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The Importance of Listening to Your Listener – Part 2

By Beth Bacall, Sr. Talent Coach

Before starting our 9 a.m. practice, yoga instructor Amanda (30-something, married, 2 kids, dog and cat mom) says, “I was in my car parked at the ball field until 10:15 p.m. last night, reading, listening to the radio, and waiting for my sons to finish baseball practice.” I processed what time she was able to get her sons home and estimated what followed: the kids would need to eat, get ready for bed, finish any homework, maybe play a video game, and eventually fall asleep. So after a late practice and drive home, she would be feeding, directing, winding her own day down and realizing how many hours she would not have for sleep. And here we are together, so early in the morning. A different kind of practice and perspective for sure.

My kids are already graduated and past school, so this story is helpful for me to connect with our demo when I’m on-air or working with a coaching client. For example, I had no idea baseball practice had already started! I wondered what radio station she was listening to, then assumed it was my station so I could keep her picture in my prep.

This is one of my favorite content strategies: stay curious about others and their schedule. This allows insight and offers lifestyle pictures to paint on air. Every waiting room, sporting event, shopping experience and playground offers scenes to observe from real life that you can use as inspiration for relatable content.

Keying into what ‘she’ could be doing specifically during that day and time is another vital tactic, because how else will you be ready to speak to her? At 7 a.m. the Friday after Christmas is a lot different than the following Monday at 7 a.m. It’s not a 9 to 5 o’clock world any longer. At 1:00 p.m. she could be hopping on a Zoom call, filling her gas tank, picking up kids from school, taking her son to the orthodontist or a counselor, even planning a family member’s funeral. She might be waiting in a drive thru lane to pick up a prescription, or dry cleaning, or library books.

When prepping specifically for that day and on-air time, we might ask, “what are the top three things on my listeners mind, and mine?” Start your prep there and really consider that day and time.  Your stories will come from these answers.

Listeners have the best stories. Sharing their encouraging stories, preferably local, matters all day long. Ask for them on the air and social media. Stories also come from the people on your team, whether they are on-air talent or not. When I do monthly planning calibrations with stations I’m coaching, I always ask that everyone at the station comes to the Zoom call, because it’s eye opening to hear their different views on life and content. On a recent call, my clients collected insight ranging from what the area farmers are dealing with, to the local ice cream shop that will open soon. Some staff members went to that ice cream store as little kids, others had never been. But they all have a sweet picture in their heads about what she might be looking forward to, too.

It’s all about life lived, then talked about in story form.

Read PART 1 in our series, The Importance of Listening to Your Listener.

At Finney Media, we’ve started doing something called Listener Advisory Panels for our Christian media friends. It’s like a focus group, but the leaders from the ministry are in the room to listen and talk to people.

Part of what we ask is listeners is to talk about their life, their family, their work and their church. And what we hear is helpful in crafting the station’s content to focus on who she is, where she is and how she uses us.

Check out these two listener stories:

One gal said: "I've been married for 25 years and I have a daughter who's 23 and about to graduate from nursing school. I used to work in finance. I've been disabled for 14 ½ years. My church is a CCM station and I support it every month. Because of my disability, it's hard for me to get around, so I consider the CCM station my church."

Another person said: "I've been married for 18 years. We saw foster care as a ministry. And God provided the opportunity for us to adopt a son from the system. So now we have a 15-year-old son who has eight different disabilities and it's a full-time job taking care of him. I stay at home and homeschool him. When we can go to church, we go to a church just north of us. It can be hard for us to go because of my son's disabilities, but it's important to us. This is why we love our radio station."

These stories reflect what we hear from listeners. People with difficult circumstances choose us because of the uplifting spiritual encouragement they receive.

But we would not have heard the details and seen/felt the emotion if we hadn’t gathered to take time and listen and take notes.

It’s been so valuable to the ministries we work with who want to hear and then craft their sound toward meeting these listeners where they are.

It’s something your ministry can also do. And we can show you how. If you would like to know more, reach me at chuck@finneymedia.com.

If someone had said weeks ago that there would be a world event that involved no one dying, and yet the world would unite in prayer, I wouldn’t have believed it. I suspect you wouldn’t have either. 

A few weeks ago, this happening on ESPN was unimaginable. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/J1Vs59RDITc

A friend asked this week, what do you think brought everyone together? Where people who don’t normally pray are praying and asking for prayer. And putting the love and care of people ahead of their own interests. 

I didn’t have the word for it at first. Then another friend said it. 

Helplessness. 

Not only was Damar Hamlin helpless on national television for a few moments. By extension, all of us were helpless to help him. We were watching our worst nightmare happen in real time and had no idea how it would turn out. For about 24 hours, we were still unsure of his returning to health. Thank God he is getting better. 

Here’s why this matters to what we do. 

God is in control . . . and we’re not. We believe it, play songs about it, talk about it.  

Then God decided to get everyone’s attention by reminding us, with a routine NFL football play, that we are helpless. 

