Part 14: Personality Basics

This month the MPRs of Programming continues with a look at the final “P’” on the list….Personalities. We’ll explore the Basics of working with on-air personalities in a way that will bring out the most positive and impactful traits of their personality in an effort to deliver better ratings.

In review, the MPR’s of Programming are set up to help a radio station analyze it’s Music, Morning Show, Marketing, Management/Morale, Promotions, Production, Positioning, Personalities, Research, Ratings, and Revenue.

A radio station’s on-air personalities are a major factor in developing a unique sound that will help sell the station’s music, promotions, and other elements that create the much sought after “stationality”. But what are some of the secrets of great on-air personalities? What are some of the basic fundamentals that can be used as a check list for working with radio personalities?

PERSONALITY BASICS

Years ago I developed a basic personality check list that I’ve used as a programmer and consultant to work with on-air personalities in helping them critique their on-air work in a tangible fashion. This check list can be used as the foundation for doing creative air check sessions as well.

Score your jocks on a one to ten scale in each of these areas and you’ll quickly work out a system whereby  elements can be worked on and results can be reviewed and graded with noticeable progress, eliminating the confusing gray editorial areas from an aircheck session.

Here is the list of basic personality fundamentals that I created:

Basics:  It may be redundant to use the term basics in describing a personality basics check list but you can’t start anywhere else but here. The basics include elements like voice quality, pacing and projection, and following the basic formatics of the station like backselling and preselling the music.

Voice Quality…..the basics have to start with voice quality. Is the voice deep, full, and resonant to begin with and basically decent to listen too? I’ve used the analogy that starting with a weak voice is equivalent to attempting to play NBA basketball when you’re only 5 feet tall. There are exercises you can do to develop your voice quality but clearly personalities that have a great voice have a basic advantage in developing their on-air sound.

Pacing and Projection….this is an area that any personality can work on. One of the main areas that I find young air talents struggle with is the proper pacing and projection. Far too many times you’ll hear a jock race through reading copy or reading it at a snail’s pace with either too much volume or very little projection at all. Have your jocks concentrate on a natural pace and delivery that allows for a good basic speed and volume that is listenable.

Formatics….beyond the technical aspects of voice quality and pacing and projection, following the basic formatics of the station are important factors in doing radio basics well. Every Program Director should have some sort of basic formatic outline that explains when and how the jocks should deliver the station call letters, slogans, backsells and presells. Some jocks may exhibit great personality traits in many areas but fall short at delivering the station formatics effectively. Think of how much better the personality and your station will sound if these formatics are executed flawlessly.

Selling:  Another important area of personality basics is the art of selling. There are three key areas that jocks need to sell effectively….the radio station, the music, and themselves. The typical liner card personalities usually focus the majority of their time selling the radio station and the music while pure personality jocks primarily sell themselves with little actual selling of the station and music.

Selling the radio station…next to the music, the primary job of any on-air personality is to sell the radio station. Delivering station liners in a natural fashion with the right amount of enthusiasm is a definite plus for any personality. The trick is to sell the radio station effectively without a lot of contrived hype. A genuine excitement in selling the attributes of a radio station is a compelling quality for any personality.

Selling the music…along with selling the radio station, selling the music is a critical component to getting people to stay tuned to the radio. Regardless of whether a jock is a music fan or not, a real interest and passion for the music is certainly an advantage to selling the music effectively. A strong knowledge and appreciation of the music can become an effective personality trait and selling point for a jock in it’s own right.

Selling their own personality…..there are numerous subtle ways for a jock to sell themselves in the midst of selling the radio station and the music. Relating their own experiences about their involvement with the  station and the music are the basic ways for personalities to sell themselves. But overall, usually a personality needs to stake their claim as a basic liner card jock selling the station and music or focus on the pure personality aspects of selling themselves through their own brand of comedy bits. Most pure personality jocks are working mornings or high profile afternoon and evening shifts.

Relatability….Doing effective radio basics and selling the station and music are areas that any jock can be taught, but the pure relatability aspects of an on-air personality are sometimes inherent qualities that are hard to teach. Some jocks have a strong attractive personality and presence that can only be described as a type of relatability that becomes a major reason to tune in. Personalities like Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh may approach radio from totally opposite directions, but their relatability to their audience is undeniable and successfully creates strong ratings.

There are ways to teach some form of relatability to jocks who may not possess this basic personality trait. When I was programming KLOL in Houston, I worked with a part time announcer who really had a great voice, did the basics well, and sold the station and music effectively. But this announcer sorely lacked any relatability to speak of.

I worked on encouraging the jock to relate more of her own personal experiences when doing something as basic as a ticket giveaway. Over time she was able to relate her own positive experiences about seeing a particular artist whenever she promoted an upcoming concert ticket giveaway. Subsequently, her relatability quotient increased to the point where she was able to add a solid relatable rapport with the audience to her already stellar basics and selling.

Having Fun….The fourth and final fundamental basic of a great on-air personality is simply having fun. It’s amazing to me when I travel around the country and listen to radio how many times listening to air talents is like listening to a lackluster sales pitch delivered by a bored insurance salesmen. I always ask broadcasting students I teach or jocks I’ve worked with why they decided to get into radio and the answer always surrounds the basic theme of “It’ll be fun.” Yet something happens to jocks after they’ve been on the radio for awhile…they stop having fun! If your jocks aren’t having any fun, how do you expect their listening audience to?

I’ve always encouraged jocks to simply go on the air and have fun, whether it’s delivering the most mundane station promo or a well-written and conceived comedy bit. While this final element may seem like the easiest thing on this basic fundamental personality check list to achieve, listen to your radio station and check out how often your jocks deliver breaks without passion, enthusiasm, or a simple smile on their face let alone any form of laughter. The simple art of having fun is a contagious element that all jocks should constantly strive for.

EFFECTIVE  AIR CHECK SESSIONS

Over the years I’ve used these basic personality fundamentals to critique jocks at all levels of their development. They’ve become a good source of feedback for air check sessions as well. It’s natural for some jocks to excel in the more technical areas concentrating on delivering good solid basics and selling the radio station and music, but fall short in the areas of relatability and having fun.

Conversely, jocks who are very relatable and naturally fun to listen to, should also strive to excel at delivering solid basics and great selling techniques. This makes for a more well-rounded personality. While the last two fundamentals mentioned above are more naturally inherent, they can also be improved upon if you don’t initially possess relatability or the passion for fun.

If a jock scores close to a ten in one or more of the areas of the check list, have them concentrate on improving on the areas they need work on. I’ve seen tangible progress in jocks who work this system with a good programmer as their coach.

Programmers should schedule air check sessions  regularly, regardless of the “star quality” of the personality. I’ve worked with radio stations whose jocks are never air checked on a regular basis, and left to their own devices, most jocks don’t possess the discipline or desire to work hard at improving their craft.

Regular air check sessions should not only be a source to help jocks develop their on-air sound, but an opportunity for the programmer and jock to get together and chat about any other ideas or issues that need to be addressed. I would use these meetings as an informal “bonding” session. Many times the art of simply listening to your jocks talk about anything can become a constructive source of  inspiration for you and your airstaff.

Next month, the “MPR’s” of Programming continues with another look at the final “P” on the list…Personalities. We’ll take a look beyond the basics, talking with top on-air personalities and programmers about the nuances of  developing great radio Personalities for your radio station.