way I would want to hear a guy going on that way over a pint.

My advice would be to throw yourself into it and don’t be afraid to fail. If you find what you are offering is working then great but if not just walk away and get yourself a better paying Job in SuperMacs or Dunnes.

There is no right or wrong …….only good or bad.

Rgds

RF

[ex-pirate]

Be yourself is what counts.
Do not sound as if your reading from a script.
If you are writing down what to say next, go through it before linking, any big words, exchange for something that Bob Jones down the street knows what you're on about.
Station IDS important, rough time checks (not every link), the odd mention of the telephone no. (too many times and the listener will think you're lonely and want someone to talk to. Even if the phone isn't ringing there is someone out there on your wavelength.

[KJ]

All great advice there

Who'd have thought we'd ever have one of the finest DJ's on Irish radio here online giving us pointers?! I love it :D


One thing Ive been thinking about for ages now is doing the Bruno Brooks DJ course in the UK although Ive heard mixed reports about it. Darren Kelly is somewhere on this board I believe? I think he (and one other member I can think of right now) could tell us more about it


KJ

;)

[neilex]

I assure you, Rick O Sheas' personality is every bit as unique and uplifting off air (over a pint) as it is on air. He is being himself when he's on the radio and I think that is what makes his show work so well.

[RadioFriend]

Please don't get me wrong Rick is great and im sure he is great company over as few beers but you have to understand that people are a lot different off Air .(in most cases)
Most Breakfast Presenters and chirpy,bright and funny when they open their Mic at 6am but who in the real world is like that at 6am?

For Jesus sake you know what I mean.....
RF

[Turiel]

Yeah well thats what my reply was about.

Okay, in short:
- It was very useful being shown how to use RCS and the split-desk system - should any PC be silly enough to consider me for a legal gig it should hopefully stand in my favour that I already know how to use their fancy new playout system :)
- Also useful having your links discected by an industry professional, and listening to others mistakes too.

It's a good course, BUT not worth the 1000+ euro it cost me to travel over there, get accomodation, food, and the course fee itself. I mean, how much can you really learn in 2 days?

One thing that was quite interesting though was their philosophy regarding links - quite different from over here! Their golden rule was Respect the Music. No talking over music. Period. That includes intro's and outro's! When I asked why, the response was that nobody (listener or PC) really cares whether you can hit a vocal or not, and its all about the music.

[gizajob]

my 2cents worth.

aircheck yourself. no one likes doing it but you are going to be the most critical person that ever listens to your shift.

be wary of whose advice you take. i have seen people ruin their careers because they take advice from the wrong people. all the advice here so far has been excellent. but be wary of "self appointed experts". (and before someone jumps down my throat i am not refering to anyone on this website)

you can never prep enough. as the saying goes "proper planning prevents piss poor preformance".

know your audience. do the things they do. keep abreast of trends.

know your music and dont slag it off on air. this partic applies to playlisted stations. if you say on air that you dont like a song then why did you play it? joe soap couldnt care if you are playlisted or not. they just want to hear the tunes.

recycle listeners to other shows on your station. its the one thing we do not do enough on the radio here. PROMOTE what is going on, on your station!

[Groucho]

Wow! It shows how blassee everyone has become. Pat Courteney answers a question about how to be professional and he's treated as one of the crowd!

Radio Friend, i would say to you that the punter may not hear the "nitty" things that we do, but they will know a good, tight jock. I dont agree with your radio ideas, You mention that Radio 1 is "above the format crap" rules"?? And you seem to admire that?

You abviously dont agree with format radio. I must point out to you that while Radio 1 has a great listernership, they have lost 4% of their audience in the past 2 years, they in turmoil, they have a hugh marketing budget through the TV association (which one day will make them come unstuck).

WHAT are u talking about?? (Throw out the rule book crap)??? I suspect you're not on the radio are u??

G

[RadioFriend]

Of course I agree with Format Radio but sick I’m to the teeth of hearing the “Do’s and Don’ts”…The fact is that there is more to good Radio then all the usual text book crap. I agree that there are basic rules but good programming is not achieved solely through “We don’t talk over your favourite song, the home of the 9-5 Club, 30 sec tight links, Everybody seems to have a problem with Gareth O’Callagahan ‘s type of Radio but at least he brings personality to the Air. You don’t have to like him but the reason he is kicking ass is because people seem to gel with him. He try to come across as one of the “Lads” at the office. I’m worried that a lot of young people looking into Radio as a career will be thought like monkeys.


The Perfect Link
· Open the Mic and ident the Station.
· Forward introduce the 30 minute music marathon
· Use the Station logo (Your No1 Hit Music Station).
· Introduce the weather person but don’t “chit chat” because 16-34 yr olds don’t want that?
· Check on the Time and hit a sweeper.
· And remember get it all into 30sec or your dragged into the PD’s office.


So is that it ???

That’s what its all about…

Yes I agree that there are rules that need to be obeyed but if your on the Radio you’re an entertainer and you should be allowed bring what ever you feel is entertaining to the Table.

You need to decide what you are …Are you somebody that can create Funny, Interesting, Gripping Radio or are you somebody who speaks with the aid of cue cards.

Finally Groucho ..I don’t agree that punters know a good tight Jock when they hear one. Most just don’t give Radio that much attention, in most cases Radio is just background music.

And yes I do work in Radio .


RF

[Radio Presenter]

Announcer VS Personality

By Hollywood Henderson

Are you an announcer, or a personality? On the surface, this may seem like a loaded question. But I think it's a great starting point for the series of articles I'm planning on writing about being an on-air radio performer. It's been my experience that most of us in this business consider being called an announcer an insult. I think this is unfair, because although there is a distinct difference between being an announcer and being a personality, the radio world is big enough for both of these varieties of on-air talent. Both require a demanding, though differing set of skills. That makes it even more important to decide in which camp you belong. It makes no sense to spend your time developing the skill set of one, if you belong in the other.