Here’s what I’m reminded of: Often, I feel like I have no control. Like things are spinning out of control. Like I need to let go of my control issues. 

Because I never had control in the first place. Control is an illusion. 

Damar was helpless. I am helpless. You are helpless. And God is totally, sovereignly, lovingly in control. 

As we consider the year ahead, it’s time for each of us to consider our next step in letting go of the illusion of control and letting Him have control. 

God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV 

Picture this real moment with me: We’re at a Listener Advisory Panel with about seven listeners, seated around a table. They are giving us their perceptions of the Christian Music radio station. One of our respondents, I’ll call her Christi, shared she didn’t have good relationships with her family. Here’s part of our conversation: 

Me: Why listen to the Christian Music Station? 

Christi: It’s the only good thing. 

Me: Do you mean it’s the only good thing on the radio or the only good thing? 

Christi: It’s the only good thing. 

Me: What’s the other good thing? 

Christi: (after a long pause) . . . Chick-Fil-A!  

Followed by nods and laughter from the rest of our group. 

This fun, funny and bittersweet story illustrates just how much God has entrusted to our care as Christian communicators.  

This Christmas, I encourage you to pray on that, reflect on that.  

Christ coming to be with us is the answer. We have the opportunity to communicate His hope to people like Christi.  

What an adventure to discover new ways to do so for a hurting, harried, searching-for-that-one-good-thing listener in the coming year. 

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV 

Have a Blessed Christmas!    

Here’s some amazing Christmas audio as an idea starter for a heart-connective Christmas at your station!

Beth Bacall does an amazing job on afternoons at Fish/Atlanta, helping them to grow their listenership to levels beyond expectations.

Take a listen to one of the best breaks we’ve ever heard in Christian radio:

What makes this break one of the best?  Here are a few thoughts:

    • Spiritual Encouragement. Listeners want it. This break brings it! Both spiritual and encouraging!
    • Pre-recorded. Yet sounds live. There is no way this break could have happened, with this level of emotional impact, done live.
    • Quick in, quick out. Your listener isn’t going to give you a ton of time – you must “set the hook” quickly if you want them to stay and hear. :04 with the child at the beginning. :04 with Mike Blakemore at the end.
    • Listener involvement. It’s not just The Fish doing this. They involved listeners . . . and vicariously all listeners in this!
    • Beth is feeling with her listener. Including . . . she shares a little piece of herself (at about 2:15) . . . without it becoming what the break is about. This is genius! Connects Beth with her caller – and the listener – in a very special way.
    • Christmas Hope and Joy. Our listener is coming to us for this . . . often we’re the only place on the radio she can hear it!
    • What she, and the team at the Fish, managed to include in less than three minutes is spectacular. Listen to how seamlessly – with the phone SFX – they communicate each new caller coming in.
    • Music Bed. Energy, positivity, without being overwhelming.
    • Listen to how Beth brings God and prayer in at 2:11.
    • Story Twist:  You don’t know how she’s going to include the person for whom the wish is being granted . . . and when it happens (at about 1:35), it’s a WOW! Story twist . . . in the right place, well-edited. Yet doesn’t sound edited.

Taken together, one of the most amazing breaks! Beth, well done!

True story. Years ago, I was working as a program director in secular Contemporary Hit Radio in Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point, North Carolina. Burned out, stressed out, and not working in a happy situation. So I quit. And my wife Lynda and I sold our car and used the money to strap on backpacks for three months in Europe.  

I was done with radio. 

It was that summer that I heard, “Radio’s not going to change . . . but you can.” 

So . . . it turns out I wasn’t done with radio. Just done with never turning it off. I needed downtime to be rested and prepared for when I needed to be “on”. And, as a result, my effectiveness as a programmer and leader skyrocketed. 

It’s been a very imperfect journey of figuring out how to get it all done and still have crucial downtime.  

Fast forward to ten years ago. Studying MasterPlan from Steve Dulin at Gateway Church in DFW Masterplan Business Ministries (masterplanministries.org). It’s a study for business owners on not just dedicating your business to God, but giving your business to God. It was his section on sabbatical that got my attention. 

That has led to a once-a-year . . . and now twice-a-year multi-day time alone with God. To worship, pray, study His word, ask questions, write . . . and listen. I just finished my latest time away a few weeks ago. And I can’t imagine now doing life without that time … me asking God questions and hearing answers through His word. Answers that are bigger than I expected, often surprising, heart-focused, consistent with His word. And they likely wouldn’t happen if I didn’t take time to pause and be still. 

My message for you: We’re all in different seasons and have different abilities to get away. And our hurried, chaotic world crushes this idea . . . it still sorta feels at times like I’m not hitting the mark when I do it. But silence is essential. Jesus modeled it for us. We need more silence. Could I encourage you to think, or re-think about this as a priority? 

If you’re curious, I would love to tell you more about what a difference it’s made for my relationship with God and the people I love.  

