5 Mistakes Being Made by Morning Shows (or Personalities)

What happens between the songs is the most important differentiator your radio station can have. Music is a commodity and easily duplicated. It's an important driver of a music station's success, but it's just the entry to the game, not the winning play. Successful radio comes when the listener experiences a consistent set of emotions or mood when they tune in. The personalities that you hire shape that experience. I think of it like Disney World, if you removed the cast and the characters from their park you have just a theme park with some rollercoasters, and the inevitable long lines leading to the rides. It'd be like any other theme park. Remove the cast and the characters from the experience and the Disney magic begins to fade. Your radio station is the same. Talent shapes the experience.

Truth: They may come for the music but the stay for the personalities!

It makes logical sense then that your station's image is shaped by your strongest personalities; most often that is your station's morning show. These shows communicate more about your brand and the experience that can be derived from listening than any other element on your station. The sad thing is that most of these shows never reach their full potential. Why is this? Is it constraints? Prescriptive formulas? Ineffective direction? Inadequate talent? Fear? I find myself perplexed by this question more and more. What I do know is that if we spend more time developing our multi-person shows, our stations will become better. Our stations will connect with their audiences in a more meaningful way.

If our goal is to build more compelling multi-person morning shows, then we must focus our attention on the areas that hold these shows back. As I travel and listen to shows I have started to note down the most common themes that seem to be problematic.

Dueling monologues vs. fluid conversation

Conversation seems to be a lost art. Conversation is defined as an 'informal interchange of thoughts, information, opinions, ideas etc.' The crucial part to a fluid conversation is this idea of 'inter-change' and working together to co-construct the dialogue. Most shows fail to achieve conversation and instead fall into the trap of having dueling monologues, where one player tells their story about a subject, followed by the next player telling their story. The stories exist separately from one another. It feels like a game of 'who has the best story?' Morning shows need to focus on building conversations and conversations comes from embracing the improv concept of "yes, and..." Pay attention to the content that is unfolding in this very moment, accept what is offered and build upon it. Acknowledge what is presented by a co-host and then add your point. Great team shows aren't simply waiting for one player to finish their story so they can tell theirs. They understand the idea of bringing bricks and building the cathedral together.

Conflict of brand values

Casting is a fundamental area of consideration for morning shows. It's not just about casting the right mix of interesting and different people to create drama, but also ensuring the show is cast on the right station. There must be an alignment between the station's desired brand values and the show's brand values. The audience has an expectation of the experience they want from the radio station, and the team must enhance that expectation - not be at odds with it. Too often there is a misalignment between what the station stands for and what the team show stands for. There should be unity between the station and the show's brand values and filters. The show should amplify the station's values. A show will fail - and hold a station back - if the pieces don't fit together.

Stop talking to each other, and talk to the listener

Most morning show's fail to connect with their audience because they forget the audience is part of the conversation. They ignore the listener by focusing on each other. It's frustrating to tune into a group of people who start a break by only talking to each other. It makes the listener feel like they are on the outside looking in. Imagine walking past a house where they are throwing a party. Everyone is having a great time. You can see people laughing and smiling. Problem is you are on the outside watching through the window. You're excluded from the fun. Shows can easily fix this - talk to the listener first, and then talk to each other. Do it every time.

Innovation is what you do with content

Morning shows throw around the word 'innovation' a lot. We often ask people to describe their shows (and themselves) and words like creativity and innovation come up. I'm curious as to how people define these words as often these are the shows that you'll turn on and hear the same old showbiz news segments and generic phone topics. Wow, that really was new and unexpected! Shows need to understand that innovation is determined by what you do with content. Innovation comes from how you choose to showcase your thoughts and ideas. It's about asking, 'what are we going to do with this piece of content to make it stand out?' It's about consciously deciding not to do the obvious. Push yourselves to do the unexpected. Surprise the audience. Go beyond just the basics. Great shows are always adding extra dimensions to their content - production values, calls, audio, guests, topical games etc.

Serial content draws people in and makes them come back

Humans are drawn to stories. Stories help us make meaning of our worlds. We are like moths to a light bulb (or is that a flame?) when people tell us stories. The more engaging, captivating, and relevant the story the more we want to hear it. Television worked this out a long time ago. Friends had the ongoing storyline of Ross and Rachel; would they? Wouldn't they? Serial content is an extended or continuing storyline that runs across multiple shows or weeks. It allows your show to explore engaging content in a deeper and more meaningful way. The audience has time to become invested in the story. Great shows plan out engaging twists, leverage more emotion, and endear the cast to the audience through serial content arcs. Serial content has a better chance of changing listening patterns because people want to hear the next installment. If your show is simply a series of individual breaks listeners aren't compelled to return, no matter how good those individual breaks are.

If you want to improve your radio station you need to make the listener experience truly compelling. Your morning show drives most of this. It's essential we spend more time working with these shows to make them more strategic, interesting and compelling. If you're not sure how, then seek an outside opinion. Making progress in mornings is paramount to winning. Oh, and avoid those 5 common mistakes.