Part of the problem is the on-going stigma associated with being an "announcer." How many articles have I read over my career from radio consultants, programmers, guest columnists and jocks which have put down the so-called "time and temp, liner card" jock as being a talentless goof. "You've got to have something to SAY!" "You've got to be topical!" "You've got to be relatable!" All this is true, of course if you're trying to be a radio personality! But what if you're not? Or, more to the point, what if the constraints of your format don't allow it?

I recently exchanged a series of e-mails with a close friend and long-time air talent who's worked at many of the greatest CHR stations in the country. He just relocated to Los Angeles, and was bemoaning the fact that in the AFTRA union scale, the so-called "liner card readers" at KOST had a significantly higher starting salary than the jocks at other stations did. With the formative thoughts of this article already bubbling in my head, I challenged him about this. "Why are you criticizing them? Their job requires a high level of skill and competence, just like yours does, although it's a different kind of competence." His response was, "I'm not saying they don't deserve to be paid, but why should they be paid the most?"

This illustrates the anti-announcer bias I'm getting at. Those of us who are in the "personality camp", and I include myself in this group, tend to look down our noses at those in the "announcer camp." We make fun of them, we get laughs from putting on our puking "announcer voices," and so on. We think their jobs are a piece of cake compared to ours. But maybe we ought to have a little more respect.

So, are you an announcer, or a personality? More importantly, what does your boss expect you to be? (This is a pretty important thing to think about, since your paycheck depends on it!) Let's take the air talent quiz:

*Would your boss say that the absolute most crucial thing about your job is getting the programming elements, liners, sweepers, jingles, songs, correctly executed and in the right places?

*Are there specific positioning statements or fixed liners attached to most of your talk sets?

*When you open the mike, would you feel uncomfortable talking about a personal experience, un-related to a song that you just played?

*Do you routinely find yourself censoring out your personal thoughts because "nobody cares what I think?"

*Do you make comments off-air that you would never say on-air, because somebody might be offended? (I'm not talking about inappropriate comments here, nobody should be making those, ever.)

I could be wrong, but my feeling is the more "yesses" you have to questions like these, the more likely your boss has hired you to be an announcer rather than a personality. As I've already said, there should be no shame in this. Frankly, I wish programmers would be more honest about this with their air staffs.

I remember a conversation I had with a program director of a major market "lite rock, less talk" station. He was talking about a recent staff meeting where the jocks had griped about there not being enough show prep tools provided for them in the studio. The program director's comment to me was, "How much show prep do they need, to say '(station), I'm so-and-so, and coming up next another long set of your lite rock favorites, with less talk?"

Mister program director, don’t tell your announcers that they're personalities, regardless of how flattering that sounds, if you're not willing to give them the flexibility required to be a personality!

Let's talk about the differing skill sets of these two groups. A good place to start is with voice quality. For an announcer, a smooth, polished voice is a must. For a personality, it's practically irrelevant. Some of the best personalities in the country have very imperfect voices. One of the top sports talk guys here in Dallas, Norm Hitzges, has a voice that would probably not win many awards for being easy to listen to. Dr. Laura Schlessinger is another example of a less-than-wonderful voice. Yet both of these personalities, and scores more like them, have huge audiences every single day.

For an announcer, though, a unique voice can be a problem. An un-polished voice is certainly a problem! My experience has been that most programmers of "music intensive" stations feel uncomfortable with voices that are too far outside the established norm. An "odd" or "unfinished" voice represents a potential "tune-out" factor, and music-intensive radio is more about avoiding tune-out than anything else.

A second major differentiation between an announcer and a personality is content. An announcer communicates information, whereas a personality communicates passion. Stand-up comic Judy Carter has written a great book,, a must-read for every radio personality who uses humor in his or her show, entitled "Stand-Up Comedy, The Book." In it, she makes the point that audiences don't respond to jokes, they respond to the passion behind those jokes.

Think about a break you did on today's show where you talked about a certain topic, not a station-oriented topic like a contest or feature. Were you passionate about it? Did you express that passion in personal terms? Or did you simply communicate information, without putting a personal spin on it?

Let's use the recent American Music Awards as an example. The announcer would simply have communicated information. "That was Ricky Martin, who won an American Music Award last night for best Latin artist." The personality would go a step further and express some passion. "Jennifer Lopez got RIPPED OFF!" "Did you see Britney Spears’ DRESS!? SHOCKING!" Or something similarly subjective.

It's important to note that the line between announcer and personality is not drawn by how much you talk! Yes, you can be a personality in ten or fifteen second intervals! If you've ever listened to some of those old air checks from Bobby Ocean and Machine Gun Kelly on KHJ back in the 70's, you know what I mean. Conversely, just because you blathered on for two minutes about some topic doesn’t make you a personality!

Having said that, I must add here that I get a kick out of consultants and programmers who wave reams of research in the air that "proves" that listeners don't like DJ chatter. Clarification: listeners don't like pointless DJ chatter. If you've got something to say, they'll listen. (If people really hate DJ chatter, then why is talk radio so popular?) However, many jocks just don't have anything to say. There's nothing worse than hearing an announcer trying to be a personality, it's uncomfortable! This happens all the time on the TV evening news, when the news announcers exchange "happy talk." Ever notice how inane the content of that chitchat is? Better to say nothing at all than to foist that kind of "personality" on your listeners.

A final thought: In reality, many of us who consider ourselves to be personalities are some combination of announcer and personality. This is especially true outside of morning drive. Most of us have to sell the station and the music to at least some degree. Even more reason to be aware of the different skill sets required! Still, you should take an honest evaluation of which is your primary role. There have been days when I have been a pretty good personality but a pretty bad announcer. Recognizing the difference between the two has helped me accept such shows and leave the building with at least some sense of satisfaction.


