(By Randy Lane) In a coaching session with the DJ Walker Morning Show at Cumulus’ Kat Country Stockton, we brainstormed how to set up a story with an emotional hook about a mother who had a home salad bar for her nine kids.
Cohost Jaimee Lee said, “Sometimes when both of my kids start yelling, ‘I’m hungry. I’m hungry.” I want to yell, “Fix it yourself!” Boom, that was the emotional hook setup!
Setting up a content segment on the fly with an emotional hook that grabs the audience’s attention is hit or miss. There’s a story in Inc. about Jerry Seinfeld giving a young Chris Rock career advice. Rock asked Seinfeld, “What do you do during the day?” Seinfeld said, “I hang out. But I do open mics every night.”
Rock replied, “During the day is when you make the money.” He was referring to writing, developing material, and rehearsing. “We collect the money at night but make it during the day.”
Money is in the planning
Planning and preparation are also essential to success for radio and podcast shows. It’s not enough to come up with good ideas. Effective execution of a good idea means more granular planning, like crafting setups to hook the listener’s attention, preparing the exit for impact, and ending with a must-listen tease.
Science supports the value of planning
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that people who are fully prepared for any situation feel more confident and can handle it more effectively.
Radio Hall of Fame personality Scott Shannon has often said planning every segment of your show gives you the confidence to go off the show plan when a spontaneous opportunity arises. It could be one of your planned one-off topics exploding into multiple segments, or a celebrity who is important to your target audience dies.
And in the end…
If you do the work before your show, you will generate higher ratings and downloads AND collect more money.
Randy Lane is the owner of the Randy Lane Company, which coaches and brands radio and television personalities, business professionals, sports personalities, entrepreneurs, and pop culture artists, helping them master communication skills to have an impact on their audiences. Read Randy’s Radio Ink archives here.
