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…and here’s a story to show you how.

Is it possible we’ve become Charlie Brown’s teacher? Wah-wah-wah. Wah-wah-wah. More noise in an already noisy world?

We’ve finished some research recently that has reinforced two things: When we talk, if we want to be heard and not tuned out or turned off, we must no. 1: say things that connect with her heart/meet her where she is and no. 2: be concise and well edited.

If we don’t aggressively do both of these, we are Charlie Brown’s teacher. Normally this would be the point where I continue to write about how important all of this is. But you’ve heard it all before, haven’t you? Tighten up. Edit. Check every word for meaning.

This month, I decided to share an example instead of just talking about it.

Below is a Christmas story I found online. Over 500 words. Takes over three minutes to tell. Has a sweet twist ending. It’s the kind of story we recommend Christian radio stations use this time of year.

And after the 500+ word version, I’ve put a recommendation of an edit of the same story with the same twist ending. Much shorter. Or just over a minute. A much more consumable length for our short-attention-span-theater listener.

Original Version (ONLINE VERSION)

The year our youngest daughter, Shelly, was four, she received an unusual Christmas present.

She was the perfect age for Christmas, able to understand the true meaning of the season, but still completely enchanted by the magic of it. Her innocent joyfulness was compelling and catching – a great gift to parents, reminding us of what Christmas should represent no matter how old we are.

The most highly prized gift Shelly received that Christmas Eve was a giant bubble-maker, a simple device of plastic and cloth the inventor promised would create huge billowing bubbles, large enough to swallow a wide-eyed four-year-old. Both Shelly and I were excited about trying it out, but it was after dark so we’d have to wait until the next day.

Later that night I read the instruction booklet while Shelly played with some of her other new toys. The inventor of the bubble-maker had tried all types of soaps for formulating bubbles and found that Joy dishwashing detergent created the best giant bubbles. I’d have to buy some.

The next morning, I was awakened very early by small stirrings in the house. Shelly was up. I knew in my sleepy mind that Christmas Day festivities would soon begin, so I arose and made my way toward the kitchen to start the coffee. In the hallway, I met my daughter, already wide awake, the bubble- maker clutched in her chubby little hand, the magic of Christmas morning embraced in her four-year-old heart. Her eyes were shining with excitement, and she asked, “Daddy, can we make bubbles now?”

I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyes. I looked toward the window, where the sky was only beginning to lighten with the dawn. I looked toward the kitchen, where the coffee pot had yet to start dripping its aromatic reward for early-rising Christmas dads.

“Shelly,” I said, my voice almost pleading and perhaps a little annoyed, “it’s too early. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

Her smile fell away. Immediately I felt a father’s remorse for bursting her bright Christmas bubble with what I suddenly realized was my own selfish problem, and my heart broke a little.

But I was a grown-up. I could fix this. In a flash of adult inspiration, I unshouldered the responsibility. Recalling the inventor’s recommendation of a particular brand of bubble-making detergent — which I knew we did not have in the house — I laid the blame squarely on him, pointing out gently, “Besides, you have to have Joy.”

I watched her eyes light back up as she realized, in less than an instant, that she could neutralize this small problem with the great and wonderful truth she was about to reveal.

“Oh, Daddy,” she promised, with all the honesty and enthusiasm and Christmas excitement she could possibly communicate, “Oh, Daddy, I do.”

I broke records getting to the store, and in no time at all we were out on the front lawn creating gigantic, billowing, gossamer orbs–each one filled with Joy and sent forth shimmering into the Christmas sun. – By Ted A. Thompson

Now, here’s the shortened version:

Shelly was the perfect age for Christmas, able to understand the true meaning of the season, but still completely enchanted by the magic of it. The most highly prized gift Shelly received that Christmas Eve was a giant bubble-maker, a simple device of plastic and cloth the inventor promised would create huge billowing bubbles, large enough to swallow a wide-eyed four-year-old. Both Shelly and I were excited about trying it out, but it was after dark so we’d have to wait until the next day.

Morning. Shelly was up. She was already wide awake, bubble-maker clutched in her chubby little hand, her eyes shining with excitement, “Daddy, can we make bubbles now?”

“Shelly, it’s too early. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

Her smile fell away. I felt remorse for bursting her Christmas bubble with my own selfish problem. My heart broke.

I could fix this. Recalling that recommendation of a particular brand of bubble-making detergent I said gently, “Besides, you have to have Joy.”