Sooo, what are you, most of all? An announcer? Or a personality? There's room for both in the radio biz. The key is to find your niche and solidify your position in it! If you're an announcer, approach your craft like a singer or orator. Work out the imperfections in your voice, practice your pacing, get rid of any traces of regional accent, do breathing exercises. If you're a personality, work on your passion. Find things that you care about and talk about them! Yes, be topical and relevant, but above all, be passionate! And don't let a couple of flubbed words or jumbled thoughts make you feel like your show has been a failure!

[RadioFriend]

Great Stuff..............

Thanks for a great piece,I'm wondering where you came across that?

Bloody great read....


RF

[Preset No.3]

Originally posted by patdj1
Hey, 16.db!

Courtenay.

TIME-CHECKS: B'fast, every link. Drive, maximum every 1/4-hr depending on station policy. (What's the point on a Dance outlet?)

Pat.

Pat,

No disrespect I never liked you on 98. Having said that when you did brekkie on Energy 103, I always noticed that you said the time where ever possible, even in the middle of an ad break! That was class radio, sharp and fun. On a seperate note, I hear sun80s playing Mel brooks - Its good to be the king. Perhaps if you have the Energy 103 rap, you could put it online so the fans of Energy can download it.

[KJ]

A most excellent read ................. is there no room for a mixture of both though?

I would have thought alot of presenters would straddle both roles easily - Aidan Leanord and Colm Hayes spring to mind as Ive heard both do "that was, this is" radio (Colm when he was on 2FM maybe?) yet both can do personality radio too. Its late tho, Im sure there's other examples out there.

"The Perfect Link
· Open the Mic and ident the Station.
· Forward introduce the 30 minute music marathon
· Use the Station logo (Your No1 Hit Music Station).
· Introduce the weather person but don’t “chit chat” because 16-34 yr olds don’t want that?
· Check on the Time and hit a sweeper.
· And remember get it all into 30sec or your dragged into the PD’s office"


Yeah it has come that hasnt it? But then again - its more about the music, the music matters - with a CHR format the jock just needs to be easy on the ear and not disturb the flow

Which leads me to ..............


One thing that was quite interesting though was their philosophy regarding links - quite different from over here! Their golden rule was Respect the Music. No talking over music. Period. That includes intro's and outro's! When I asked why, the response was that nobody (listener or PC) really cares whether you can hit a vocal or not, and its all about the music

Now that IS a bit silly. If 64 bar intros are on club 12" mixes to make the gigging club jocks life easier then good punchy intro's are there for radio jocks. Eg; if they werent then why doesnt Sugababes "Round Round" just cut straight to the vocal. The excellent intro has "insert radio DJ link here" all over it

A great thread ............ keep 'em coming ;)


KJ

[patdj1]

Originally posted by Preset No.3
Pat,

No disrespect I never liked you on 98. Having said that when you did brekkie on Energy 103, I always noticed that you said the time where ever possible, even in the middle of an ad break! That was class radio, sharp and fun. On a seperate note, I hear sun80s playing Mel brooks - Its good to be the king. Perhaps if you have the Energy 103 rap, you could put it online so the fans of Energy can download it.

Hey, Preset!

Courtenay.

Yeeeaaaah, I knoooow....A lot of people say that about the 98fm years, but the specified requirements were pretty different. We had to be a lot more conscious of target audience. Also, I'd never worked in a full-time duo situation, which kinda modified the output.
Another thing was something John Fleming and I discussed briefly last week and that's the "Great Australian Humour By-pass." Now, Jeff O'Brien knows his business; however he didn't always share my views on what's funny. He did, though, push me towards developing some areas I prob'ly never would've explored otherwise.

The "Ad-break Time Check."
That was a trick I developed many summers gone, Two-Dogs-F*@%ing! The thinking behind it is that if your research tells you that your Listener wants plenty of time-checks, it adds another reason (as well as forward pointing) to LISTEN THROUGH AN AD. BREAK. This becomes a useful tool for a Sales Reptile who can tell the client that there's that much more chance of his ad. getting heard.
If you're going to do it, though, you have to stick to A) time-check only, B) after 60" of ads, C) be careful not to leave a gap 'cos you've given yourself one more thing to do.

Q: What was the Energy Rap? I've forgotten that one.

Cheers,

Pat.

[Radio Presenter]

"STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO BETTER STATIONALITY"
by Joel Raab
Stationality is the “personality” of your radio station. It’s the emotional bond you create between the radio station and your audience.
Know your target. For example, the typical Country station’s listener might be a female; 41 years old, average income, shops at Wal-Mart, and has two teenage kids. Have a visual image of the listener. Everything must pass through that filter. Make sure everyone on your staff (on and off the air) knows the identity of the target listener. Put his/her picture up in the control room.
Know the landscape. While passing everything through the target listener filter, you must also create something unique. In Arbitron, what’s unique is what’s memorable. What’s memorable gets written down in Arbitron (like your station’s call letters). Positive product differentiation will win the Arbitron game. Young Country is a great example.
Establish a position. Can you sum up your essence in a few words? Is it clear? Does it ring an emotional bell with your target (remember the “listener”)? A lot of positioning statements (and other radio jargon) mean nothing to the audience. Example: An 18 year old station calling itself “New Country” will confuse the audience.
Master the basics. “Stationality” is irrelevant unless the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. In battles, the war is won in the details and consistency day-in and day-out. Examples: Is your music rotating properly? Have you properly inputted your music test information? Are spot clusters filling before a second spotset is scheduled? Are your promotions getting enough exposure for listeners to comprehend the message? Do you open music sweeps with songs that are the essence of your radio station?
Beyond basics, Stationality starts with the morning show. The impression people will have of your radio station begins here. The morning show sets the tone. Usually we just look for a morning show without considering the type of morning show that our target listener wants to hear.
Steps to having the right morning show. Create the “cast” as a TV show producer would. Define the characters you want on the show, and find them. Or redefine characters that already exist on your morning show. Often the mistake is made to hire a talent, and fit him/her into a plan. Better to fit round holes into round pegs. Make sure they have the support they need (lots of feedback and ideas from a producer or the program director).
Program to listeners, not other radio people. There could be some cool liner you heard in LA, but you have to determine if it fits your target. Must Read Radio: The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing by Reis & Trout.
Do air talent relate to or reflect the target audience. It’s OK if they are not the same age, but they have to understand the target. In Country, people at the radio station tend to be more “hip” than the room. A most common example is unmarried air personalities who think the audience is going out frequently on weeknights. Make sure talent watch TV shows that listeners watch, frequent restaurants that listeners frequent, and speak to the concerns of the audience. For example, does your morning news lead with a Palestinian bombing, or a major advancement in breast cancer research?
Make sure contests and promotions connect with target audience. For example, do listeners participate in their heads even if they don’t play the game? More participation (active or passive) insures more connection with the radio station.
Radio is big to the average listener. Make sure you look at all angles to make sure that contests and promotions sound bigger than life. Get the CD’s autographed by the artist, and have a grand prize for the weekend contest “that money can’t buy.”
Audio. What’s coming out of the speakers? Does the technical sound of your radio station match the mood you are trying to create, or help you differentiate yourself from the competition? In Dallas, for example, Young Country stations effectively used heavy reverb to differentiate themselves from their heritage competitors. Others have given their music a pitch boost of 2% or more to make the other station sound slow.
Production values. Do they match and embellish the music? Make sure they don’t overwhelm the music or the message you are trying to get across. Zaps and lasers are fine if they accentuate a message, but not if they are put there for their own sake.
Jingles. Depends on the format. If a competitor has them, it would be wise to consider not having them for differentiation. If both stations in a battle have them, make sure yours are significantly different, particularly if you are a challenger. The key to successful implementation of jingles: Do your listeners walk away humming the melody of your call letters? If not, go back to the drawing board.
Picking the voice talent. You want a unique sound. Bigger isn’t always better. A lot of stations are alternating male/female voices in sweepers and promos. Picking the voice talent is just the first step in using a voice talent.
Coach the voice talent. Don’t just send off the liners. Make sure you are patched through to hear each liner as it’s recorded (at least in the first few sessions until they “get” what you’re trying to do).
Be picky about the final product. If a sweeper or promo doesn’t pass the mustard, send it back to be re-worked. Typical problems: Sweepers that are too long or too busy sounding. Work with your production people closely to get the sound you are looking for.
Note that your stationality will always be a reflection of your own personality. The key is making sure that you and your stationality connect with the audience.

[Radio Presenter]

"DOING ALL THE LITTLE THINGS"
by Steve Young
When the Book is in full swing, and you have all of your major plans in place, the overall outcome is pretty well fixed. Now, all you can do, is make sure the execution goes as well as you can get it to go. Getting the most credit for the things that you are doing can make a big difference to your results. That is where all of the 'little things' come into play.
Lately, I've been spending a lot of time monitoring client stations and check listing them for those little things. Why? -- Simply because it is those little things that can make the biggest difference in your Spring Book results. After all, several little things can truly add up to a big thing when it comes to your results.
Recycling
How good are you at telling your listeners about 'appointments' on your radio station? I am surprised sometimes by how poorly this is done on so many radio stations. I spoke with one client this week who wondered why he wasn't getting a buzz on an 80's feature they had debuted on the weekend.
I asked him how many promos and liners he had been running for the show. He told me that he ran a few the first week the show ran and that they now talk about it a couple of times on Saturday, which is the day the show runs.
I asked him if he believed that his cume was truly informed about the show. He assumed that by mentioning it the week of the debut, that his audience would have a good knowledge of the show. I asked him about all that cume that was new to the station AFTER he ran the promos for the show.
He had forgotten that his cume keeps turning over and there was a very good chance that many of them weren't even aware of the special programming.
Sit down with the person who schedules your live and recorded promos. Set your priorities out, and ensure that your important recyclers get the reach and frequency they deserve. Concentrate on your most important programming initiatives and make sure you don't clutter up the message.
Post Promote
If you are doing a major Book promotion, don't let the excitement end with the selection and announcement of a winner. It is important to take and receive credit for what your radio station is doing. To completely succeed at branding, make sure you have plenty of post promotion on the air.
Remind your listeners that it was you that made the contest or event happen. Don't let the excitement fizzle -- momentum is critical to achieving success in programming.
Tighten Your Rotations
Don't be afraid to run a couple of weeks with only your best songs in the rotation. It won't hurt. This puts your best product forward when you most want to highlight it. You'll get credit for variety throughout the special feature programming that you are doing. That is, if you are recycling and post promoting properly. That is the best way to make a little special programming go a long way.
Follow Through
Even though Arbitron has an end date, don't stop reminding your listeners what they are listening to and where they are hearing all of this great radio. It is proven that most diary keepers fill out their diaries AFTER the week they are actually keeping the record.
Since we are dealing with being successful at creating and maximizing recall, keep up your efforts to remind your listeners just who their favorite radio station is. Remember that it's what they think they are listening to that can most give your Arbitron a boost.


Branding
Remember to attach your name to every feature you do on the air. It isn't just the 80's Lunch; it's the WXXX 102.9 80's Lunch. You can never overuse your name. Take credit for all of the great things you are doing.
Listeners do not use radio the way we, who produce it, do. Make it easy for them to associate great radio with your name. This can get you extra credit when it comes time for your listeners to fill out their diaries.
Add Weekend Features
It never hurts to add more branding opportunities to your arsenal. Countdown weekends or A to Z specials are good ways to use weekends as cume building opportunities. Consider doing something like "The Memorial Weekend 500" or some other branded special for the first true holiday of the warm weather season.
Make your specials as interactive as possible and invite involvement from your listeners. Also, make sure to recycle from these special weekends into your weekday features. Use these opportunities to present the best material to recycle from your morning show, inviting your listeners to tune in on Monday morning.
It's just another opportunity to introduce some of your best strengths to new cume and to make sure you brand it by attaching your name to it.
Use Your Database To Promote
As an additional weapon, if you have a database of e-mail addresses collected from listeners who have participated in some way with your radio stations, don't be afraid to use it.
Special weekends, creating promotional opportunities reserved only for listeners in the database, and another means to brand your radio station all exist within reach of your marketing department's Outlook program.
By the way, always give your listeners the opportunity to 'opt-out' of receiving e-mails from you. You don't want to be accused of spamming your listeners!
As Jones Radio Networks fellow consultant, Ken Moultrie often reminds us, there are ALWAYS diary keepers out there listening to the radio. Doing the little things better might just get your name into more of their diaries.

