Short Lesson


It's much better to get straight to the point. People get bored when they hear waffle. Think of your link being written out on paper, with lines through all the unnecessary words - this is the definition of 'WORD ECONOMY'. In other words finding a much quicker way of explaining thing's in as least words as possible. Before you open the mic it's best to know what you're going to say even if it means jotting down a few key words or guide lines.
Remember 'ONE THOUGHT PER LINK'. Apart from the station name, song titles etc., it is your message - the bit that you think up that should contain one element.
'ONCE VOCAL STARTS, THE SONG BELONGS TO THE LISTENERS'. Do not come back after or between vocals.
'DON'T TALK OVER THE ENDS OF ENDING SONGS'. The song should end before you start the beginning of your link. If it fades, don’t start talking until the song is just about to fade. Respect the music!
'LINKS SHOULD FLOW'. Don't stop and then come back. Once you stop that’s the end of the link.
"SELL" everything you do on-air. Make listeners feel that if they tune out they're going to miss something really good. Your listener thinks of you as a friend, so be fun as if you were down the pub talking to a mate.
'TEASE' everything coming up. Hook once every quarter hour before breaks the artists you’re going to play. Image artists eg. Madonna, U2, Justin Timberlake, do not need song title mentioned. But Sell song from Non-Image artists and New songs. You don’t need to back announce songs unless it is New. Introduce ALL New songs.
To get listeners more interested in a story GIVE COMMENT BEFORE INFORMATION. Lets say you read a story about Bono leaving U2. Rather than say, “Bono has left U2”, put your comment first, “Looks like U2 are gonna have to find another singer.” Then they will want to know why! You have grabbed the listeners attention before you have announced the information.
 Unless it is sponsored and it has to be on at a certain time, DON'T DO FEATURES AT THE SAME TIME EVERYDAY. Promote it. Say it's coming up within the hour or in 15 minutes whatever.
‘ONE TO ONE’ presentation. Sound like you are talking to ONE person not everyone at the same time. Avoid saying, "Hi all" or "Hi Gang". And instead of saying things like “You are all texting me”, say “I’m getting lots of texts”, as though you are telling one person, the same way as you would tell it to someone sitting across the desk from you!
The No. 1 rule is 'BE YOURSELF'. Try not to model yourself on someone else too much. Sure we all have someone who influences us to be a certain way! But you can't be EXACTLY like them. Remember You are unique, an individual. Use this to an advantage. 
If you really want to improve you really should 'LISTEN BACK TO YOURSELF' now and again and find all of the things you need to work on. Each time you listen take one thing that is wrong and put it into practice on you're next gig. Don't think of too many things to work on while you are on-air. You will probably feel distracted and will mess up!
Remember not to sound like you’re working. ‘HAVE FUN’, entertain and captivate your audience.

Carl Kinsman