The Magic Of Coaching

 We can probably all at some point name one or more persons that'd actually invested into our life. Could be a parent, pastor, a teacher or even someone that we grew up with? For me it was Bill “The Birdman” Thomas that still to this day motivates me to be great in not just radio but in life. I believe as it pertains to radio there are those people that have helped get us to where we are right now and paying it forward from staff to interns shapes radio for the better.

 The great thing about great radio is that great people begat more great people. If you are a great program director it's probably because you worked for great program directors. When it pertains to air talent you're probably a great air talent because someone somewhere or more than 1 persons took the time to invest into your show. If you haven't had anyone invest into your show ever or in a while you're probably a pretty frustrated air talent.
 

 This is probably one of the things that are brushed off into the garbage can when program directors can't find the time to invest into their talent. With staff consolidation and so many air talents be networked from some other location, it's really difficult to see talents grow. Honestly, if you want your station to be the best in your market you need to make talent coaching a top priority especially if you are not gonna to hire a talent coach. It doesn't take a lot of time but has great reward. I’d love to hire a staff of people with 20% talent and 80% teachable spirit. I can work with that vs. the other way around. PD’s know what they want from their station and how they want it to sound so why wouldn’t you want your air talent to be able to accomplish more on their show when you can help them get there.

If you want to get involved with your talent, there are a couple a key areas that you can do that will make a huge difference in not only their abilities but their confidence level.

1. Find 2 things to say positive that they're doing well
 In some cases, you may have to dig to find a few good things but it'll be very easy to find something for those you work with regularly. The positive reinforcement in showing what your air talent is doing well will help them to know what is the to strive for with each break. The content, making it today and not generic or even revealing a little piece of themselves to the listener makes for compelling radio and keeps your show from being obsolete.

2. Find 2 things they need to work on each week
 Even if there are more than 2 things, and in most cases there are, you can't as an air talent functional or process all these changes. You can only focus on what are 2 things per week. If you overwhelm your talent its harder for them to get better. They have to believe in themselves and have to respect you as a programmer so the importance of your reinforcement is like that of the parent to child; Explaining why you do or don't do something on the air helps them to create a filter that will make their show very real and relatable to the listener. All you’re investing in the air talent when they make a mistake that’s gonna make them leave in time because they aren’t growing. It helps to set people up to succeed in order for the whole station to thrive.

Side note for all programmers: You have to make sure that the talent you have no matter what time slot they are in now is that were there best suited because if you hire someone for mornings and they really are more cut out to do a solo afternoon show you wanna put them there so that they can succeed and be the best for your team. It doesn't mean there a bad air talent or could never do mornings, it just means that they're not cut out for that particular spot on the air at this time and helping them see that now will keep them from growing frustrated with you or their talent coach.

Air Personalities battle their own inner voice of how good or bad the show was today so PD’s and talent coaches help to stand far enough back from the painting to see the whole canvas, not just the individual colors.

If you aren’t capable of doing this for your air talent, find a way to feed them is key if you want your station to stand out in your market.

The Jeff Collin’s “Good to Great” concept is really what you're striving for. In this book he describes that you want the best people in the right seats on the bus in order to win as a team. However, going around from seat to seat and making sure that all of your teammates have what they need to be their best at what they do is how you’re going to win.

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old

Part 4

By Ace McKay

As we wrap up the final week in the series, we are looking at the final truth that needs attention when it comes to your music.

She Only Wants A “Variety” of Songs “She Loves.”

I want my daughter to be diverse in her musical taste. Her variety is widespread but again it’s only on the songs she really loves and I enjoy when she brings music to me now that I’ve not heard. Our listeners are the same way. It’s not our job to make them listen to a bunch of songs and styles because we want them to be diverse and educated. Basically, this truth points out the misinterpretation of “variety”. They ONLY want a variety of the songs they love not a bunch of new music.

Now, this is not rocket science. If you have kids, you’ve probably witnessed some of this behavior from them. No matter how much I want my daughter to like what I like, she’s only going to like what “she likes.”

Bottom line, People don’t listen to radio for music. The listen to the radio for music they love!
Last Weeks Blog: 4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 3

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 3

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old

Part 3

By Ace McKay

If you are finding it easy to apply these truths, then this week will be the easiest of them all.

 She’ll Only Listen To “New Music” When It’s Memorable.

The cool thing about my daughter when she was 4 and our listeners is when you do find a new song that fits their style it’s like GOLD! What song is on your desk now that the listeners will hear and say, “That song was written about me.”? Play it, test it, play it some more, being quick to pull it if it tanks is just as key as picking the right song to begin with it. When my daughter finds a new song she really loves, she latches on to it and that’s all she really wants to hear for a while. That’s the kind of song you want to play on your stations.

