Jan 15 I Use My Phone As A Weapon

Compelling phone discussions with listeners can tell stories, breath interactivity, share encouragement and add new voices into our shows. As radio personalities, we need to do a better job listening. While the conversation is happening- we as radio people, are seeing another dimension. It’s like we have content goggles on. As the callers are saying one thing, we are seeing a 3D graph above the call. It’s all neon and high tech. It calculates our character in the show. Then it puts it up against our station’s creed. It then calibrates the rules we’ve learned in regards to where the line is on a subject. Eventually all these built in filters lead to the grid we see in front of us. (Hopefully you are picturing the high tech monitors used in Avatar!) In a split second, you see avenues popping up in front of you. In an instant, you see the portal and choose to leap or not leap into it.

I don’t believe ‘years in radio’ helps you navigate this grid efficiently during a show. I think someone that can see the grid in any conversation over coffee can eventually be taught to do that on a radio show.

Become a Jedi of the phoner grid and make it into an on air phone discussion. It’s just strategy.

Click here for the rest of the article and a few ideas on editing.

Shut the call down quick or put them on hold when you feel you’ve gotten what you need. Further “back end chit chat” risks stealing editing time and thus puts you in jeopardy of having to play 2 songs after bringing up a subject rather than 1.

Ask to talk to someone else in the car from time to time. Teenager in the back, kid in the car seat, your husband sitting next to you. (IE: Hey who’s in the car with you? Pass the phone to them. I want to say HI!)

Lastly, I’ve learned that as a Christian and working a faith based show I’ve had to learn to be a bit gruff with some callers. If a lengthy call is obviously turning into just coffee shop chatter- remember the audience on the other side of the radio and the product you are in charge of putting together. Time is gold- let that call go as quick as possible even if it means being a bit rough. You can ask them to hang on if they are rambling. Put them on hold and come back to them after you answer your other callers.

EDITING

Chop til you bleed:

“hi I am jayar-insert station- hello”

“hey Jayar how are you?

“ I am good what’s going on”

“well I heard what you said about the birthday party idea and I just wanted to chime in….”

*Shave seconds at all costs*

Identify the station- with a super quick set up

“The Joyfm, we were talking about cool bday party ideas (BAM INTO CALL) “my daughter got a painting party at our house, all the kids had a …..”

*Look for a natural exit for the call while you are talking to them on the phone.

If there is great audio at the end of your initial discussion, save that audio for later in your show, or use it another day for a different discussion. (I’ve had 1 call edited up into like 4 different discussions for different days.)

Edit the call so you go straight into the meat. Cut out the fluff.

In our biz, the listeners time is the currency we are spending…

Let your editing net you more currency.

One caution as you do this…. I’ve been guilty of editing too tight that it becomes too fake… every conversation has at least one breath or two in it right?!

As you listen back and edit… with each line make a super quick decision- “Does the bit require that line? Or that one?”

In regards to the phoner and the editing… attention to quality and detail can make the phoner a massive flame thrower.

-Jayar Reeves