A radio ad writer's real challenge is the internal communication.

If you want to be a lynchpin writer, one that your radio station can’t live without, then you must learn how to WORK, CREATE, and COMMUNICATE.

Last week we talked about how a strong work ethic combined with workload management skills are required to thrive in the fast-paced environment of radio.

This week we’ll go over some tips on HOW TO COMMUNICATE that will improve your relationships with coworkers and clients. You’ll find that these communication tips are very much like the aspects that make a radio ad more effective.

TIP #1: Be Direct, Specific and Non-punishing:

This should be your overriding goals for all your communication. If you are preparing yourself for a crucial conversation, make sure you keep these goals in mind.

BE DIRECT: Get right to the point. Avoid circling around the issue. Open your conversation with a strong headline that captures the core message you want to communicate:

                “The delay in script approval means production must do a rush-job on the ad.”

                “I need more information to write an effective ad.”

Opening “on point” will ensure that the rest of the conversation is a focused discussion of the details and resolution. You may think you are being tactful by warming up with “how’s it going” chit chat, but you are more likely to confuse the other person and/or cloud the real issue.

BE SPECIFIC: Use specific examples so the other person knows exactly what you are talking about. Generalities like “you always seem to do this” can lead to an unresolvable “your opinion VS their opinion” situation. Specific details of three similar occurrences in a relatively short period will lead to them realizing your point OR you realizing unknown contributing circumstances. Either way…you can now move on to a “how do we deal with this going forward” conversation.

BE NON-PUNISHING: Everyone makes mistakes so treat people how you want to be treated when you screw up. Avoid shaking the blame stick or saying things for the sole purpose of rubbing someone’s nose in it. The priorities should be:

a)       What do we do to fix this?

b)      How can we prevent this from happening again?

A punishing approach will only result in creating a defensive response that will escalate the conflict. The goal is to always have adult to adult relationships so you help create a healthy culture where people don’t feel like they need to hide their mistakes. 

  

TIP #2: Taylor the communication to your target:

Ask yourself these questions:

a)      How does this effect the person I’m communicating to?

b)      Is this message going up or down the flagpole?

c)      What pleasure or pain will motivate the target to act?

Why?

Question A: You will communicate more effectively if you can demonstrate that you understand your target’s perspective. This question will help you focus on things that will be more meaningful to them. Talking about “how something effects you” will be as ineffective as an ad where the business owner only talks about their problems. “I need to sell 100 cars in 100 days”. Nobody cares.

Question B: If you are communicating “up the flagpole” to your team leader and to clients, you need to be more concise and focus on how this will affect the overall business. If you are communicating “down the flagpole” to your coworkers and reports, you need to provide all the details they need to understand and complete the task. Be sure to clearly communicate the expected outcome.

Question C: Ignoring motivation while communicating is like writing an ad that has absolutely no reason to buy the product from Client X. Your message will be white noise. Think about what pleasure will come to the person if they take your recommended action. Also, consider what pain will befall them if they don’t. I always preferred motivating with pleasure over pain because, going back to TIP #1, it is non-punishing and generally feels less evil. You need to also realize that motivating with pain by communicating the negative consequences is sometimes necessary when there have been previous failed attempts.

TIP #3: Choose a delivery form that fits your message

You need to consider HOW you deliver your message because each form has its strengths and weaknesses.

Written Forms: Emails, text messages and chatroom exchanges:

Strengths: You can review your communication before you hit “send”. You have a written record of the exchange if you need to refer to it.

Weaknesses: So much of your message is communicated through tone and body language and the written form has neither. It’s very easy for the recipient to read the message the wrong way.

Recommended Use: Quick delivery of simple information. Confirmations, quick questions, notifications, updates, reference documents, or follow up of actionable items from a meeting are examples. Never use email to attempt to resolve conflict. It will almost always escalate the conflict.

Spoken Forms: Voicemails and phone calls:

Strengths: Your message will be stronger with the tone of your voice and the spoken form is the fastest way to deliver your message. You can communicate the equivalent of six emails in a 60 second phone call.

Weaknesses: No body language, no record of exchange (who keeps all their voicemails), and you may end up discussing things you weren’t prepared for.

Recommended Use: Asking complex questions that require explanation OR could lead to additional questions. Phone calls and voicemail messages are great for client contact when you want to discuss a new direction for their campaign.  

Personal Presented Forms: One-on-one discussion and group presentations:

Strengths: You have words, tone and body language. You can quickly address things that require additional info.

Weaknesses: No record of exchange, takes the most amount of time, and you may have to address things you did not prepare for.

Recommended Use: Conflict resolution, brainstorming, coaching, and teaching. When something matters, the important stuff, you should always lean towards a personal presented form of communication.

These tips are the ones that I found most useful over the years as a member of a radio creative team. I encourage you to explore more information online and make time to discuss communication with the members of your team.

Next week we’ll look at “HOW TO CREATE”. Writers sometimes forget that we are not creating artwork that people are paying to see. We are creating sales messages that interrupt the music and content the listeners tune in for.

