RADIO BASICS: WHAT MAKES A GOOD ON AIR PERSONALITY?

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I thought to share these comments about Being A Great Radio Personality from International members of a Linkedin group I belong to.

Hope you find enlightenment herein?

Enjoy..."First and foremost, a good On Air Radio Personality must be free while on air because this lets them do their thing naturally without forcing it.

Secondly, he/she should be creative. Some humor is also a good feature to have. 

They should know a bit about radio production because this gives ability to produce various items to add onto their program lineup. 

Those small additional productions give the listener an extra reason to stay hooked while also attracting more fresh audience.In the end,such a line of things pushes audience numbers up and this is something that can increase advertising revenue. 

Must also understand their audience really well because that is the basis of creating a good program that meets their needs and therefore entertains them relevantly. 

Should be good in programing and production with ability to conceive segment ideas that not only entertain but also bring in more revenue . 

Should also have self control over their feelings such that they don't react badly to an annoying audience or bring their emotions on air."

- Kyamulesire Abaasi

Audio Producer and Editor,Video Producer and Editor,3d Animator,Motion Graphics,Radio Jingles,Dj Drops,Special Effects

Location, Uganda | Industry, Broadcast Media.

"When all of us were getting into radio, we became students of the industry. We studied the stations, the personalities, and we learned how to take what they did and put our personality to it. We studied our audience, learned how to be relevant and important to their lives, just like those we studied. A great personality is a student of the industry. They will establish a human connection to the human listener. The personality learns how to super-serve the listener with local, compelling content and becomes an invaluable part of their lives."

- Don Clark 

National Career Services Director at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting

Location, Greater Chicago | Area Industry, Broadcast Media

"Even if you have  a unique voice, or you are articulate, and with all the local knowledge to hand, you need to have that certain something called the knack or talent, I'm sorry to say our industry is littered with talent less presenters . I'm sorry but you can't fool the audience all the time,again you need to have that spark of talent, in particular if you are a talk show host, then you need talent and an opinion about the problems of the day, and should not be afraid to tell the world your opinion, and as DON says in his comment this then becomes " compelling content"."

- Kevin Cramer

Owner, SOUTHERN AUDIO SEVICES

Location Brighton, United Kingdom | Industry ,Broadcast Media 

 "A Great Personality with the Human Element. Passion... Finding the smallest line to make that great connection with the Listener. People will say "You have a great voice, you should be in radio" - I say - "You have great content, you should be in radio" - Thats the bread and butter baby. Love what you do, never throw away a break."

- Tony Michaels Genberg 

Cumulus Media - Owner Trainer at OMG Training & Fitness

Location,San Francisco Bay Area | Industry, Broadcast Media

"To be a great On-Air talent, one should have the following three qualities:

1. A great work ethic - It's not just a 4 hour shift. Everyday it's planning, prep, phone calls, people and promotions. You gotta love it! 

2. A sense of humor, about everything. Great personalities have THICK skins! 

3. An open mind with a willingness to adapt to changes that WILL come (in the programming, in management, in the way the biz works...and etc.) 

Having a great voice is just a lucky break. Personality is what brings audience to advertisers!"

- Jamie Hussey

Voice Over Artist / Audio Production Specialist

Location, Macon, Georgia Area | Industry, Marketing and Advertising