Her eyes lit up as she realized that she could neutralize this small problem with the wonderful truth she was about to reveal.

“Oh, Daddy.” “Oh, Daddy, I do!”

I broke records getting to the store, and in no time we were on the front lawn creating gigantic, billowing bubbles—each filled with Joy sent forth shimmering into the Christmas sun.

Commit to Being Heard

I’m guessing you’ve already seen ways you would have improved the edits I’ve made. Yes! Can we agree, though, that we’re going to have to address being connective and concise if we’re going to be heard through the noisy environments our radio stations and podcasts are heard in?

A Christmas smile for sure—and with meaning. What do you think?

Why do our listeners choose to listen to our Christian radio stations and programs?

At Finney Media, we believe if we understand the answers to that question, and we craft the sound of our stations toward those reasons, we’ll have more listeners and they’ll come back more often.

Our research on listeners at Finney Media, shows overwhelmingly one simple conclusion. It’s true for CCM, Hybrid and Teaching listeners. It’s true for older and younger listeners. It’s true across all denominations and geographies.

Here it is:

Listeners listen first and foremost for personal benefit.

Do listeners listen because they’re looking for something “safe” with the kids in the backseat? That might be a secondary reason. But even for busy moms, it looks like personal encouragement/spiritual growth are bigger reasons for listening.

Read these comments from a station which participated in our 2021 Finney Media Why Listen® Survey:

I’ve had a pretty rough life, been through divorce, my son committed suicide. I kinda drift away from the Lord sometimes and (station) has always, always been there for me.”

“They tell stories that touch my heart . . . to what I need to change in my life . . . well what God (needs to change) in my life. I truly don’t know how I would have made it . . . through this time.”

In focus groups, we hear words and phrases like “lifegiving”, “hopeful in hopeless world”, and “the only good thing”.

The overwhelming response we hear about reasons for listening are:

Strongly connected to life’s challenges/hurts.
How the radio station or program are a help and hope.

That’s what we mean by listening for personal benefit.

The more we understand and connect with this . . . well, just imagine!

Who is your listener? At Finney Media, we’ve just completed our third Why Listen® Survey, a nationwide perceptual study of Christian radio listeners across the United States. Almost 11,000 Christian radio listeners were surveyed from the databases of Christian radio stations and programs from three formats: Christian Teaching/Spoken Word, Christian Hybrid (Teaching & Music Stations) and CCM Stations.

Because these are listeners invited to participate from those radio stations and programs, these listeners are likely to be the most interested, most aware, highest affinity listeners to these stations – not your average listeners – but likely superfans.

And it’s important to dive not only into the data, but also into the demographics of who participated. This is not necessarily a mirror of who is listening, but an important reflection of who is likely the most engaged, who is likely to donate and who will give us their opinion.

Here’s some of what we saw:

Finney Media Why Listen® Key Finding: Don’t assume your listener is married. According to our research, almost one of three don’t have a married partner in the home.

Finney Media Why Listen® Key Finding: It appears our formats are a lot more for personal spiritual growth and encouragement today. And, not so much for parents with kids in the backseat.

Be sure to watch our webinar “Your P1 Listener: What the 2021 Why Listen® Survey Tells us” for additional information. Contact me at chuck@finneymedia.com or find more WHY LISTEN® resources.

Leading a team through the last 18 months has been a challenge. But, one thing is steady, going back to the basics is always a sure fire way to remain consistent. And telling the right story, regardless of what’s happening around us, is the most effective way to connect with your team.

Here’s an encore of a article from last year that is still relevant today:

You have important things to get across! Here’s how to be more impactful with a story that connects.

Another week managing changed circumstances. Another program to speak into for listeners or viewers growing weary of limitation. You know story is critical as it creates an emotional bond with those in range of your voice. But, how you ask? How can I be confident of a story I want to use? How do I know it will connect with my team or my viewers? How do I know when they will lean in—not turn away—or worse yet, yawn?

Here’s a process that should be able to guide you to select stories that your team or listener or viewer will want to hear.

Here’s the first important key.

Make sure you are passionate about and interested in your story. If you’re telling a story you’re not interested in, it’ll show. You’ve seen it . . . someone reading a story from a script they’re not interested in. They sound flat. If the storyteller doesn’t sound emotionally engaged, you really can’t expect the listener to be. This is not something easily faked.

Now, the second crucial key to effectiveness.

