Johnny Stone “Try Not To Get Kicked Out The Car”
This is a follow up to a piece I shared several months ago. Click here to read that article.
Road trips can be tons of fun, and even better depending on who is in the passenger seat next to you. Sitting in that passenger seat, you want someone you like; someone you identify with; someone who has something to say that resonates with you.
As a Contemporary Christian Music on air personality, that person is…you! Try not to get kicked out of the car. Here are a couple tips to help keep you in that passenger seat. These tips are for all but morning drive. That’s a totally different presentation!
- Face to face. Conversations that are face to face are infinitely more personable than conversations that are otherwise. The more personable, the more comfortable. For instance, at a party, when you are introduced to someone new, do you say “Hey, It’s Johnny”, or do you say “Hi, I’m Johnny”? It is a very subtle difference, but the enormity of it is significant. The first introduction is kind of like you’re speaking from behind a wall, or, (GASP!) in a room far away that has a microphone in it. Definitely not face to face. The second is more personable and should help keep you in the car.
- Your first words are the most important. In this age of shorter attention spans, fingertip controls and wide choices to listen to, the first words out of your mouth are crucial. With PPM, call letters first thing out of a song are irrelevant-the meter has that info already. (However, it doesn’t hurt to place the station name somewhere in your presentation.) Chances are your listener knows you just played Chris Tomlin and “White Flag”, so that info probably is more of a crutch for you than anything else. Here is a snippet from a recent show Stacey and I did. This is coming out of a MercyMe song that is a proven hit, so let’s just cut to the chase: (J) “He says he will never, ever, use a leash. Welcome to the kitchen table-we’re that married couple, Johnny and Stacey Stone on Family Life Radio. (S) Matthew West tells you how he keeps his two young children under control at the mall.”
MATTHEW WEST VOCAL AUDIO (Straight into song-Forgiveness)
Notice no back sell, straight to tease, short mention of us and station name, then set up for Matthew West audio straight into song.
These tips can help keep you from getting kicked out of the kitchen too. That’s it for now-more to come!
Johnny Stone is the afternoon show host along with his wife, Stacey, at Family Life Radio with signals across America, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. Also owner of StoneStudiosLLC which produces the weekly two hour music based/interview shows Looking Up To Number One and Looking Up Country.Contact Johnny at johnny@stonestudiosllc.com.