[Preset No.3]

Pat,

The Energy rap was done circa 96 with yourself and Colm Hayes. It used the track 'its good to be the king' It was just a skit on the energy jocks but was very funny.

[DeargDoom]

Know your listener and be relevant to 'em.

Put it this way. When it snows and the schools close, Freedom 92 FMs audience will be delighted, Lite FMs audience won't be.

And for the love of jaysus, be local. You don't have to sound like the lovechild of Ronnie Drew and Eamon Cooke - but nor do you have to sound like you learnt to DJ from Beverly Hills 90210.

[Radio Presenter]

30 SECOND PERSONALITIES

What is the attention span of the average person? 30 seconds!

This is according to Milo Frank in his book How To Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less, who points out that this concept can be seen in 30 second commercials, sound bites, etc. Outside mornings on most radio stations the idea of getting across a promotional liner, positioning statement, song introduction, listener phone call and content in general is often done in 30 seconds or less. This skill was perfected in Top 40 radio in the 1960's by Bill Drake. In that era DJ's were often highly entertaining and imaginative in less than 30 seconds, but it's somewhat of a lost art in radio today. Yes, radio talent are talking in 30 seconds or less, but it's coming off as robotic, liner card radio _ they're not being entertaining and a `personality' in those short bursts. You can work your personality through the station liners, plus it's a way to really make what you say count, other than reading off a liner that doesn't cut through. The fundamental principles of getting your point across in a memorable way in 30 seconds or less include:

1. Have a clear cut objective. Ask yourself -- What do I want to achieve? There can only be one main objective.

2. Know your listeners and what they want. Knowing who your target listeners are in detail, both demographically and psychographically is paramount. Ask yourself _ What does the listener want to know about this promotion, your music position, this artist, etc. What one thing more than any other will get a favorable reaction/response from them?

3. What is your approach? The right approach is the single thought or sentence (the premise, concept, theme, etc.) that best leads to your objective.

4. Devise a hook. This is a question or statement that will get the listener's attention. Ask yourself _ What's the most unusual, interesting, exciting, dramatic or humorous part of your subject?

5. Paint a picture. Think in pictures and use descriptive words your listeners will remember.

6. Don't read or memorize. Master the material. The goal is spontaneity and sincerity.

7. Always have a close. Answer the question _ What do I want from my listeners?
There are two types of closes:
> Action...a call to action is the direct approach.
> Reaction...use when the best way to close is to ask indirectly

[TheGoldenMaverick]

Jaysus, yis all make it sound so hard. The formula's and tricks and tips that you give are what lends radio that predictability and familiarity that many people are tiring of. You've got to do your own thing surely and not try to mimic others. As a music lover when i see artists mimic other artists it makes me have less respect for them. In much the same way the presenters on most Irish and Dublin stations have the cloned effect about them. All mid-Atlantic drawl which may have been new in the early eighties (circa Nova etc) but which sounds so tired and drawn these days. Also the same goes for most ads made on Dublin pirate stations, pretend UK or American accents with lots of reverb on the auld FX box.
It's gotten to the stage where i cannot tell the difference between FM104,Spin FM, RTE Radio 2 and Today FM. Can anyone explain if there is one?
Ireland's only hope lies in the raw and ready sound of pirates where you hear real people. I'm not talking the formulaic Phantom and Sun FM thing here. I'm talking about the young kids playing out of someones shed in Cabra or Walkinstown or Ballydehob for that matter. Formula sucks, throw away the rule book and enjoy it. The alternative is to end up like a poor pastiche of Larry Gogan.

Just some thoughts and i mean no offence,

The Golden Maverick

[Radio Presenter]

The Golden Maverick, I think I understand what you're suggesting when you say throw the rule book away. I think it's important that people have passion for the product and when on air are having fun and involve the listener. The relaity is that too many presenters take themselves too seriously when doing the gig.

I think that a great example of this style is Rick O'Shea. He encompasses all the elements I've just mentioned. Hated his show a year ago...(cause he appeared to worry too much about being tight...which as I always say means nothing to listeners). He has however evolved into this character who gives the perception he just doesn't give a damn! I think you'll find he does...but yet maintains an organised 'fun circus'.

:)

[DeargDoom]

Radio Presenter is so damned right ... listeners should get some sense of what you are really like off mic (not some cute little "hey dere tree twenty tree in da capital city" persona). Try talking to listeners as if you were talking to them in a pub (howya, love, listen me mate fancies your mate, ...actually maybe not).

[KJ]

lol

I reckon a happy medium between the 2 maybe


Re: Maverick's thoughts ............ good post. Bear in mind tho that listeners dont want to hear the 2 extremes on air, i.e. extremely D4 (for want of a better description) and extremely "stooooorrrreeee bud??!" (er, for want of a better analogy)

What's left in the middle is accents that come across as clear and neutral ........ nowt wrong with that really

I see wha you're saying, but that "mid-Atlantic drawl" isnt really with us anymore


Re: Rick O Shea's new style - I love it ....... he's the one guy I go outta my way to listen to (and record if Im out) lately


KJ

;)

[Sam Lowry]

What a feckin great thread! How brilliant to see intelligent, passionate argument about where our part of the industry should be going! I, of course, have my 2 cents worth!

