By now, you’re probably itching to get back to work, but alas, the football and boredom won’t stop. We’re celebrating this time off by delving back to last year’s best blog posts. Yesterday, we looked at DJs behaving badly. Today, we’re learning from them. Go figure. – FJ
Maybe it was the web article about the 10 things that circus clowns can teach you about business. Or perhaps it was the four tips that astronauts can give you about how to get a better night’s sleep.
If you spend a lot of time around Twitter, these ubiquitous lists are becoming tedious and often feel like the writers may be stretching a bit to come up with new content to delight us and inspire retweets.
But it occurred to me that I’d never seen one of those top lists from the DJ’s point of view. In fact, one of the most maligned career paths is being on the air in radio (or TV), often making the upper ranks of those “worst job” lists.
The reality is that the radio DJ can in fact teach us a great deal about how to do business, move us emotionally, and help us make our way through life. With the help of my staff, we’ve come up with the list below. And as I’ve learned from writing this blog over the past 8+ years, the JacoBLOG community of readers will undoubtedly grow our list, providing great examples (and a few laughs).
So here’s our list of the 10 things you can learn about life from DJs:
- What you sound like and what you look like are often two very different things. (Of course, that works both ways.)
- 60 seconds is a LONG time.
- Great storytelling requires a beginning, a middle, and an end.
- There is no substitute for great preparation.
- Being honest and real is the most effective way to communicate.
- Know your audience and tailor your content appropriately.
- Interact kindly with everyone – you never know who will help you out…or hurt you.
- Talking endlessly about yourself is rarely entertaining.
- Get to the point – attention spans are getting shorter.
- Roll with the punches – on the air and in life, things often don’t go as planned.
And here’s your bonus:
11. There will always be people who have nothing nice to say about you. It has little to do with you and everything to do with them.
So what would the community of DJs have to say about this, and what can you add to this list?
Who knows? Maybe even Guy Kawasaki will share our wiki-finished product.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Nice sounding voices on the phone, aka listener/dedication line, might sound good….but don’t trust until you have more info.
Radio is a business. Treat every listener as a customer of your product. You want them to return to listen, as if you’d want someone to invest in your product!
Appreciate the comment, Daniel. It’s basic, but often forgotten that listeners are, in fact, customers.