You tune in to a show in the middle of a story and hear the host say, “She said she’d like to tour again, but he said she’d be safer and more productive spending time in the studio and doing virtual concerts.”

The host wraps up by saying something like, “We’ll find out next month what they decided to do.” The listeners think, “Who the hell are they talking about?” Then switches stations.

When covering a story, minimize pronouns and emphasize proper nouns. Rather than assume the audience has been listening from the setup of the story, simply replace pronouns with character names to provide context for listeners joining mid-story.

“Beyonce said she’d like to tour again, but Jay-Z said she’d be safer and more productive spending time in the studio and doing virtual concerts.” Radio shows maintain and increase time-spent-listening with inclusive language.

Does your show have a villain or lightning rod character with an extreme, malicious, or mischievous point of view? The antagonist could be a cast member, a bumbling boss, or any character whose menacing ways highlight the host’s endearing characteristics. If you have ...

The Top 10 Talent Coach Steve Reynolds has spent the past month rolling out his own Top 40 list! Thanks to Steve, we’re pleased to share them with you this week on All Access. To download a PDF version of the list, click here. 40 Secrets of Successful Shows 1. ...

Earlier this week on Clubhouse, consultant Loyd Ford asked me about talent coaching challenges. There are many that range from once-great shows that are in decline to new and inexperienced shows trying to find themselves. The most frustrating challenge is when talent ...

Many stations are using tracked talent these days and probably will for years to come. The pandemic proved that you don’t have to be in a radio station to do your job effectively. There are differences though. While technology has made it possible, there are sound ...

Do you ever feel bad about doing something poorly? Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly because doing it poorly is better than not doing it at all. We want perfection immediately. We avoid taking a positive step because we are terrible at it, which assures us ...

In weekly sales meetings, my financial advisor, Gerhart, reminds his staff that they are not in the financial business, they are in the relationship business. The same is true in radio: Relationships drive winning radio shows and stations. Coach-Talent Relationship ...

Life After Radio, it’s something all of us in the industry need to think about, especially right now while the traditional outlet seems to be shrinking faster and faster thanks to consolidation, and the evolution of the “Audio and Streaming Industries.” It’s ...

According to Theodore Levitt, who was a Harvard Economics professor and editor of the Harvard Business Review, all brands go through four marketing life cycles. The cycles are: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. Although some will overlap, there are different ...

Watching awards shows used to be a fun experience, full of entertainment. The show hosts were some of the biggest stars in Hollywood and the night usually opened with a performance by some of the most talented people in the industry. Songs, skits and clever joke writing ...