Make sure your story is one your listener will be interested in and passionate about too. This is often what gets overlooked. We just automatically assume others are interested in what we’re interested in! They may be. They may not be.

Think about the college football movie Rudy. This is an underdog story about an undersized football player with an oversized desire to play college American football for Notre Dame. Rudy fights his way onto the team and ultimately . . . well, watch the movie sometime.

One man was quoted about the movie… “’Rudy’ inspired me to go back to university and finish. Graduating in July. Thanks, Rudy.”

If you’re an American, you’re more likely to love Rudy.

If you’re an American football fan, you’re even more likely to love Rudy.

If you’re a Notre Dame football fan, you’re even more likely to love Rudy.

The point here is that it’s crucial you are passionate about and interested in your story. And, it’s crucial your listener is also passionate about and interested in your story.

What to do? Here’s a simple process:

Imagine yourself in the head, heart and understanding of the listener. One of the amazing things that God has given all of us is the gift of pausing, praying, thinking. And, trying to put ourselves in the head, heart and soul of another person. If you don’t have peace about a story, pick a different one!
And, try to take the time to test your story idea on several people. Here’s a simple way to do that:
1. Make a list of three to four people available you can speak with.
2. Ask each to imagine themselves in the situation where you will be telling your story—the mindset of a manager or the mindset of a mom in her 40’s who might be hearing your story.
3. Give them two or three story ideas and ask them to rate each one on a scale of one to five, low to high interest.
4. Write down everyone’s responses and tabulate.
5. Use only those stories that rate at a three or higher.

With a little planning, you can figure out if your listener is likely interested and passionate about the story you’re interested in. And, especially in our conflicted times, you can communicate with increased clarity!

Your Listener, Fall Plans and You

It’s back to school time. Back to fall routine time. But like last fall, this fall is turning out to be anything but routine.

Masks. Or not.

In the office. Or not.

Business trips and conventions. Or not.

Time with friends and family. Or not.

Holiday plans. Or not.

And what are your listeners saying? Here are actual comments from impacted friends and family:

“I just hit a wall. I have to take a day off right now.”

“My house looks like a co-working space more than a home!”

“My brain has too many tabs open.”

“I don’t know about you, but I have thought about running away from home way more often as an adult than I ever did as a kid.”

“I need some peace.”

For us in Christian media, with a mission to provide the hope found in Jesus, this is a time to “meet the moment”. We are bringers of Jesus’ presence, God’s peace and His hope. We bring a chance to worship if only for a moment. That’s our big story, and it’s a story that matches the need.

Ways to Reach Your Listener during this Change of Season

So, what are some specific ways to be the bringer of hope? Bringer of peace? Here’s some ideas to ponder, then consider what fits your specific format or situation, and start doing more of it:

Include Scripture that promises rest, peace and God’s presence. On-air Scripture like this can be soul-care for your listener.
With short snippets reminding us of Christ’s presence and peace, roll directly into the right song. Give her a short worship moment.
Review your ongoing produced short form from outside producers to confirm it is a positive and uplifting compliment to your sound. Leave her with a feeling of encouragement and joy. Dozens of features are available, so you can afford to be selective. If you are the producer of these features—this is for you, too.
Keep the tone caring and encouraging. There’s lots of noise going on in houses that are having to enforce school rules and get Zoom calls done from home, and you want to be an antidote. You may be the background except for those short “listen closely” moments.
Include prayer, genuine prayer, as the need arises.

It’s such a rich opportunity for ministry right now. Let us know if you need to talk more about any of these recommended adjustments. Visit our CONTACT PAGE for details on how to reach us.

Great Storytelling Equals Great Editing

Here’s a real-world example of what we mean that great storytelling equals great editing. Check this out from AMERICA’S GOT TALENT from last month:

You’ll notice this now has almost 29 million views on Youtube!

We believe there are valuable lessons for Christian Radio here: If we tell great stories that are well crafted like this, our reach can increase—sometimes a lot.

It’s about twist endings that have powerful “lightbulb moments”. In this case: “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”

And about concise character development that points toward your twist ending. Nightbirde is from Zanesville, Ohio. She’s 30. She’s here tonight by herself.

And about a “messy middle” – a crisis that’s happening that points toward your twist ending: “Last time I checked, I had some cancer in my lungs, my spine and my liver.”

