Be Like ‘Indy,’ Make The Connection

I’m a regular viewer of CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” If you are not familiar with the show, it covers a vast array of topics every Sunday in magazine form and, usually, spotlights a huge newsmaker, star or personality. One particular Sunday, the spotlight was on one of my all-time favorite actors, Harrison Ford. I’ve always loved his ability to portray vulnerable, yet adventurous, characters and, as I followed the interview, I kept drawing analogies to radio programmers and air personalities.

Ford is very clear as to the character he likes to play – an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. You can see this in every one of his movies and those special roles – Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Jack Ryan, and even the President of The United States in “Air Force One.”

His main goal, no matter what, is to make a clear, emotional connection with the audience, as he states it, “being as much you as possible.” Despite all of this, he laments at his loss of anonymity, in his words. He recognizes that, being an actor, you have to be a keen observer and be interested in human behavior, which creates the feeling that the world is watching him every day he’s out there, thus the loss of privacy. Knowing that this is something that he deals with daily, Ford realizes that he works for these fans he observes, and he is constantly grateful that they afford him the opportunity to do what he loves. He is very aware of their support.

When asked what his main responsibility is as an actor, he is adamant about the fact that, through his characters, he is telling stories for the audience, plain and simple. Finally, when asked if he was planning to step away anytime soon, all Ford said was that he liked his job. Imagine that!

Let’s think about what we, in radio, can learn from all of this:

1. The emotional connection to your listeners is crucial to the success of the station and its personalities. From the station end, the imaging, the marketing, various promotions, and charity participation are part of that formula. From the personality side, it’s understanding the market, knowing the personality of the local community, and having the ability to communicate honestly and personally add to that formula.
2. Assimilate your market and your station(s). Make sure your personalities “live and breathe” the market, whether they are there or not. Listeners can feel a connection OR disconnection.
3. Appreciate your listeners every day in some way. Whether it’s listener events, listener shout-outs, etc., be genuine about your feelings about them. Listeners can spot a fraud a mile away. You be you – whether it’s the station or your personalities.
4. If you are doing your job, know that your station and your personalities are always being scrutinized by your listeners. Be always transparent, but also know that everything you do should reflect the personality of the community.
5. Whether it’s your imaging, promos, social posts or on-air personalities, work as hard as you can to tell a story. It doesn’t have to be a long story, but it should be something that makes the listener “lean in.” Compelling, entertaining, etc., EVERYTHING should always head in that direction.
6. LOVE what you do. I’ll pull something out of another column I wrote that came from legendary producer Dick Ebersol: “If you find something you love, don’t try to satiate your ego trying to find something else.” If you’re doing this for any other reason other than loving it, my advice is to find that one thing you love and pursue it with everything you’ve got. If you do love it, pour 100% of you into it each day. Everything else will follow. Ask Indy.

“Taking Your Radio Presence To The Next Level. Be it an artist, radio programmer or on-air talent. Coaching and mentoring down to your foundational level”

Contact me:
John Shomby
Owner/CEO Country’s Radio Coach
jshomby@countrysradiocoach.com
757-323-1460
https://countrysradiocoach.com