Six Step Show Prep
The next time you get on a plane, glance to your left before walking down the aisle to your seat. Those two pilots, whether young or grizzled veterans, have one thing in common with every other pilot on every plane you’ll ever be on.
They have a flight plan to get you from here to there. They know what time they’ll push back from the gate; when they’ll take the runway; the speed at which they’ll take off and if they will bank to the left or right; and the altitude the plane will fly. Ditto on the landing. Not much is left to chance because they have a plan.
Can we talk about prep? I still run into shows that don’t do it. In a world where listeners are choice choked, too many options exist. If what you’re doing isn’t working, they could tune out.
Hard to believe that the “we don’t need to prep because we just make the magic happen” crowd still exists. Winging it is not a game plan and it will backfire on you. When I ask some shows to explain their prep process, I sometimes get, “Oh, we’re texting each other all day.” That sound you heard was Uncle Steve’s eyebrows going up in cynical enjoyment of an excuse I know isn’t true (and if true, isn’t effective).
Here are the six things every great show does that helps make your plane (every content break) get from here to there. Six Step Show Prep:
- Fill those content buckets. Work with me and know I want my shows to be about right now. Right now in popular culture, right now in your market, right now in your life, and right now in your format. What are the right topics in each of those areas that will resonate with your demo because they’re relevant and familiar? I bet, on any given day, you have about twenty to choose from. What are they?
- The Know-Wonder Exercise. Read and research every one of those topics. Your take defines your character. What do you know about each of those topics, and what do you wonder? The more curious you are, the more creative you will be in developing treatments and ideas that make your show something that can’t be found anywhere else. This is the hard (but fun) part and something I’ve always felt is a group endeavor. What will you do with any of those topics that move the break into something fun and unique so you’re memorable? You really can’t figure this out on your own.
- Figure out your Three Act Play. Every story has one. How will you get into this break? That context and hook up front will help the audience understand the topic and conflict and make them lean in. What happens in the middle that keeps them glued to your content – where are you going with all of this? And what is the payoff? I’m not suggesting breaks should be scripted. But you must know these items so you don’t waste listeners time. That helps each break have a flight plan to get the audience from here to there.
- Forming the show’s game (flight) plan for tomorrow. Fill out a run sheet for the entire program. Every break must be filled. Is there balance in the topics and their treatments? Is there a structure to the plan that everyone on the show knows so they can help get each break to its destination? You always reserve the right to change a break, as long as the new content and its treatment are an upgrade.
- Tease Me, Please Me. Write teases for every break. Writing teases is an art. Read all about that in Are Your Teases Google Proof. Effective teases should be written the day before, once the content breaks are decided (and not on the fade of a song during the show).
- Plan Past Tomorrow. Decide what you will do that day to get involved in your community and live a life that will generate new content for the program. Work on ideas for things coming up over the next few weeks. As I write this in April, I’m already working with shows on Mother’s Day content for May and graduations in June.
We don’t have much room left to fail in radio. We’re around too many shiny objects that want our fans’ attention (podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, other shows, et al). Not having a flight plan is a perilous decision. So my tough love is let’s get at this so those tuning in don’t drift.
Before I jump, know that this blog was originally titled Twelve Step Show Prep. But in a nod to shorter content breaks, I deleted half of them hoping the remaining six would mean more to you.
Now seat belts fastened, tray tables up, and prepare for arrival.
Go get it.