Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Character development comes in many forms.  When you share a story of something going on in your life, when you’re honest about your take on whatever topic you’re engaging on, and when you are completely vulnerable with the audience.  Strategic character development is the primary instigator of the connection you must form with the audience to build that relationship which leads to loyal listening.  “I feel like I know them,” is a powerful statement any listener can make which proves the connection is happening.  Here’s a unique character development bit as done by Chris and Dina, WMAS-FM, Springfield, MA called the Bowl of Confessions.  They brought into the studio a co-worker who pulled a slip of paper out of a bowl, which contains a statement he had or decide if it was true or a false.  All of it leading to me learning about Chris or Dina.  Listen as the chemistry drives the fun.

This is one of my favorite breaks ever as done by Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston.  We were looking to find an edgy way to connect with the audience.  The show, when on, had attitude and swagger and we wanted to channel that sense of humor into a holiday idea that would be much different than the standard fare phone topics most shows do around this time of year.  Enter Scared Straight Santa.  Everyone knows of the “scared straight” concept where prisoners scare kids into towing the line so they don’t end up in jail.  We used that to keep misbehaving children in line for their parents or else Santa won’t show up.  The first break was a call from a parent who told us how their kid was misbehaving.  The next break (the one below) is when Pete McKenzie called back as Santa and challenged the kid to promise to be good.  This hits all important images you should have:  it’s fun, it’s real, it’s innovative, and it’s relatable.