The Power of Paying Attention – Steve’s Grocery Store Screw-Up Just to Write This Blog

Last week, I was sent to the grocery store.  My partner is the cook in our relationship, and he directed me to get peeled tomatoes for a recipe.  I dutifully drove to the Harris Teeter and found them in aisle five.  Ah, success!  But then dread and dark clouds hovered over.  Did he want the tomatoes with basil?  The ones with oregano and garlic?  Plain?  The ones already chopped or whole?  Did he want the Hunts or Contadina brand, or could I buy the less expensive Harris Teeter brand, which was on sale?

So many decisions.  I froze in fear of choosing incorrectly, as I have often done, arriving home and again getting “the look” that “you got the wrong ones.”  So, I did the smart thing and FaceTimed him for the right answers.  I didn’t feel so bad because when I was heading to the checkout, another guy was holding his phone up to a Teeter employee and said, “My wife wants me to buy these.  Can you bring me to them.”  Ah, another spouse anticipating that he’ll get the wrong thing, too.

I have a disease called Permanent Content Brain.  The phrase was coined by podcaster Pablo Torre who admits, as do I, that everything I see I wonder how it can be content on a show.  I am reminded of talent who go about their lives and never see the power of this kinda stuff to help them be relatable or use it to create fun stories the audience identifies with.  So many say “nothing happened to me yesterday” yet when I dig deep and get inquisitive, so much content appears.  They didn’t see it because they weren’t paying attention.

So, I wonder how we get more of these shared experiences on a show to connect with fans.  Here are a few things to consider:

• Stop looking for a story and notice the friction in everything you do. It wasn’t about my going to the grocery store as much as it was about fearing “the look” and bold move to FaceTime so it wasn’t another Epic Steve Fail®.  Where you get uncomfortable, irritated, or feel awkward is the story.  Great radio doesn’t come from what happened, it comes from what felt off.
• Pick a side and use bold language. Mushy middle breaks or ones that express all points-of-view die quickly.  Fake opinion for neutrality is death, too.  Great radio lives on the margins.  Hate/love are much better than like.  Powerful verbiage activates listeners.  Examples: “self-checkout is a scam,” or “if you’re paying for groceries with a check, you must be over 80,” or “the cart return thing is really a character test some people fail.”  It’s near impossible for a listener to not have an emotional reaction to any of those frames.  Using language like this includes the audience from the start.
• Get to it with a powerful hook at the start. “I had to FaceTime my partner from the canned tomato aisle, so I didn’t come home feeling like an idiot again” is a great way to make listeners lean in to hear the story.
• You must pivot from it being about you to being about the audience. Do that and you’ll get similar content from them which will be entertaining for all to hear.  Actively think of this line, “Is it just me or…” and you might have a content break.  The mistake many make is that it’s just about them – make it about the audience and the connection forms as stories from everyone appear.
• When asking the audience to advance your content with their stories, never ask “what do you think” or “has this happened to you”. Be specific: “your spouse sent you to the grocery store and you were once again a disappointment in the task – tell us what happened.”  Specific questions get better calls and listener engagement.  Never ask yes/no or agree/disagree questions.  If your reply to them is “why” or “tell us more” you’ll go on a fishing expedition for their content and get little.  Be specific and they’ll have stories with lots of details.

If you can do everyday things like go to the grocery store and pay attention to see the friction, get an opinion, and look for relatability, you’re guaranteed to leave with content.

The next time you go somewhere, don’t rush or do it mindlessly.  Pay attention and note three things that annoy you, give you judgment on something, force an opinion, or make you experience an emotion yourself.  One of them might be content the next day.

Then you’ll never say again that “nothing happened today”.

You must notice everything to develop Permanent Content Brain.  A great disease to have if you are a content creator.  I put together a checklist to train your brain to get there.  Grab it here if you think it’ll help.