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ Psalm 46:10 NIV

We’ve heard the mandate for our radio stations and programs, “No Dead Air!” And it’s good advice . . . if the silence is not purposeful. But what if the silence is purposeful? Focused on blessing and loving?

Your listener is busy, distracted, hurting. In our research with Christian radio listeners across the country, we continue to hear that she comes to us for spiritual encouragement. An uplifting in the middle of her day. And for calm.

Sometimes this can happen with silence. Pauses in the right places. Time to reflect on the profoundness of what was just said or played. For this, think seconds, not minutes.

An example: This Super Bowl commercial from 2013 was the second highest rated by viewers to that year’s game. Notice the silence at the beginning . . . and especially at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE

Eight seconds at the beginning. Twelve seconds at the end. Right in the middle of a noisy, chaotic game. Many fans had never heard of the speaker because he had died years earlier. And yet, they loved this commercial.

Super Bowl ads that year ran $3,000,000 for 30 seconds. That’s $100,000 per second. That means Dodge Ram paid about $2,000,000 for the silence!

Certainly, it caused many viewers to stop, and lean in . . . and soak in the silence. Time to think. Dry a tear. Maybe even time to pray.

Our Action Point from this example is this: Coach your people to pause . . . in the right places…for better impact. On purpose. Fully prepared. Confident.

In a world that is relentlessly running, your Christian radio listener will more likely lean in if you do.

This is an area where we can help. Talent Coaching from experienced, affirming coaches is one of our specialties. Contact me at chuck@finneymedia.com if you’d like to know more.

“…there is a healthy kind of busyness where your life is full with things that matter, not wasted on empty leisure or trivial pursuits. By that definition Jesus himself was busy. The problem isn’t when you have a lot to do; it’s when you have too much to do and the only way to keep the quota up is to hurry…”

–John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

“Successful people say no to almost everything.”

–Warren Buffet

Last month, I wrote about what you’re going to stop doing on the air (LINK HERE). This month, it’s personal. As in what are you going to stop doing in your life . . . to be closer to God . . . and therefore have a more effective ministry.

Paul said he was the worst.

No, that’s me. I have no room to talk on this subject of hurry and busyness. I am the worst. I’ve spent most of a lifetime busy and hurried.

But God has drawn me closer, and caused me to slow down, to be closer to Him. And it’s true that it often results in more effective ministry. And certainly more peace!

To do this meant choosing to stop doing something, or doing less of it. I had to take action, to say no.

For me, it’s online surfing of news, news commentary and sports. I’ve chosen to spend fewer precious minutes of my day consuming those. And turned off notifications of news and sports (did I really need to know the Reds score during the game?).

And it’s made a big difference. In my relationships. And my peace.

But it took choosing to stop doing something.

So, the question is…what are you going to stop doing?

Think about this: Your listener has an average of seven short-term slots of memory. And her mind, heart, and spirit are busy with things important to her: family, health, work, friends, appearance, not having enough time to juggle all she has to do, more month than paycheck. 

When we play or say something on the radio or online, we’re hoping she will lend us one of those short-term slots of memory. That she will lean in, pay attention and remember what we played or said. Your effectiveness in doing this is going to be dependent on:  

  • her interest level in what you are playing or saying
  • how much you engage her heart
  • and how concise and obvious you make your message

Each of us has important stuff coming at us that we need to talk about on the air – that new promotion or offer, that new fundraising appeal, that new contest, that upcoming concert . . All good ideas. 

Here’s the challenge: throwing more different ideas, promotions, and appeals at your listener just makes it more likely she hears you as Charlie Brown’s teacher (“wah, wah, wah…wah, wah, wah!”) or even worse, that she tunes away or even turns you off.  

We don’t want this to happen. The goal is helping her stay and to come back. 

So, here’s the question: For each new item you’re adding to your station or program, what will you stop doing?  

More is not more effective. More concise, more obvious and fewer messages. Now that’s more effective!  

The CMB Momentum Conference 2022 was a special week with amazing worship music and outstanding speakers. For us at Finney Media, there was one speaker who made some great points in ways we’ve never said, but we thought you should hear.

Brant Hansen (of Brant & Sherri on-air and the Brant & Sherri Oddcast) gave a sobering and very hopeful talk on our role as Christian media.

Our world has “OD’d on freedom” and that has resulted in an unsatisfying, unhappy culture. Epidemics of depression, anxiety, lack of purpose and suicide. And that’s where we come in.

Many secular voices are giving advice on how to get through this . . . but few of them talk about forgiveness.

A culture that’s all about anger and despair, and we’re often the only non-anxious media voice, who will tell them the truth about…

We couldn’t have said it better. And we’re thankful Brant did! For such a time as this . . .

If you have the opportunity, we recommend you WATCH Brant’s entire half hour talk.* Sobering…hopeful…and worth it!

*A valid CMB membership and password required

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