The Anatomy of an On-Air Break
I’ve been hosting music and news on the radio for more than 20 years. And recently I’ve been thinking back to my very first shifts.
How in the world did I ever learn to know what to say on the radio?
It’s not like I was a huge radio listener as a teenager. I mean, I listened to top 40 pop stations in the car and I liked having classical music radio on in the background while I did my homework. But honestly, I never even once considered how those radio djs knew what to say on the radio.
Thinking about it in the abstract, of course, it seems easy, right? Hey, I’m whomever, here’s a cool song, here’s a story I’m telling you, here’s where you’re listening, here’s where you can find more info. But how do you take that “basic” information and turn it into something compelling? And, how do you avoid falling into the trap of doing everything the same way and, thus, sounding exactly the same in every break?
It’s certainly not like anyone ever sat me down and said, “OK, here’s exactly what you need to say and how to say it.”
While some hosts might be super creative individuals who have a plethora of ideas at all times, I’ve always found it helpful to be a bit more methodical about how to do this thing we call radio.
Whisper Speak Roar Media spent some time considering what we call “The Anatomy of a Break” – it’s not a new idea. Lots of stations and producers and hosts and consultants talk about break structure.
The trick, we think, is to make sure that EVERY break is planned out. And we believe that EVERY break should be composed of CORE components and OPTIONAL components.
There’s something kind of beautiful about creativity that’s structured and planned out (we think so, anyway). With this kind of thoughtful break structure, your listener is getting everything they need to get and YOU avoid falling into a trap of doing everything the same way.
Let’s break it down. What are the “CORE components” of every on-air break (and for this purpose, I’m talking specifically about a radio break)?
Core components are the things you’ve been required to include by a program director or the FCC. Core components are also radio best practices to build station awareness and loyalty. For example, core components could include:
→Some kind of station identification
→Back announce (identifying the song or performers your listener just heard)
→Connecting with listener by: using “YOU” OR tapping into an emotion a listener can identify with
→Forward promote (what’s coming up)
→Weather update
These are the things you probably need to include in every break. However, keep in mind you can include these components in any order you want. You don’t have to do things in the same way every time.
Now, what about OPTIONAL components? These are the elements you can mix and match to vary the tone, the feel, and the pace of your breaks.
Examples of optional components include:
→Your name
→Date and time
→Forward promote/tease (forward promotes help build listener loyalty and increases the duration of how long they’re going to listen to the radio)
→Front announce (identifying song or performers we are about to hear)
→Storytelling component: a compelling and interesting story that allows your listener to experience the music you’re sharing in a new or different way
→Community information; timely and topical news and information about the musicians or music
→Contact or connection point for listeners; eg, follow me/the station on socials, call the number, send an email, send a request, visit the website
→Weather
The thing to remember – variety keeps YOU (and thus your listener) engaged. So play around with these core and optional components as you start creating your breaks. You’ll be surprised by how many options you’ll be able to come up with the next time you turn on the microphone.
Want to learn more? Get in touch! We’ve got tips and tricks up the wazoo – and we want to share them all with you.
