by Jay Trachman
I’m working with a Jock Doc client who’s a really good student. Ask him to do something, he does it. Forever. Exactly that way. For instance, someone once told him to tease upcoming events. The result: he doesn’t do a bit, a forecast, sometimes I think even a PSA, without teasing it a break ahead: “You and I are inside, hopefully warm and dry, but not everybody is so lucky. We’ll talk about it next.” “And in just a moment, I’ll tell you why people in Canada think Columbus Day is just for turkeys.”
Do either of these motivate you to want to “stick around” and find out more? If they do, they succeed as teasers. If not, they’re just clutter.
When you have something special coming up that you can’t wait to Share with your friend, by all means, promote ahead. When we’re just doing it — all the time — because that’s what someone once said we should do, we’ve lost sight of why we “tease.” Not because the tease itself is good, but because it serves a purpose.
Time Checks: The most popular theory is that time should be given digitally: “It’s 8:23 at KJT!” Some consultants want the morning person to give the time twice: “It’s 8:23, that’s 23 past 8…” on the theory that this makes it more likely it’ll be heard.
I don’t disagree with either theory. My problem is with always doing it the same way. Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream? If you have ice cream once a month, you might always want that flavor. But if you have it every day, and you’re like me, you need some variety, or you’ll “burn out” on your favorite. If digital, or double-stated time is best, I think you ought to do it that way — most of the time. But if you do it the same way all the time, you can be replaced by a machine.
The Weather: Sure, there’s a “best” way of presenting it. Examine the forecast, ask yourself what information it contains that your listener cares about, then look for a way of compressing it into human language. Ordinarily, this means giving all the conditions first, and then the numbers: “Fair today, clouding up overnight, with a chance of showers by tomorrow. Today, up to about 70, with an overnight low in the mid-40’s, and tomorrow’s high around 63.” Never, “Sunny this afternoon with clear skies tonight, and mostly fair through tomorrow.” You’ve just said the same thing three times! Far better: “Fair skies through tomorrow.”
Once in awhile, the “format” should be tossed aside to show your humanity. “We’re supposed to have our first frost of the season tonight — the weatherman says it’ll get down to the high 20’s! Clearing skies this evening, and then sunny and crisp tomorrow…” The first frost is “significant” information which you can respond to emotionally, so why not lead with it?
Phone Callers: when you handle callers, especially contest participants, in the same way every time, one message comes through: you’re a phony. You haven’t got all day to spend on the phone, but you do have ten or fifteen seconds to get involved emotionally, to show some interest in the caller’s life, to root for them, to express genuine, personal disappointment when they lose, or real enthusiasm when they win. The only consistent thing that should run through your interchanges with callers is a sense of caring.
Inflection: This is one of the hardest things to teach. It’s one of those “Be Yourself” deals, where it sounds real easy, and it’s not.
Theoretically, if you believe you’re talking to just one person, and you know who that person is, your inflections will be natural and varied, just as they are when you talk on the phone. In practice, most of us have picked up bad habits along the way. Again, the easiest way to spot them is to play your own aircheck back.
There are two fundamental sets of inflection patterns. The first is the “natural” one, when you’re relating a story, or talking about something you care about. It should vary a great deal depending on the mood of the material. The second is your more formal “announcing” mode: appropriate for positioning statements, basics, news headlines, live commercials, etc. The important rule is that you not try to pretend you’re doing one, when you’re doing the other. That is, don’t try to sound conversational when you’re reading a commercial script. It ain’t conversation; your listener knows it, and intuitively brands you as a phony if you do.
Humans vary. Entertaining humans vary a great deal. There may be a “right” way to do most things in life. But in this case, the “right way” often means “differently from last time.”
Jay Trachman is publisher of “One to One,” a weekly information and humor service for broadcasters. Jay can be reached at: phone (559) 448 0700, fax (559) 448 0761, e-mail at 121@att.net, or www.121online.net. Reprinted with permission.
