Brian Wright “Personality Listener Relationship”
There is a groundswell brewing in radio, a groundswell of opportunity that many are missing. It’s the power behind the personality/listener relationship. It is greater than it has ever been when compared to the radio climate we are in today. Most everyone will “say” that “content is king” but most are not acting accordingly. Most are doing little-to-nothing to find and actually develop talent these days, yet in every focus group we do we hear how important this relationship is, without prompting the discussion.
Just in the last month I’ve talked with over a dozen radio people who have been in the industry from 1 year to 50 years. Most haven’t had a coaching session in over a decade. Some have had an “aircheck” within the last 5 years, but they were only told what they did wrong with no definable steps given to improve. So, they were deflated but not inspired to greatness. Intimidation will lead to minimum requirements being fulfilled, for a time, but encouragement and inspiration will lead one to going above and beyond the call-of-duty and significantly higher ratings!
Effective “above & beyond” talent coaching is difficult and requires years of experiential knowledge. It goes far beyond Xs & Os and what is wrong. It requires mastering countless minutia-points that all add up to greatness. It requires a level of specificity that most have never dealt with or could even spot. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard, “I’ve never hear this or that before” when we really roll up our sleeves and share powerful points with personalities. It is important to know that saying things like, “You need to be quicker” or “Don’t talk so much” are empty coaching points and lead to no beneficial actions in the long-run. On the other hand, if you really inspire a personality, through actual examples, and encouragement you will get to the point when you can say to them, “length of time is not perceived until there is a lack of interesting content!” Great talent coaching always leads to higher ratings…always! I’ve never seen this fail in 40 years of coaching. Don’t cut corners on what is the most powerful connection you have with your audience…your personalities.
Brian is a 30 year radio veteran who has successfully served many companies over the years as Program Director, Operations Manger and VP of programming and consultant with Wright Media Group. For the last 15 years Wright has enjoyed building alliances with scores of stations in the US & Canada helping them grow in ratings and revenue. Contact Brian at brianw6187@aol.com.