Loved the "Announcer Vs Personality" article. If you're an announcer (or even a personality in hiding) then much of what you see above about "stationality", timechecks and what to put in a link is very valid. But how many times have I been listening to jocks on pirates all across Dublin and on legals all around the country and come across the same problem.

THEY ALL SOUND ALIKE!

The same cliched jock-isms from the 80's, the same phraseology (how many people actually say "weather wise" yet how many times have you heard a jock say it?), the same hackneyed gags about Kylie's arse. The guys on the pirates should be most ashamed! They have carte blanche to say whatever they feel yet most fall into the trap of trying to sound like Dublin liner card jocks. Not all of them I hasten to add.

The single most valid trick I can offer to you is to aircheck yourself constantly. If you do you'll spot all of those annoying crutches and, if not eliminate them, become more aware of them.

The Gareth O'Callaghan situation is an interesting one. Many here seems to think he embodies all that is bad about 2FM yet his audience is consistently healthy DESPITE some of the very poor music that gets played on his show. Why? Because he engages the punter on a one to one level and you feel he's a real, three dimensional human being. You don't listen to 2FM in the afternoon, you listen to Gareth O'Callaghan.

Think back particularly to when you were a teenager. Who did you listen to frequently and why? Was it someone who sold the station promotion well and hit the vocals (not that these aren't admirable qualities in themselves) or was it someone you grew to like and thought of almost as a friend?

People want to hear people, not a cliche spewing mannequin. Engage them on a one to one basis and you have them for life. You don't have to "be yourself" (none of us really are!) but you do have to sound like a real person. Don't be afraid to say what you think, give your own opinion, relate something that you did today to a track, rave about the music you like!

Don't script your links or you'll be a slave to it, if you can't talk off the top of your head than what are you doing in radio?! It's what we do!

It's a survival of the fittest thing really. There are hundreds of 2D cliche spewing jocks in Ireland and maybe 20 who give of themselves and are true personalities. At what level of the industry do they work? Mostly the top. Why? Because they are true commodities and few and far between. The punters know it and listen, the programmers know it and fight over them.

Which do you want to be?

[DeargDoom]

I want to be the music director so I can get bribed with bags of cocaine delivered by supermodels instructed by the record companies to obey my every whim. Payola? Thats just another word for part-ay!

[Radio Presenter]

Five Elements Of A Great Show
by Hollywood Henderson

How many times have you snapped off the mic at the end of your shift and thought, "THAT was a great show!" only to be disappointed when you listen back to the air check? Or, conversely, how many times have you thought, "that was a HORRIBLE show!" and then when you listen back to it, you think, "Hmmm, that wasn't that bad after all!"
Obviously our perceptions "in the heat of the battle" can be mistaken. That's why it's good to set some concrete objectives against which we can compare our performance. That way, we don't have to rely on our "feelings," which are not great indicators of radio reality!
Let me say at the outset that my idea of what makes a great show may be different from yours, and that doesn't make your idea wrong. There's plenty of room for people to do things differently. This article simply gives my view, based on my twenty some-odd years in the biz. So here we go, my top five elements of a great personality radio show! Let's do it like Letterman (or Casey Kasem) and count down from number five to number one...

5. Solid Board Work
This is a given, I know. But you'd be amazed at how many jocks slip up here. Scott Shannon used to say "Before you can be a great jock, you gotta be a great board op." So true. It's easy to dismiss bad board work, especially when it doesn't show up on the air check. That dead air between spots or the too long fadeout, or the ugly sounding jingle seg sometimes almost seem like they don't count, because the skimmer didn't record them! Take pride in your board work! It's the foundation to a great show!

4. Consistent Delivery
Your delivery should be solid and consistent. This does not mean "flawless," although there was a time in my radio career that I felt that it HAD to be flawless in order to be considered "great." I would get into a show, and the minute I flubbed one syllable, I wanted to turn off the skimmer and bulk the tape, thinking "well, there goes THAT show!" I have since learned that perfection is not a healthy or reasonable goal. But you should still, obviously, keep the flubs to a minimum.
There should be a consistency to your show, hour to hour, day to day, week to week. Listeners should know what to expect, so that they can develop a "comfort zone" with you. There are few better factors in your favor than familiarity. This means avoiding wild swings in pacing and energy level.
A lot of PDs will tell you that they are looking for a talent that sounds clear and confident on the air. I agree that confidence and clarity are important, desirable qualities. However, I think you can still be a great personality, even WITHOUT these qualities, IF you are compelling and engaging. Think of the many well-known personalities, Bob Newhart, for one, who have carved out a niche for themselves by sounding NOT confident! The key to their success is being consistent. Audiences know what to expect from these people, and they love them for it.

3. No Throw-Aways
You should take the approach that every break counts. Don't coast. That's pretty basic advice, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.
Now, most of us work in formats where there are some formatics that must be executed. Liners that must be read, backsells and front sells, positioning statements that have to be delivered. It's sometimes easy to "throw these away," so you can get to the "good stuff" that you are about to talk about. Don't. Sell the call letters and format elements as best you can, and THEN do your bit. If you don't have a "bit," then try to deliver the formatic elements in a fresh way.
Naturally, some PDs won't WANT you to deviate from their set liners and positioning statements, or deliver them in a fresh way. We talked about that in the last article (Announcer VS Personality). These PDs really don't WANT you to be a personality, regardless of what they might say in the staff meeting. Working in a format like that, you are of necessity more an announcer than a personality. But if your PD really DOES want to develop you as a personality, he will WANT you to "push the envelope." I've been lucky to work for PDs who allowed me the luxury of trying to do something fresh and different, even if it didn't work every time. But even the hard-line PDs, the good ones anyway, WANT you to challenge their formatics, and are pleased when you pull off something great. (Of course, with these guys, the hotline rings when you DON'T!)
So, go for great radio! If it flops, so what? At least you tried! One of Ann Landers most-read columns about success contains these wise words, "It is better to aim high and miss the mark than to aim low and make it." Hey, bad "train wreck" radio is sometimes pretty compelling, too!

