How to Plan a Good Radio Show

There are two kinds of radio personalities: those that plan an actual show before they even step into the studio, and those that have no idea what they want to talk about until they crack the mic. To the average listener, this does not make a difference. A planned show does, however, separate a top market jock from a medium or small market jock. A planned show not only keeps the listeners tuned in, but transforms a normal 'on air shift' to a memorable 'show.' When planning a show, or better known as 'show prep,' there are several things to keep in mind.

The most important thing to remember is your audience. Typically in radio there is a targeted demographic (i.e. Hispanic Females 18 - 30, White Males 24 - 40, etc). The audience depends on the format of the station and the market that you are in. You want to know if you are targeting a younger or older crowd, and what is their lifestyle. A good exercise is to give your average listener a face. Ask yourself, how old is the average listener? What does he or she do for a living? What is he or she doing while listening to the show? Even give your listener a name. This will help you relate to your audience on a more personal level.

You also want to be very informed! Know everything that is going on with your station. You want to know the times and locations of all remotes and street hits. Know where your station will be at all times. Know all your on air giveaways. When a listener calls, they usually want information, and they expect you to have all the answers. This will not only satisfy the listener, but will give you information to talk about on air when all else fails. There should always be something to say about what is going on at the station. You also want to be up to date on events in the community and entertainment news. If you are a station that plays music, you want to know all about your artists and new releases as well. You are the source of your listeners' information.

There are many places that you can get your information. You should read the news paper, watch the news, and of course the web has unlimited information. You can check out perezhilton.com and pinkisthenewblog.com for good entertainment gossip. A great site with a ton of links for show prep is allaccess.com as well. It is free to get a log in, and there are unlimited tools for show prep and anything else you could want to know about the radio industry. With modern technology, there is no limit to the sources of your information.

When researching, you want to make sure that you stay related to the format of your station. If your target audience is primarily female, they most likely don't care about football, and men don't want to hear about the latest sale at Victoria Secrets. (Well, they may, but not for the reasons that you intended!) Also, think about the music and artists that you play. The listener is primarily listening to the music, so they are interested in the artists that you play. If you are on an alternative station, the listeners probably don't care about a rap artist and vice versa. Make sure that your content is meaningful and interesting!

Now that you have all of your basic tools, you need to time out your show. Typically a show is four hours, some are five, so you must be able to properly spread out your content within the time frame. You don't want to use all of your material in the first two hours and not have anything for the remainder of the show. It is good though, to start out with your best material. Know how many breaks you get an hour and how long you get to talk each break. A lot of stations have three to five breaks per hour (this is not including a morning show which is mainly talk). Some stations will give you the freedom to talk when ever you want. You should time your breaks accordingly.

A good rule of thumb is to think of your breaks as a paragraph. You need an intro, a body, and a conclusion. If you are doing a 'bit,' use the intro to explain or introduce the bit, the body is the bit, and the conclusion is wrapping up the bit. Or think of the intro as a teaser. Tease what is coming up and then the next break execute what you teased earlier. Don't make each break a random thought that jumps from one thing to another. It will confuse your listeners. After you have an idea of how you want your show to flow, write it down as an outline. And of course, radio is never constant, so the outline more than likely will change as you go!

Now you get to the fun part; actually doing your show! When you walk in the studio, have the mentality that you own the place. The listeners will hear your confidence in your voice. Remember your average listener that you pictured earlier, so that you talk as if you are in a conversation with that one person. When you deliver your content, do it in a creative way with your own twist. Don't force your personality, you will come off cheesy. Let your personality come out naturally. Also, think of your entire show as a paragraph, with an intro, body, and conclusion. Your first break should introduce yourself and the show. The body is your content. Your conclusion is wrapping it up, while teasing what is up next so that the listeners stay tuned to the station. There is no limit to your creativity or your imaginations, so live, breathe, and enjoy your show!