Scott Herrold “Start with a bang”

We’ve all been there. We run into the studio after the top of the hour hits. We talk with one of our team mates and realize- oh wait! I need to do my first break but I never plugged in my head phones! So we rush to the board, put on our headphones and do a quick tease of the next few songs coming up. Whew! I’m glad the listeners never noticed!

Ok let’s be real. Our next break is 10 minutes away. The last personality who talked on our station was 15 min ago. We haven’t had any real content that actually resonated with our listeners in 25 minutes! (That’s almost 2 quarter hours!)

Insanity is doing the same patterns over and over while expecting different results. If you do a 4 hour show and you make this ONE change, it could affect a significant portion of your ratings right away! Not to mention, it sets the momentum for your show.

Let’s resolve to make our first break a priority. Plan your first break BEFORE you enter the control room.

• Start with a great story.
• Start today’s show with a call from a listener you recorded yesterday.
• Start with a clip from an artist that you already edited.
• Use clips from Youtube videos or popular TV shows to change the texture of your stories. (You can record audio in the prod studio and record it right into Adobe audition)
• Start with an interview that you’ve already edited
• Start a discussion right at the beginning of your show. When you set it up, have a short listener call right away. Great calls breed even better calls. Great calls act as an example to your listeners.

Be intentional. Be strategic. Plan. Follow through.

Get into the studio before the top of the hour ID is launched. Remove your distractions. Pray and do your preshow check so you’re ready to start your first break with a bang!

Scott Herrold hosts the morning show for SOS Radio. He’s also one of the founders of Creative Cardio.com. It’s an idea sharing showprep community for Christian Radio. You can reach out to Scott@SosRadio.net