2. Relevant Content
What is relevant? Hard to say for sure, but you know it when you hear it, and when you DON'T!. Certainly it varies from format to format, audience to audience. My definition of "relevant," in the context of doing a personality radio show, would involve passion. Specifically, anything that triggers a passionate response from both you and a majority of your listeners can be considered to be relevant. (It stands to reason that YOU have to care about the content as well as your listener. For a refresher on how absolutely necessary passion is to being a personality, please refer back to the preceding article, Announcer VS Personality.)
By "passionate," I don't mean that everything you say has to have earth-shattering implications. What I do mean is that your content should elicit at least some amount of passion or emotion in a significant percentage of the people in your audience. Your content should be evocative. People should care about what you're talking about. Or, if they DON'T care, whatever it is you say should MAKE them care, or at least respond.
As a CHR personality I try to take the same approach with my content as my program director takes with the music. Just as the PD wants to choose records that will appeal to the widest possible audience, I want to choose my topics to be of interest to the most possible people. That doesn't mean that I can ONLY talk about items that have a broad interest. It only means that if I DO choose to talk about something of limited interest, I had better be sure that (A) I'm passionate about it, and (B) my passion can evoke a response.
My general rule is that the broader the interest in a topic or subject, the less evocative my content may be. And conversely, the more limited the appeal, the more evocative my content has to be. For example, if a tornado has just ripped through my town, just about anything I say about it is going to have relevance to just about any listener. So I don't HAVE to come up with something terribly clever or imaginative. However, if I have a passionate interest in playing croquet, or bridge, then if I am going to use this as content for my show, I had better have something darn interesting to say about it!
I would toss in a word of caution here that, generally, if you don't have anything to say about something, then don't bring it up! I'll never forget a Kidd Kraddick morning show seminar, where he had put together a bogus aircheck of a hack jock (played by himself!) demonstrating how NOT to do radio! In one of the breaks, he made mention of some interesting factoid, you know, the kind of thing you get on your everyday radio prep sheet, "did you know that such and such", then there was a pause, and then he simply said, "How about THAT!?" As if that were enough to make anybody care!

[Radio Presenter]

1. Frequent Listener Payoffs
What is a "listener payoff?" From a personality jock's viewpoint, it's saying something relevant, interesting, entertaining, memorable or engaging. (That's not an all-inclusive list!) It's like scoring a point in tennis, or hitting the target with another arrow. From the listener's viewpoint, it's a feeling of satisfaction, of having needs met, of "completeness" they get from listening to your station. Or SHOULD get, or they won't hang around very long!
Yes, the music provides "listener payoffs." (except for talk hosts!). But this article is for jocks, so we'll ignore the music element for now. Focus on your content, and making it hit the mark, repeatedly, and regularly, for the entire length of your show. My guideline is that you should "hit the target" at least every twenty seconds when you've got the mike open. (Less frequent is okay in morning drive, I'd say a "payoff" maybe every minute or so would be sufficient.) That means that if you're going to talk for forty seconds, you better have two "payoffs" in there. That is, two "punch lines", interesting "twists", or "points."
For example, when I'm running a phone bit, I always, as a matter of form, try to have the "punch line" or "kicker" as the very END of the bit. Thus, if I'm going to run a forty second phone bit, I need to have TWO "payoffs" in the bit, one in the first half somewhere, and the other at the end. Without that, the phone bit will seem "too long" both to your listener and to your PD!
This is not a hard and fast rule, but I firmly believe in this ratio of one payoff every twenty seconds. It has been my experience that if your payoffs are much less frequent than this, your listeners are probably wishing you would just shut up and play the music, like they always tell the radio research guys.
A word on evaluating a break. It is helpful to evaluate BEFORE you actually DO the break. Over the years, I've developed a couple of strategies to help me decide whether or not to do a particular break that I've planned out but perhaps am unsure about. One strategy is to try to imagine the PD you admire most sitting in his office listening to that break on an aircheck you sent him. If you get a squeamish feeling, then don't run the break. Another idea: imagine your response if the jock on your main competition was doing the break. Would you ridicule it? If so, don't do it!
So there you have my five elements of a great show! When I want to decide whether a show was good or not, instead of relying on my feelings, I have some concrete parameters to which I can compare my performance. You may or may not agree with the order, or even with some of the elements that I have included. That's fine. Probably the more important idea here is to think about what DOES make for a successful show, for YOU, and then come up with your OWN list that you can use as a benchmark.

Source: http://www.relentlessradio.com/jocks/05-00-Henderson-5elements.htm

[Peadar]

Hey RP, they're excellent..... if only everyone went by them :)

[Liamo]

Great read RP

I have to agree with most of what was said so far. Timing bang up to the vocal is great, talking over it is a complete no-no, and stopping before it is OK, as long as the inflection on your voice is even or going down, indicating that you're deliberately finishing the sentence, not getting caught wondering if the vocal is about to start.

So, in so many ways there are basic rules, and these are the ones that will make you an OK or acceptable "announcer". I don't necessarily agree that a "personality" would have to make a comment on someone's dress or whatever, but there is a difference in the way things are said.

For example, if you listen when, say, newsreaders fill in for presenters, then you'll hear the difference. Someone who's used to reading authoritatively and factually will rarely add a lot of intonation to their vocal, whereas someone who's presenting will. In a way, that's why they're newsreaders - you know from their voice that they're talking facts.

From the posting that RP had, don't necessarily read "personality" as "larger than life personality". If that's you, fine, but don't force it and don't do shock-jock or be controversial just for the sake of it. "Personality" means someone other than what most stations seem to go for, format-wise, with the 10-second punctuated link. Be yourself (am I starting to sound like Desiderata or The Sunscreen Song :o) ?)