And it’s about all of the pieces of Nightbirde’s story that America’s Got Talent chose to leave out of this telling of the story that made it so, so much more consumable. Details like her failed marriage. Her attendance at Liberty University. How she has led worship at LU. Who her parents are. What her politics are. And what her favorite flavor of ice cream is. All things you can find out if you do a little digging.

Study it.

This is what great storytelling looks and sounds like. Concise. Edited. Consumable for a short attention span theater viewer.

Christian Media can do it.

Check this out from Logan, the SKY ANGEL COWBOY:

10½ million views on YouTube and counting. So well done.*

We can keep doing it.

If you’d like help with this sort of thing, it’s the kind of thing we teach at Finney Media. Character Development Beginnings. Messy Middles. Twist Endings. All done concisely for a short attention span theater listener. We call it StoryGold®. I’d be happy to talk about it. Reach out to us at info@finneymedia.com.

*High fives to Kank! That’s Kankelfritz of Family Life Radio’s Kankelfritz and Friends morning show who produced this piece.

We need to talk. We’ve just completed the Finney Media 2021 Why Listen® Survey. Almost 11,000 Christian radio listeners from across the United States shared with us why they listen, why they leave, why they give, and more.

Allow me to share with you some exciting . . . and thought-provoking . . . headlines.

We presented 21 different reasons that listeners might listen to Christian radio. Here’s the top Main Reason that they gave us as to why they listen – with the percentage that indicates a Main Reason they listen:

#1 – It helps me worship God throughout the day – 85%

We asked them about growing spiritually. That’s a big main reason to listen at 84%.

We asked them about encouragement. At 76% that’s another big main reason to listen.

We even asked about “safe for me and my family to listen”. That’s strong at 59%.

Just not as big as help with worshipping God throughout the day.

It’s big across all formats. CCM. And Teaching.

We need to include these in our discussions about our spoken word content. Worship is huge with our core listeners.

At a minimum, if you’re doing research, you need to ask about Worship. Music and content between the songs and longer programs. Let’s make it part of the conversation.

Want to dive deeper into what listeners are saying? Download our FREE Conference resources on our CONFERENCE RESOURCE PAGE and join us for a FREE 30-minute Why Listen® Results webinar on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 12pm CT/1pm ET. Registration is now open at our WEBINAR REGISTRATION page.

A Guest Blog by Beth Bacall, Sr. Talent Coach

Every moment matters. Being responsible for what comes out of the speakers and into the hearts of our listeners is the blessing, and our product. It’s a calling, a job, a privilege.

In preparation for a workshop, I polled 116 air-talent from all formats asking three questions:

What do you want your program director to know?
What do you appreciate about your program director?
How often do you air-check or listen to audio from your show?

Here were my key takeaways:

A majority of the responders sought positive and consistent feedback, stating they mostly hear about mistakes. 
A total of 93% of those polled, which includes veteran personalities, newbies, voice trackers, and syndicated hosts, answered they rarely listen to their audio,  they rarely listen to their product.

*Beth continues this conversation with talent coach Gary Morland at the video below.

Why Talent Coaching Matters

Doctors regularly re-evaluate and update their practices, just as we would want them to. Hairstylists take state board testing and stay up-to-date with new trends and techniques. IT security professionals are consistently learning and forming thought-based protective procedures. Staying up-to-date and aware of your work is important in all professions, and ours is no exception.

Talented people need reinforcement. Talent coaching matters. In response, talent coaches offer necessary one-on-one time to keep talent sharp, and focused. Like athletes, media personalities need to know how they are being heard and seen. They need to flex muscles and rock some exercises that will continue to grow their message, brand, and sound. Coaches accomplish this through inspiration, examples, cheerleading, and a safe place to work through something that’s not working.

Equipping talent, growing their craft, and refreshing the mission of the station is vital to compelling, passionate, and successful radio shows. People need people! Radio can be a lonely medium to work, especially when you are trying to communicate to a multi-faced audience. Taking time to listen to audio with a trusted individual is so helpful in identifying strengths and areas to expand, instead of filtering their sound through personal emotions.

A few high fives in the hallways and specifically noting an on-air moment that brought a smile goes a long way. As does a continued relationship with talent who seek feedback, reinforcement, ideas, support, and insight on how they can continue to grow. Airchecks should be life-giving, but I’ve found that not everyone has that experience. It’s too bad, but not too late. If you encourage the voice of your station, your mission will be more encouraging.

