The Art Of Teamwork

The dictionary defines teamwork as "cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause." Radio entertainment ensembles (morning or other dayparts) are like track & field relay teams, baseball shortstop and second base double-play combinations, musical teams (Hall & Oats, Sam & Dave, The Beatles, Public Enemy, Lady Antebellum, The Eagles, Boyz II Men, etc.), and every couple in a relationship since the beginning of time.

Coming Together

What it takes for a smooth on-air partnership is best explained in two statements by Al Pacino's locker room speech in the movie, "Any Given Sunday," "Either we heal as a team or we're gonna crumble. Either we heal now as a team or we will die as individuals."

Casting the players for any crew and the daily off-air sessions are critical to a show's success. Recently, I assessed a morning show for a consultant and my findings brought to light what I think many pairings need to periodically readdress.

Consultant: Sam, something I'm noticing from ## ... on occasion he's veered off left on a few breaks to a place that is hard to comprehend in the mornings. It's not a timing concern as much as it is a word economy concern (or knowing when to move along). Perhaps it's his way of being humorous, I'm not sure. I've got a few examples attached where he goes into these weird explanations -- great bits, then they go left, and magically they end up back on track, it's so strange. I don't know whether to love it or hate it, ha ha. Your thoughts? It's not something I'd beat the PD and the team up over, just curious what you think.

Coach: The most important conversation is to the audience and not partners talking to each other with the listeners playing the role of spectator. The listener should feel as though you're engaging them.

Right now, it sounds like your two morning show people are fighting to see who gets the last word during an exchange in a talk set.

Also, ## needs to stop trying to solicit a response from his partner. It's as if when she doesn't respond, he just keeps talking until she does; that's not good, it sounds bad. By doing this in so many talk sets, it takes away from the moment with unnecessary words.

Do you know how well they plan what they are going to say before opening the mic? Another thing, it sounds as if they have different approaches to presenting material. In several talk sets, she sounded like she improvised or went off-target a bit. For example, when they discussed the app, they should've stated station business about the app and made one comment. Instead, she mentioned something about her father being old and not understanding how to use the app; they then they drifted off into the merits of the app serving as an alarm clock. I suspect her comment was impromptu and he got things back on track with the alarm clock mention. In such instances, the pair need to be disciplined enough to know when not to veer off. There is always another talk set or another day to use a personal narrative to transition to station business or reinforce the title of a song just played. You're on target with your morning crew's lack of word efficiency; it's a practiced art. It's not about shutting up, it's about tightening up.

How much do those two practice off the air together? Also, I would only give them a total of 40 seconds or less to talk, they will sharpen up. Giving folks 90 seconds is giving them too much rope, especially a pair just learning how each other works.

Consultant: Your summary hits home. I couldn't put my finger on it but it's a matter of them tightening up. And you are right, I should've had the PD instruct them to do 40 seconds in the beginning and then expand vs. longer talk breaks. The morning team needs some chemistry work, but fortunately it's early and they are easy to listen to. ## really is shining and he's making the most out of the situation. His partner needs to get in sync. The PD has limited experience in working with morning shows, but he is catching on quickly. I'll keep you posted.