1. A painful lesson

    Posted July 21, 2005 by Bob

    One of my mentors taught me an important but painful lesson years ago. Armand remains a good friend today. He’s now the General Manager of WWCA in Gary, Indiana. When we met, it was while we were both working at a now defunct radio station in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, WKKD-FM.

    Armand had been a Program Director and had worked in sales for several radio stations at the time I met him. He sized me up right away as someone who needed a lot of help. And he was very willing to share his knowledge and experience.

    We worked together again a couple of years later at another now defunct suburban Chicago radio station, WCRM-FM, where he was the Sales Manager. I was working as Afternoon Drive jock and Production Manager and one day as I arrived for work, the General Manager called me in to his office to tell me that he was promoting me to Program Director. Whew!

    Thankfully, Armand was there. He coached me through the next several months of baby steps as I learned how to lead a staff and oversee the programming of a station.

    So, what was the painful lesson?

    Armand is also a very talented voice-over guy. His voice is pitched a little higher than mine, but he understood years before I did that the “big announcer” thing was going away.

    So one time, back when we lived in the Chicago area, Armand and I both auditioned for a voice-over job. A couple of days later, he called me very excited, because he got the job. My reaction? Oh, it was very mature. I believe my exact words were, “That’s the last time you’ll ever beat me.” That’s right. I might as well have stuck a knife in his back.

    He was quiet for a moment, and then simply said, “I’m not so sure that’s true.” As soon as he said that, I realized how hurtful I had been. And more importantly, a moment later I realized that my arrogance might well have been part of the reason I didn’t get that job. I had just assumed that I was so good I didn’t really have to work hard on the audition.

    I’m very grateful for all of Armand’s help years ago. And even more grateful for his enduring friendship (and patience with me) to this day.

    Category: History, People | Comments (0)

  2. How to sound like a real person

    Posted July 9, 2005 by Bob

    I’ve written before about working to get out of the traditional ‘announcer’ mode and into something that sounds more like a real person.

    Maybe you’ve smelled the coffee brewing and you’ve realized that the voice-over business is moving away from announcers. And the pace of that movement is growing with each month. And before long, you’re not going to get any decent paying work anymore. So, you want to start on this journey too.

    Here are a few concrete suggestions, some of which I’ve done. Some of which I wish I had the time and/or money to do. But, all of which, I’m convinced, will help you. They are in no specific order.

    1. Listen to people. Real people. When you’re in an airport, a bus depot, the grocery story, a restaurant. Listen. How do people really say things to one another. (We’re the weird ones, you know. The ones who actually pay attention to the commercials on the radio and TV. And if you mostly listen to commercials, especially radio commercials, all you’re going to do is make it harder for yourself.) Listen, especially, to situations where someone is telling a story. Maybe it’s about the ball game, or the dance, or getting plastered. The point isn’t the content of the story, it’s the way people speak when they’re telling stories. Especially telling stories to their friends.

    2. After you’ve trained your ears for the way real people talk. They way they slur through certain words or sounds, but not others, that kind of thing. Then listen to yourself. Listen. Do you notice how ‘good’ you sound? Only, in this case, good isn’t really good. It’s fake. Phony. And it’s hurting your career. Identify what separates you from real people.

    3. Take some acting or even better some improv classes. This is a site with some intruction on learning improv. Even better would be to take a class from someone who really knows his or her stuff. Like Pat Fraley. Or Susan Berkley.

    No doubt there’s a lot more. I’ll add as I think of them.

    Category: Career Advice, People | Comments (0)

  3. Mr. Alexander

    Posted July 5, 2005 by Bob

    One of my greatest influences was a quietly excellent radio man named Ken Alexander. He was the Operations Manager of the station once know as AM82 WAIT, Chicago. I had the great good fortune to work with Ken for two years in the early 1980s.

    Ken was the man who taught me that witch and which are not pronounced the same. That diamond has 3 syllables. And a million other little details that have given a polish to my voice and speech that I could never have learned without someone like Ken to make it possible.

    I wish I had some links to direct you to, but WAIT is no longer. Even the station where Ken went after WAIT (WNIB) is no longer. And Ken was such a self-effacing, humble man, he was almost invisible…unless you knew where to look. I’m so very grateful that I learned where to look.

    Category: History, People | Comments (0)

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