WASTED WORDS

Air talent probably gets tired of being told to talk less.  But there are a couple of good reasons why we need to  be concise and to the point on the air.

First, people listen more slowly than we talk.  The more words you use, the more difficult it is for listeners to follow.  And the sooner they tune you out!

Second, listeners are media-savvy, so they make the transitions and connections in their minds.  In other words, they do the work for you.

These realities mean that air talents should not spend a lot of time on transitional words and phrases because they turn into clutter.  Too much language can obscure the point that the talent is trying to make.

Repetition of unnecessary phrases or saying the same thing two or three times in a break or a produced piece causes the same problems.

Here are a few examples:

“Good morning ...it's a Friday morning... here comes the weekend.”

Better:  “Good Friday morning!”  Or “The weekend starts now!”

“Coming up next; coming up in just a few minutes; coming up soon.”

Better:  “Next…”

“And, as a matter of fact....”

Better: Avoid the phrase “As a matter of fact.” 

“Your chance to win coming up, that's right, we've got another chance for you to win...”

Better:  “You can win Fray tickets at 6:15.”  “Spin the Birthday Wheel next hour.” 

“Middle of the week Wednesday, hump day, just three more days until the weekend!”

Better:  Why get into this at all?

“You're a winner!  And thanks to everybody else who called in....”

Better:  “You win!”

Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Mother told you this already.  It’s as good a rule for radio as it is for life.