Ryan Ghidoni is an 18-year veteran of radio advertising and has worked with some of the most creative sales reps, writers, producers and voice talent in the business. Want a more efficient and creative Client Services Department? Email Ryan@AudioActiveAdvertising.com today to find out more about the benefits of bringing in a Creative Consultant.

It takes more than “being creative” to keep your job as a radio writer.

Image from http://blog.capterra.com/observations-from-the-bus-stop-on-the-1st-day-of-school/

Creative departments are being asked to do more with less time and less people.

Standalone departments are being consolidated into multi market HUBs.

The workload between Sales, Creative and Traffic is shifting.

You CAN’T control the changes that are happening in the industry.

You CAN control the development of your own skill set so that you still have a “seat on the bus” when change comes to town.

The very best writers in radio today, the ones who will always have work, have one thing in common…they’ve all realized that it takes more than “being creative” to thrive at this job.

I call them “Triple Threats” because, on top of knowing how to create great ads, they also know how to work and communicate.

WORK, CREATE, and COMMUNICATE. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a closer look at what you need to bring to the table in these three key areas. Let’s begin with…

HOW TO WORK

Image from http://blog.capterra.com/observations-from-the-bus-stop-on-the-1st-day-of-school/

It all starts with a strong work ethic. The Houston Chronicle outlined the “5 Factors That Demonstrate a Strong Work Ethic” here:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-factors-demonstrate-strong-work-ethic-15976.html

Here is how they apply to writing in radio:

Integrity: You build trust with people by consistently fulfilling your responsibilities and by meeting and exceeding expectations. A big part of this in radio is making good on all promises regarding deadlines and communication. Get it done by when you said you would. If you say you’re going to follow up with someone, then do it.

Sense of Responsibility: Show up on time and ready to work. Time is a commodity in a creative department. You are responsible for spending work time maximizing the projects assigned to you or helping your coworkers. Don’t bring your personal baggage to work and burn half your day making the rounds telling stories. “Story telling” is part of the job but there is a big difference between using a personal experience to make an ad more realistic, and performing the dramas of your life to anyone within ear shot. Share your life on lunch, on break, or after hours on Facebook where people can choose whether or not to ingest it.

Emphasis on Quality: Define your personal bar that you will never fall below and then always try to surpass it with every project. There are thousands of things you can blame a sub-par ad on:

The client insisted on voicing. 

The sales rep gave no info. 

The producer messed it up. 

Triple Threat writers ALWAYS DELIVER regardless of the external factors. In fact, their best work usually comes when they have to overcome adversity or deal with less than ideal circumstances.

Discipline: Stay focused on the writing, instructing and communication tasks you need to complete and their timelines. Be committed to clearing your plate before the end of the day to work ahead and buy time for the unforeseen.

Sense of Teamwork: Measure yourself by the amount of times you help a fellow writer, a sales rep or a producer elevate their game. If you work in an open area, be mindful of how your attitude and behaviour affects everyone in your shared space. Most importantly…actively consider the perspective of the departments you work closest with. The next time the workload permits it, try shadowing your favorite sales rep or producer for a day. Get an inside look at what challenges they have to work with before you start developing unhealthy assumptions about their contribution to the team.

Once you have a strong work ethic as your foundation, you need to build a structure of workload management. 

Image from https://www.linkedin.com/topic/workload-management

Here are some tips:

Leverage Technology: Don’t just learn enough of the required software to “get by”. Learn everything it can do and dig for anything you can leverage to make your job more efficient. Become an “early adapter” of improvements in any tech that could benefit the creative department.

Learn how and when to shift gears: There are right brain tasks and left brain tasks in radio writing. Every time you shift from right to left and left to right, it will slow you down. Realizing this leads us to the next tip…

Structure your plate: Organize your day into extended blocks of either right or left brain tasks. When you get tired of one, take a break by switching to the other. Constantly update your “time spent per project” based on the number of projects on your plate.

Track all projects: It doesn’t matter if you use a paper list or your favorite software, you need to be on top of all your projects, what stage they are at, and when they need to be completed. You also have to identify any steps in the process where the possibility for human error is high and come up with a system of double checks to minimize mistakes. This occurs anytime you have to transfer data from one process to another. Examples: Transferring client info from info sheet to script or transferring instructing data to production order.

Want to be a “Triple Threat”? Start by becoming a writer that knows how to work. It’s the first step to taking your career into your own hands during a tumultuous time in radio. Next week we’ll look at “HOW TO COMMUNICATE”. This becomes very easy when you realize that all the guidelines for writing an effective ad also apply to one-on-one communication and group presentations.

Ryan Ghidoni is an 18-year veteran of radio advertising and has worked with some of the most creative sales reps, writers, producers and voice talent in the business. Want a more efficient and creative Client Services Department? Email Ryan@AudioActiveAdvertising.com today to find out more about the benefits of bringing in a Creative Consultant.

Visit us at AudioActiveAdvertising.com.