Having a rapport with the audience is much more relaxing, and much more fun, and it can also provide scope for a more interesting show. There's also the fact that if you come across as the timed-to-the-second-shit-hot-jock that a mistake will be more noticeable and will be seized on; to me (or maybe to my age-group) a relaxed approach is less in-your-face to the listener and you're more likely to get listeners and calls.

That said, it also depends on the station/music type/PC - the above might be the way I like to work and seems to suit my listeners, but as the article says, be sure what your boss has hired you for.

Some other advice that I got before was interesting, and I don't agree with it, but I'll pass on both ways of thinking. The advice, from someone who was in radio for years, (and there's that Sunscreen feeling again :o)) was to never go back on a mistake, because you'd only highlight it to people who may not have noticed the first time. I don't completely agree, since the ones listening attentively are the ones more involved, and there's an approachability about being genuinely human and fallible which can sometimes raise a laugh.

You'll notice from another thread that EVERYONE has, at some stage, committed a gaffe....it'll be interesting to see who's laughed/explained/highlighted it and who's glossed over it.

[sub-site]

I find when I'm forcing a dj voice (which I sometimes do), I make my tongue and jaw more rigid and stiff than it should be... consciously relaxing them allows to overcome this...

Then, to make the speech clearer, I try talking through my front teeth (if that makes any sense)... ie. where your two front stick stick out and should you smile, it'd be one of those cheesy traingular type smiles:)

[sub-site]

Originally posted by Kevin Jay
Being able to speak with authority is an absolute requirement for sounding 'professional'.

That's why I hate hearing jocks reading press releases... some just can't do it convincingly... authority invloves making a piece your own... they'd be better off to read the piece... jot down what they got from it and read that out!... the wording mightn't be as impressive, they might need to think on the spot a little but at least it would be the jock talking and not the suits who issued it!

[Master Control]

Sub - not sure what exactly you mean in your second last post??????

You can either speak or you can't!! Why are you "forcing a DJ voice" in the first place?

People want someone they can relate to, if you're trying to sound like someone with a peg on his nose then what's the point? A good example of that is Robbie Fogarty by the way, there is no way that man speaks like that in reality but hey he has the gig on 98 and I don't :rolleyes:

[sub-site]

You can either speak or you can't!! Why are you "forcing a DJ voice" in the first place?

I was forcing a dj voice because I was doing production with cool edit and using the vocal compressor and vocal limiter... they make you sound a certain way... I noticed I was playing towards the processing a bit...

People want someone they can relate to, if you're trying to sound like someone with a peg on his nose then what's the point? [/B]

LOL... again it's down to people trying to refine their own voice on-air... I always think that the amount a jock is trying to sell him/ herself is proportional to the level of intonation they speak with... when you're varying intonation in your voice, it is like singing... you're varying the pitch and tone of you're voice... (sounds like singing to me anyway!)... my post outlined how to avoid doing that... you can't sing if you're speaking from your upper palette...

I hope you agree with this... have you ever heard someone read a press release putting on a forced optimistic voice after reading the first line? It's a complete charade. The idea would be to finish the press release with that tone of voice... at least then it'd sound like the jock has been convinced him/ herself as opposed to just *trying* to convince the listener...

and hey! If you want a gig on somewhere like 98FM badly enough, it's bound to happen for you sooner or later;)

[Liamo]

Good advice there. And in addition to the old chestnuts of "fillum", "dese" and "doze", I'd add the newly-evolved and even more irritating UK and US-inspired habits of:
[list=a]
removing or softening the letter "r" towards "ah" (e.g. it's "corner" and "four", not "cohnah" and "foah")
adding an "r" to words that end in vowels (e.g. the word "idea" becoming "idearr")
the US-inspired habits of adding "so" and "like" to a Friends-style sentence
[/list=a]

I'd personally add the use of made-up words like "bling" (definitions on a postcard please) and make sure you're using phrases with their real meaning (a documentary the other day had something about Destiny's Child's album being "dropped", which somehow meant the complete opposite - that it was released :confused: ).

Also, be sure and read sentences beforehand so that you know where to put the emphasis and how to pronounce words (e.g. the word "R-E-A-D" can be present or past), and be sure to finish on a proper intonation (intonation going up at the end of a sentence implies a rhetorical question).

On intonation, you need to emphasise diction and intonation a little slower and a little more than usual, but you do need to stop short of the "smashy and nicey"/"DJ voice" syndrome.

Also, there's a difference in the amount of "punch" that you put behind presenting and doing voice-overs/ads/pr, although as sub-site pointed out you need to consider whether that sounds ok as being enthusiastic or trying to force the listener to agree.

I've always believed that there should be a balance between approachable/slightly conversational (i.e. no rambling!!) and professional (accurate, good diction/pronunciation, good timing), and enthusisam and knowledge of the music and your target audience.

However, there are a lot of stations nowadays that put the emphasis more on how well you can say their predefined tag-line links, so it depends on what area of radio you're going into.

Best of luck!

[Master Control]

[i]Originally posted by sub-site
and hey! If you want a gig on somewhere like 98FM badly enough, it's bound to happen for you sooner or later;) [/B]

Maybe some day ;)

I agree with you, Larry Gogan still does it to this day and you can tell when he does it and when he's doing his own thing.

What I do is read something myself and then throw it away or put the paper away from the desk and put it into my own words. When you're telling a mate about something you saw in the paper about Posh and Becks for example, are you gonna say, "hang on, I need to get the Star before I can continue".

Sometimes you need both though, paper and you're own words so if you can distinguish between the two then all the better.

[dlccr973]

To sound professional.... Go in...... Do the job..... leave... Don't talk to anyone behind the scenes about anyone and then leave... thats all you have to do...

[sub-site]

Someone's not an anorak!

[dlccr973]

Who me????? Jaysus...

[Liamo]

When you're telling a mate about something you saw in the paper about Posh and Becks for example, are you gonna say, "hang on, I need to get the Star before I can continue".
No, if that's the topic you're going to end up saying "Hey, where did my mate go ?" or "I need a brain transplant" :D