Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

There are so many angles for a holiday like Mother’s Day for the average show.  At Spencer’s Neighborhood, 106.5, The Arch, St. Louis, the team found out that Brando bought his mother concert tickets for the evening and his sister was upset because she wanted to take mom to dinner with the family.  Spencer sees fun conflict here.  The show did two breaks where they got the sister on to help Brando tell the story (another chance to stir the pot), followed by another break with Brando, his sister, and their mother, to ask her which of the two she wanted to do. The team made her choose between Brando and his sister’s gifts!  There are a few things to learn in the execution of these breaks.  First, listen to how quickly at the beginning of the break they set (and reset) the storyline.  They waste no time in enrolling the audience in what’s going on, especially those who didn’t know about it.  Then, they quickly got to the relatives to help tell the story, thus putting another element in each break to get emotion, perspective, and entertainment.  Finally, the team gives you a reason to stay tuned or come back to the show at the end of each break, teasing the audience forward for another occasion.

Yup, me too.  Those three simple words, when thought by listeners, are immensely powerful.  In a show’s quest to be honest in its story telling, if the audience hears an experience and reacts by seeing themselves in it, they identify with the material and connect with the person telling it.  We’re often asked when is talking about yourself too much.  Fair question.  The answer is:  when the audience doesn’t see themselves in the story and when it no longer is entertaining.  Stylz and Roman, US 99, Chicago, reminisced about buying their mother’s cigarettes when they were young.  Highly relatable content.  To entertain the audience and elevate the story, they got both their moms on at the same time to add another comedic element, then they opened the phones for listener stories.  For this Stage One show, with its undefined cast, this is a perfect break.