Scintillating Radio Show Prep Since 1993
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SHOW PREP CONSISTENCY
Be prepared! Being on-the-air and being in-the-air have some parallels. The term ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ is an old aviation expression for the act of successfully flying and landing an aircraft without access to functional instrumentation and/or proper communication. Granted, some brave pilots manage to pull off this stunt but it can be a dangerous and harrowing experience. Given a choice, most flyers would opt to have knowledge of where they are in the air and confirmation they are cleared to land safely. So as a broadcaster why would you ever choose to “fly by the seat of your pants,” performing with no preparation and relying on your instincts and experience, much like a pilot “flying blind”? You might pull it off, once or twice. But the easiest way to develop consistency is to always be fully prepared. And that means show prep.
When and how you prepare is up to you. Many morning personalities choose to assemble their material the evening before; some early risers prefer to get it together immediately before show time; others start working on tomorrow’s show immediately after signing off today’s. There’s no right or wrong; if it works for you and your crew, it’s legit. The methods used to prepare for a program are also a matter of personal preference. In today’s information age, using one or more Internet-based show prep services seems the easiest way to give yourself a shortcut. A subscription to a show prep service can provide you with both the foundation on which to build your show as well as a safety net to fall back on when you’re struggling to hold things together. The key is to make sure the show prep service you choose matches up with your on-air strengths. There’s no sense subscribing to a joke sheet if comedy doesn’t come to you naturally. Similarly, a news clipping service isn’t of much use unless your program is news and information oriented. Best bet is to find a service that offers a wide variety of material that can be used in numerous ways. Fortunately, most show prep services offer the chance to sample a week or two at no charge.
Like a pilot, many broadcasters like to run down a last minute checklist before taking to the air. You want to make sure that all the components are in place and that the entire crew is on the same page. That ensures a concerted effort and, most times, a successful broadcast. The same can’t be said about “flying by the seat of your pants.”