We can help. Watch as CHUCK, BETH and Gary discuss the Finney Media approach to Talent Coaching:

Want more? Catch our talent coaches at the following 2021 CMB MOMENTUM events*:

Date/Time	What?	Who?
Tuesday, June 1 8pm to 9pm	Women in Radio at Momentum 2021	Beth Bacall
Wednesday, June 2 10am to Noon	Programming & Music Workshop	Beth Bacall
Thursday, June 3	Talent Coaching Breakout Sessions	Beth Bacall, Gary Morland

*See the program for times/location.

We are coming out of the greatest health crisis in our lifetimes. And people are experiencing their first hugs in over a year.

For some people, the past year has been a time of great trial and loss.

Their health has been permanently affected. And they will be reminded with every breath about 2020 for the rest of their lives.

Many have lost loved ones. Some more than one. We hear numbers like half a million reported in the news, but for our friends, it’s a mother or grandad or friend they will never see again or laugh with.

For frontline healthcare heroes, it’s been a landmark year. Each of us who doesn’t do that kind of work needs to say “thank you”. Our friend Missy is a nurse in North Carolina and she told us a year ago we would all know at least one person who would die from this scourge. I thought she was exaggerating. I was wrong. I know three. God bless you Missy . . . and thank you for being honest with us.

For some, this past year has been a year of more closeness with family. A time to unexpectedly reenergize relationships. To read more. Cook more. Walk more. Have more quiet time. Spend more time with God. And, of course, to work from home. Although for others, it’s been a painfully lonely time.

But now, everything is changing again. Things are opening up, weddings and graduations are happening in person, crowds are returning to concerts and sporting events, although gradually and at different paces in different parts of the country.

how can you be the first hugs to your listener

Our part in this? Hope. Encouragement. Blessing.

If they’re ready and you’re ready, who needs their first hug in a year? It’s been so, so long. Let’s encourage our listeners to reach out personally or verbally to those they haven’t seen in a year. At church. Or in their family. Or at work.

Here’s what all of this means for your on-air messaging:

Talk more about how things are opening up.
Talk more about the opportunity to bless and love (hug) those you have not seen face-to-face in a year or more. Who do you need to reach out to?
Talk about continuing to respect that not everyone will feel safe at the same time and part of our loving well means respecting that.
Talk about the experience being harder for some, easier for others. And how it has changed things for everyone.

Our ministry is personal, even intimate. Let’s take advantage of that and use that to remind people of God and give them their first hug in a year. Want to read more? Read last month’s blog SHALL WE LAUGH.

on air Humor and how to add it even if you’re not funny

Throughout the year, we do research with Christian radio listeners across North America to gauge where their heads and hearts are for what we provide on the radio. You’ve heard and read much about how these listeners want encouraging, positive, hopeful songs and messages. All of that is true. And on-air humor is a part of that.

There is another side, though. We’ve seen this from less churched listeners all the way to more legalistic believers and from all different denominations. This other side angle seems to be especially true now that we’re in lockdown, wearing masks and under restrictions and folks are just sick and tired of all the negativity.

The other side is this. They want us to lighten up. Have fun. Be funny. Use humor.

I’m not kidding.

The last few times we’ve played things in Focus Groups and music tests that were fun or funny, listeners rated the humor high, commented on how they loved it, wanted it from us, hoped we would play more of it.

They just need a break from all of the hopelessness in the world around them and just want to laugh.

Examples of Effective Humor

So, how do you add humor and make it effective? A couple of cautions. First, if you’re not funny, we’re not recommending you begin telling jokes. You should consider incorporating fun and funny into your show or station, but don’t try to be funny if you’re not. For what it’s worth, I’m not naturally funny, so it’s generally better if I don’t try to tell jokes.

Maybe incorporate something that sounds like this (🎧 CYNTHIA TOBIAS):

Secondly, be careful with the type of humor you use. Some types do poorly with Christian audiences. And I don’t just mean bawdy humor. But self-deprecating/self-reflective humor like this following example almost always works (🎧 CYNTHIA TOBIAS):

We’ve seen some kinds of humor work really well. Other kinds work not at all (ask me sometime about the piece I played in a music test where I thought the respondents were going to throw things at me). Sorting through what kinds of humor work and what doesn’t is something we can help with.

P.S. We’re here to help. Feel free to REACH OUT TO US if we can offer additional suggestions or examples.

New Year’s Resolution: Commit to Being Heard Through the Noise