Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

In the construction of your breaks and in the dissection of the stories you tell on the show, where’s the conflict?  Who or what helps push your story line forward and can be the center of emotional engagement that draws listeners in?  Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh think of this in every break they plan on the show.  Sarah was due to have a girls weekend with college friends in Key West.  Yet, one of the friends invited another gal Sarah doesn’t like, and even considers an “energy vampire” so she’s thinking of bailing from the get together because of it.  A good story to tell for character definition because it’s honest and has conflict.  The show took things one step further – after Sarah tells her story and lays out the drama for the audience to comment on, they get on the friend in question so Sarah can ask why she did that.  This is “lean in content”.  And because it had conflict throughout, it garnered an emotional reaction from the audience both on the phones and in social media to make it more memorable to keep the show top-of-mind and “can’t miss”.  In your content breaks, where’s the bold conflict you can center things around so listeners are engaged and entertained?

At our core, we’re storytellers.  That’s how human beings connect.  By telling stories. So it was fitting to tell stories just before the holidays about Christmas tree issues gone sideways.  Any show could make the case that this has been done before.  This is an issue if the stories being told are bland, boring, unentertaining, and do not connect. Not so with Zach and Brittney, B100, South Bend, IN who told their stories, then asked the audience to tell theirs.  Here are some wins of this short break:  Vulnerability, coupled around real life, work.  The audience wants in on your life.  You also stand a greater chance to win if you do what these guys did – put the spotlight back on the listener and let them tell their story.  Some shows feel like they should always be front and center.  This break shows how to back up, let the listener shine, and support them where needed to advance the narrative so everyone can relate and the audience can have a fun time hearing the story.