RADIO DO’S AND DON’TS

DO:

Plan your links – a simple bullet point stating in a few words

what you plan to cover is sufficient.

Think about your listeners when writing shows – what would interest them?

Good topics are:

o Issues that young people can closely relate to.

o Topics that are in the news; spun with a young person’s perspective

(whilst staying politically impartial).

o Appealing to listener’s expertise.

o Mini competitions for listeners to play along to.

o Calls to the studio, used to provide an extra opinion on a topic.

Use beds, keeping them to a low volume, (< half way up) when talking.

Back-announce tracks, correctly.

Say the show’s name and Backwell School Radio at the start of at least every

third link (e.g. This is the social show on Backwell School Radio).

Take your time with the main link material; it’s all to easy to mumble and

fudge your way through content in a panic and fail to get your point across.

You’re in control so et the link flow.

Stretch interesting/ in-depth content over two or more links if needs be.

Try to keep links to a bearable length – unless it’s a compelling link. Going

beyond 5 minutes is going to make listeners stop listening.

Tease material – if you’ve got something good coming up, let the listeners

know about it a few links early.

Recap – most listeners won’t listen to your whole show. So recap if revisiting

material from a previous link, but don’t tell the whole story again.

Round off your link well. Strategies include:

o Swiftly firing off a jingle then into the song once the topic has reached

a natural close.

o Using an amusing comment by a co-presenter and then starting a

jingle or song.

o Reading out a few relevant emails then into the song.

o Throwing the link topic over to listeners with the contact details (e.g. tell

us what you think, email us…)

Develop your own style!

RADIO DO’S AND DON’TS

DON’T:

Don’t turn up to the studio with unplanned links – you’ll sound

very amateur and uninteresting.

Don’t rely on ‘witty banter’ – if it’s not planned it’ll lack direction and not

broadcast well.

Don’t rely on listeners calls/ emails – sod’s law is that the moment you come

to rely on them, none will come in.

Don’t refer to ‘in jokes’ between you and your co-presenters or other people

on the station – the listeners won’t get it.

Don’t discuss topics that are only of interest to those in the studio. Frequently

heard bad link topics include:

o Whether your co-presenter’s hair/ socks look good

o Anything about the studio (e.g. the speakers have stopped working or

Ed fixing things around you).

o The reasons why the station should never have let you on air.

o The things this guide said not to do but you’re doing anyway.

Don’t attempt to back-announce the song and then say you forgot what you

played.

Don’t attempt to read out contact details aimlessly without supplying a good

reason why a listener should contact you.

Don’t read out contact details excessively (i.e. any more than once every

two links).

Don’t beg for calls/ emails on air – people are busy.

Don’t use emails from one listener and your microphone to exchange insults –

people will dislike it and you.

Don’t broadcast just ‘that was… this is’ links – it’s boring. You need creative

material of your own, (This is especially important for request shows).

Don’t refer to other radio stations by name on air

Don’t use the radio station as a political soapbox. You’re on air to entertain

not broadcast political views. Not only that but it can also be illegal.

Don’t try to trip up your co-presenter all the time – you shouldn’t be working

on the station if you want to do this.

Don’t ‘umm’ and ‘err’ a lot – it takes a bit of effort at first to avoid doing it but

after a while comes naturally.

Don’t hold or play with the microphone when it’s live.

Don’t let links taper off without a coherent close – far too often radio links end

in ‘so, shall we get onto our next track?’

Don’t broadcast too many topics in one link – any more than two and your

listeners will start to get lost.

Don’t forward-announce records (unless you’re playing the song as part of a

musical feature or as part of a specialist music show).

Don’t try to copy other (famous) presenters – develop your own style and you

will sound more natural.