More of this Feature • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14

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This idea of “splattering” is a slow, evolving process. I think many talented radio personalities do this, some knowingly and some not. But, you always have to start with your core audience and you can NEVER ignore them. Of course, you may or may not have the ability to decide how much music you play and how far your can take your content. In our case, we did which helped us achieve these great numbers.

Learn To Love What You Don't

When you are prepping a radio show, it's important to first distance yourself from who you are and what you like and then make objective decisions about what your audience likes. Let's face it: not all stations who aim at 25-54 year old females have the luxury of employing 25-54 females for their air staff. Not all 18-34 year old male-oriented stations have DJs 18-34 and male on the air. Program Directors hire professionals who's job is to understand the audience they'll be talking to, whether they fit into that demo or not. For some of us, this is a very big challenge.

One of the toughest challenges is when a male has to appeal to a female audience or vice versa. Guys really do not think like females, and ladies do not think like men. I don't care how many seminars your General Manager forces you to attend to increase your “sensitivity”, you are never going to really think like somebody from the opposite sex because the differences are biological, physical and psychological.

Not quite three strikes, but close.

This is a major obstacle to good prep and requires that you make some personal sacrifices in order to become better at it. At least you can fake it and become better at appearing that you think like the opposite sex. If you're a male, it means you're going to have to give up that ball game on tv and watch a chick flick on “Lifetime”. It means you really do have to read “Cosmo” more often than just in the dentist's office because it's the only magazine left. It means you have to once-and-for-all figure out the appeal to “Rosie” and “Oprah” or whatever fem-talkers are on TV as well as Richard Simmons and even why Diana's death was so significant. It means you have to become familiar with issues and topics you might normally not give a rat's ass about: adoption, feminine hygiene, pap tests, children's car seats, child nutrition, crafts, disproportionate pay for women in the workplace, etc.

You don't have to dress in high-heels, but you do have to learn to be more open to a point-of-view that up until now, might not have been necessary to understand. As an on-air performer, you are also an actor. If you're doing it correctly, your audience thinks you both have a lot in common. In reality, you may or may not be interested in the things they are, but honing in on what's important to them is key to succeeding in building their loyalty to you. So, part of you prep is reminding yourself who that person on the air needs to be and how that person is going to get to being that way.

Flexibility is so important to a great air-personality. Some think they can only perform in a given format...or maybe they mistakenly believe they will always be able to stay in the format of their choice. The state of radio today has significantly lessened the amount of jobs to choose from and the amount of options in general. The real professional can and must adapt to any format, any demo.

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