Next Week is the Final Week:      She Only Wants A “Variety” of Songs “She Loves.”
Last Weeks Blog: 4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 2

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 2

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old 
Part 2

By Ace McKay

Looking more into the eyes of 4 year old is so cute and fun but also shapes the music we play on the air because:

 She’ll Only Listen TO “New Music” if it fits the type of Music She Already Likes

I’m always looking to educate my daughter on new songs and new artist. I know what she already likes, so I know what types of songs to bring into her mix that fall into that pattern of songs she already likes. Every time I’ve tried to introduce a song that I like, thinking I can force a style or artist on her, she rejects it. “No, Daddy, I don’t like this one.” Are you trying to force your listeners to hear music that don’t like? I’ve heard it before from stations saying, “But I’m playing the equivalent of the mainstream competition” or “we need these 4 new songs an hour so that we appeal to those who complain that we play the same songs all the time.” That’s like forcing someone to eat broccoli and because they ate it, they will like it. No, they will throw the plate on the floor and go buy a hamburger. When people turn off your station, too much new music or the wrong kind of songs could be the damage control you need address to bring the listeners back to the table.

Next Week:    She’ll Only Listen To “New Music” When It’s Memorable.
Last Weeks Blog: 4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 1

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old Part 1

4 Truths From a 4 Year Old 

Part 1
By Ace McKay

 Music 101, the first radio wisdom that may have been shared to you from a program or music director:

Only play the songs your listeners like!

 A very simple thought, but a trivial thought for many PD’s when they have a different agenda or want to knee jerk to a listener’s angry email or call about the same songs being played. After seeing this in play for so many stations, who apply it and those who don’t, I started to notice that a listeners behavior pattern is not taught; it’s embedded into their DNA.

 I use to look to the women around me and their behavior when they listen to the radio until they got sucked into the vortex of listening with me and now they no longer listen like a normal listener. That’s when I started watching my daughter who was 4 years old at the time. Her behavior has confirmed the truth we’ve known for years.

 Now I know none of us are targeting a 4 year old demo, but the simple truth about our listener’s behavior as it pertains to the music we play, starts at an early age.

1)      She Only Want To Hear The Songs “She” Loves & Wants To Hear Them OVER & OVER Again!

Whether we’re listening to Pandora, streaming stations or our iPod, my daughter dictates from the backseat, “Daddy, put on The Wiggles, put on Veggie Tales, put on Barlow Girl, Put on Beatles” (yes she’s very diverse even at 4. She’s named after a Beatle after all.) She’s not asking for albums of these artist but the tunes from them that she likes. If I hear them once, I hear them 100 times a day. She never gets tired of them, much like our listeners. By asking our listeners what they want to hear and actually playing just those songs, we not only find out the songs they are passionate about but they will listen and they’ll tell you when their tired of them. Like a 4 year old, you will hear, “Daddy Change it.”My daughter never gets tired of the songs she likes. Your listeners want the songs they love and when you play a song they don’t, they might not complain like a 4 year old fussing from the backseat but the tune out factor is the same. They’ve disconnected from your station or turned you off all together.

Next Week:  She’ll Only Listen TO “New Music” if it fits the type of Music She Already Likes

Comfortably Numb

 At some point, we all have heard a listener say, "Your station has been a real blessing in my life" or “My kids love listening to you in the morning." These phrases, or the various versions of them, are things we hear daily: on the phone or at station events and remotes. Have you really stopped to think about what those words mean and the true passion that comes from your listeners when they say them? In 2004, I was a part of the start up team for WAYT/88.1 WAY-FM. The station was 10 years in the making. In the 18 months prior to the actual sign-on, there was one delay after the other. The tower issues lingered on so long it made me want to stand on the tower myself with a piece of aluminum foil just to get something going! We were even 20 minutes behind schedule the day of sign-on due to a bad storm the night before. A big tree fell and knocked out power o the transmitter so we literally struggled up to the last minute. While waiting for the transmitter to come back on, it was amazing to put new sweepers, promos and sign-on events together in preparation to tell people about a NEW radio station that could truly make a difference in their lives.

