Building a rapport with your audience
The best information I ever received came from a wood sign in a small hole-the-wall bar in south OKC. The board reads life is full of choices; be careful of the ones you make. While choosing a radio station isn’t as life or death as deciding to have unprotected sex with strangers, the saying truth still rings home. For the modern-day radio professional involved in programming, the balance between the business side and the programming side is delicate and weighs heavy for both parties involved. That relationship should be as strong as the listener-to-station relationship. People are keen observers of the attitudes and habits of the station’s talent and verbiage. While it seems elementary, things like listener relationship building come with a few necessities.
Always tell the truth
Howard Stern’s Private Parts movie helped foster my radio dreams. It arrived in theaters during my middle school to first year in high school. It helped seal my choice of radio for my profession. The scene that best sticks with me is when Howard has to go back and apologize for lying to his audience about going to a place when he was a kid. Funny but not. It was an early lesson for me. Next to dead air, lying wouldn’t serve my best interest. Only sometimes the opportunity to lie is present except when telling a story or presenting facts. It might be as simple as not paying off the tease you discussed all shift.
Act like they’re listening, they are.
It’s happened to me a few times. I get approached by folks who say, “Hey, I heard you the radio the other day, you were talking about __,” they say. I’m flattered, of course, and anyone could be listening at any time, even the boss. Know they are listening even when you think they aren’t. Carefully think about that each time you crack the mic. The listeners are there. You have to give them that one-on-one feel, like they are riding in the seat next to you and your wife is talking to you. She may believe you aren’t listening, but..
Be prepared
I’ve been lucky to have spent most of my broadcast career with one company. Many have traversed the country (several times) and are still searching for radio employment. I am not always the best prepared, but I must read local news, national news, radio trade publications, blogs, music and entertainment news daily. It’s a part of my daily digital diet. Stay current and relevant with information about something you recently learned. It’s like this blog; the tiny pieces of information will help somebody just set out in broadcast, or it may benefit those in the industry who will find comfort in knowing other radio people are experiencing the same things. Preparedness is paramount in most successful situations. Radio is the same.
People are people
Get out there and meet them. Your listeners or the publics are waiting to hear from you. Consistent messaging and offering your time to the cause go a long way with them. Create a stir for your business or cause. Nobody will push your cause more significantly than you or your team.
