The Pictures Are Better on Radio

Using only audio, great broadcasters and podcasters make listeners “see.” How can your show create more impactful theater of the mind when you have too many tasks and not enough time?

A couple of weeks ago, I was running up a shady mountain trail here in Portland when through my headphones came the voice of radio news legend Susan Stamberg.

Ms. Stamberg is known for saying, “The pictures are better on radio.” When asked to explain, she says,  “ Anything you can imagine is better than anything you can see .”

That made me think of some theater-of-the-mind techniques that we hear – and see – in our coaching work with stations around North America.

Vocal emotion . A blockbuster daily benchmark on WDJX Louisville’s  Ben Davis and Kelly K  show is  Feel Good Stories.  Listen to Kelly K lower her voice in a story about a bride whose life was saved by a heart donation from an 11-year-old boy. The bride invited the parents of the lost son to her wedding.  Grab a tissue.

Voice effects.  During  The Bizarre Files  on WMMR, Philadelphia’s  Preston and Steve,  Preston Elliott reported on a man on a mobility scooter who fell down an open elevator shaft. Steve Morrison quickly added an echo effect and ad-libbed what the fallen man might be saying.  “I thought I could make that opening… but I couldn’t.”

Reenactments.  One Thanksgiving, Dick Broadcasting’s  Two Guys Named Chris  had one Chris once recounting a family dinner while the other Chris ad-libbed voices of family members.  “Where’s the MEAT?! I’ll be damned if I am eating Tofurky!”

Visual language.  Instead of saying she wore a “yellow dress,” consider visual language that evokes a memory.  “Her cheap dress was the color of my first-grade school bus.”  According to brain scientists, detailed visual information lights up listeners’ heads like a fireworks display.

Character voice vs generic voice . When Cumulus Chief Content Officer Brian Phillips directed programming for  995 The Wolf  in Dallas, he hired Hollywood actor and Lubbock native Barry Corbin to voice station imaging.  Listen  to Corbin preach the values of  “Texas Country.”  Compare that delivery to a monotone, cookie-cutter station voice common on many corporate stations today. A Hollywood actor may certainly be outside your budget, but you can hire other interesting character actors for the same fee as a generic voice.

Sound effects.  At Froggy 99 Fargo,  The Wake-Up Call with Scotch, Tank and Mandy brings their sound-effect A-game by pre-recording and editing most segments. Scotch adds the cherry on top of the cake by dubbing in noises that add visuals to each story.

Music . A great on-air game needs a good opening theme song. A sad story is sadder with a violin. Remember to use music  intentionally  and in a way that  adds to  the content. A generic, unrelated music bed droning in the background detracts from the content.

Actualities and clips.  We recommend that  any  mention of a TV show, movie, or performer be accompanied by a clip of the same. Delicious Audio is a helpful, affordable service that often provides actualities with stories. Newscasts are more engaging with voice actualities, sound, and even music with reports.

Sensory details . Naming what listeners would smell, touch, hear, see, or taste instantly transports them right inside the picture you want them to see.

Photo by  Derick McKinney  on  Unsplash