 I’ve had the privilege to be a part of several heritage stations and with each of them loyal listeners came. I never gave any thought to the fact that it had to start with just "one listener." I don't think I truly appreciated the value and power behind thanking someone for listening to a radio station; that is, until I had to help build listeners one. I'm ashamed to admit it but I realized I'd become numb. It's what I’ve come to call the Comfortably Numb Syndrome (CNS). CNS is simply a pattern where your fan base is so loyal you simply take them for granted. Whether you started the station or not, you might think because you have listeners now they will always listen. It's not a cocky altitude. It's easy to be so busy you only hear it and don't relish in learning some-one loves your station for the difference you are making and have made in their lives. There are so many stations on the dial; internet, smart phones and iPods but that person chose your station over all of them. Do you ever stop to realize they are not only listening, but took the time to come out to one of your events or even call or email you their thoughts about why they love your Station?

 Your station has a beginning! How often do you Celebrate it? Not just the staff and the station, but with the LISTENERS! What an honor to have them call YOU their favorite. What would happen to your mindset if you had to start over today? How would it effect what you do at your station? It’s scary! I can't help but be humbled by the thought of no listeners. What would you say on the air? What songs would you play? What events would you do? When a listener calls to say “thank you” for being on the air, how quick are you to turn it back on them and say “thanks for listening?” 

Unleashing Your Right Brain Rock Star

“Put up your rawkfist if you’re feeling it” is a great way to envision the next time your staff gets together for a promo team meeting.  Throw up your fist straight in the air as you lead your team to discover ways you can be more creative in the community by reaching out to your listeners.

The thing separating good stations from great stations is not just the real and relevant content on the air or even the music but the level of creativity that we invest into what comes out of the speakers.  There is a rock star at your station or hopefully more than one that can help drive your creativity into everything you do on the air from events, web site contest and social networking to imaging and promos.

Challenges of any station is never how creative we can be but due to all the hats we wear and what is often a small staff limits the amount of right brain activity because we are smothered in the details of what’s going on day to day. Our left brain takes over while our creative side fights for room in corner just because there is just so much to do.

As you listen to your station this week, how creative are you in all areas of your station? Pay attention to the imaging, the Day Sponsors, Impact Partners, newscast, etc. Whatever areas need more right brain injections, as you listen to your station this week, reflect on how creative it is and how creative it can be. The person who is in charge of these areas is naturally left brained but doesn’t mean you can’t make it better; it just means you have to lean on those more creative than you are. That’s what makes a team a team when we surround ourselves with people who are gifted in areas we are not.

So to get the right brain jumped started, there a couple of things you and your team doing to help you balance your station with where you are and where you wanna go creatively.

1. Right Brain Storming Sessions

The idea behind these sessions is to not iron out details aka left brain each other to death but to cluster ideas you have or bounce things off each other. Whether you are talking about Mother’s Day Promotions a year in advance or Back to School or Christmas, it’s a chance to dream big by asking is if money and time were not an issue, what would/could we do?

Now you can’t let your creative team only be PD’s or Air Talent but balancing it with your staff that has both left brain and right brain super powers. These meetings should be no less than once a quarter so that you can stay in touch with your creative side. It’s obviously not the only time to be creative but if you have ideas before the meetings just hold off on sharing them till then. We can often get ideas and run down the hall with a torch to get them rolling and no one has time to hear them and the fizzle out before they ever had a chance to burn properly.

These sessions will challenge the more left brain people on your team but it keeps you and your team from waiting till 30 days before an event or holiday to do something on the air that ends up being less than stellar because it was created out of stress.  If you can, take these sessions out of the building whenever possible. Then you don’t get stuck being distracted by stuff in the station. Planning ahead seems foreign to most stations because the day-to-day is overwhelming.  Right Brain thoughts beget more Right Brain Thoughts.  The passion you have for your station and ability to tap into that creatively will make your station sound better and draw in the listeners whether they are a P1 or first timer.

(Side note: Once you birth an idea in these sessions then your point of action following that meeting needs to be the execution of whose gonna run with the ball and make sure it gets done. These can be accomplished in your regular promotions/programming meetings.)

2. Appoint a Professor Right Brain

Not that we need more hats to wear but having someone to spearhead the creative sessions and other areas of creativity on the air will help keep you right brain thinking all year. Make it a position on your team if you can but having that one person churning out the creativity in the whole team will make you a better station.

This person is also just not the person who generates the meetings but all areas of copy, content and events.  We can often do a task for something on the air and while it may feel creative to that person, it gets on the air and falls flat because it’s just not what if can be. However, taking it to your “Professor Right Brain” on staff will allow you both/all to make sure that it’s the right messaging necessary to draw in the listener.

(Side Note: Asking for help makes you stronger and creates a creative filter for you the longer you do it. It’s NOT a sign of weakness.)

Creativity is in all of us. We just need something to draw out it and its like working out or eating better, Its hard at first but until we make it a regular habit, does it make us healthier? The brain is a muscle and when we exercise it properly it will make us stronger.