by Jay Trachman
Many PD’s will admit that when they listen to auditions, they can tell whether a jock is potentially right for their station within the first 30 seconds. A jock who’d heard that phoned me for advice over the weekend; he wanted to know if he should put “some sort of grabber” at the beginning of the demo, and the answer is, “Yes, but…”
There are grabbers, and there are grabbers.
The thing that grabs a PD or a consultant — me, at least — in those first few seconds of an audition, isn’t the bit that leaves me rolling on the floor, laughing, or the incredibly clever interchange with the newsman, or the blazing display of vocal energy. Those things are each fine in their place. But what really grabs my attention at the start is a more elusive quality that’s called “style.” You can spot it in an instant.
Style comes in many forms, but the one way in which they’re all similar is a sense that “this person is not acting.” This is the way he or she really is, and sounds like someone I’d like to know better.
By definition, a person with “style” is not trying to be like anyone else. One senses an easy-going self confidence; a joy in life; someone who’s “comfortable in his own skin.” People like this often seem “larger than life,” perhaps because they are. They lead active lives with varied pursuits (“radio freaks” almost never have “style”). They tend to have strong opinions and feelings, but what sets them apart from most performer types is that they don’t have to prove them — or themselves — to others all the time. “You don’t see things my way? That’s your problem.” “Style” comes from doing what you really want to do in life (both professionally and off the air), and knowing that you’re very, very good at it.
(I’m sitting here thinking, “Is this going to be one of those ‘whistling-in-the-dark’ articles, Jay? Are you preaching to the converted? You can’t just tell young jocks they need ‘style,’ and then pass it out like Big Macs. Style is something you either have or you don’t.” And yet… And yet…)
Maybe there’s a component to it that you have to be born with. There are lots of people on the air who don’t have it and probably never will. But beyond that, I believe there are lots of young jocks who do have the potential to be unique and compelling on the air. Too many of them waste too many years trying to sound like their idols before they finally wake up one morning and realize that what their first PD told them is really true: they’re most appealing on the air when they’re just being themselves. It’s for them that I write.
Style and self-confidence are not the same thing, but there is a definite tie-in. When we’re insecure about our worth as people, we try to hide by being “just like” the people we wish we were. This kind of role-playing shows itself to others as defensiveness and arrogance. It has produced the myth of the egotistical DJ.
The truth is, it’s only after you’ve begun to accept yourself for who you really are, that you feel free enough to display the real you to the rest of the world. To put it another way, the most important person you have to convince of your true worth as a performer and as a human being is not the PD, or even the listener. It’s yourself.
So, if it’s models you seek, listen to a few of the people you admire on the air, on TV or in politics. Observe that it’s not just whether you agree with or enjoy what they’re saying — there’s a large component of just liking the way they express themselves. That’s “style.” Imitating their styles can’t be of any benefit to you. The way you can best emulate this person is to develop the “style” that’s within you already. That’s what each of them once had to do for himself or herself, and your answers are not the same as theirs, simply because you are not them.
You can have the best joke service (and you do!), and never be more than a joke reader. You can have the best pipes and never be more than an “announcer.” Believe me, the used car lots are littered with failed jocks who had these things, but lacked that one essential to set themselves apart from the pack and make them appealing to listeners: individuality, authenticity, presence — in a word, “style.”
So, to the One to One Family Member who phoned, here’s my advice: in my opinion, the first break on any audition tape should be a “listener greeting” — “Hi, how ya’ doin’; I’m Jay Trachman, glad to be here with you today.” And it should be recorded on the day you feel most glad in your life to be who you are, where you are, doin’ what you’re doin’ — the day your own “style” is most likely to show itself. If you’ve got pyrotechnics to display, fine — but I’d save them for break #2. Let the PD like you first, because you’re authentic and you don’t sound like all the other tapes heaped on his or her desk; then strut your stuff for him or her.
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.
