Let’s talk about a radio skill that’s really important. And let’s do this riddle-style!
It rarely gets talked about in radio circles.
Talent coaches can’t coach it.
A lot of smart, talented people are actually bad at radio because they DON’T have it.
Those who DO have it don’t have to be brilliant or funny or particularly creative to connect with their listeners.
So what is it…?
Empathy.
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Empathy (simply put) is being able to put yourself in the place of your listener. To hear things the way he or she might be hearing it.
I’m not Mr. Empathy. I struggle with it. But I’ve gotten much better with it. The wonderful thing is that empathy can be learned. Sure, it’s intuitive for some, but for people like me, it can be developed. Even if I can’t quite understand why people do what they do, I can study them, if I love them.
And I can grow in love. Love for my neighbor. Love for my enemy. And certainly, love for my radio listener.
That’s where genuine empathy starts: I have to actually care about the person with whom I’m communicating. As a guy on the autism spectrum, I’ve never liked eye contact. I’ve never naturally smiled. But I’ve learned that humans need both to feel comfy and unthreatened. So, I’m trying to do better, because I need to love people.
Paul writes in Corinthians that if without love, all the talent or good work in the world sounds like a clanging gong to people.
Clanging gongs —even the most beautiful, gold-plated, premium-level, gongiest gongs on the planet — are just plain annoying.
And they don’t bring ratings, either. Probably. (Watch, someone will try this format: “104.9 The Gong”)
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So, you’ve got charisma? Awesome!
Humor? Great!
You’re pals with the Nashville artists! You have the best production! A great voice! Your caricature is on a mug! A jingle with your name in it!
Without love for your listener, seriously: Who cares?
I’ve learned I have to ask myself when I’m prepping the show: What would be a blessing to the listeners? How can I add value to their lives?
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Empathy can’t be coached, because no one can make us care about our listeners. So, they have to help us at least sound like we care. They give us guardrails and guidelines, just like we have to teach manners to our kids. (“Yes, of course you want to express yourself with your mouth full of food, but it’s not kind to the person sitting across from you.”) Manners are just a way of acknowledging another’s importance. (“Yes, of course, you think your four-minute break about your hair appointment is important, but you could have said that in 45 seconds to be kind to the listener.”)
All the best radio “rules” simply come down to being kind to the listener.
When I talk into a microphone but don’t really have much to say, I’m not being empathetic.
When I engage in endless inside jokes; constantly talk about me; presume everyone knows all the characters on my show; or that everybody goes to church… I’m not being empathetic.
When I overload the listener with numbers (“We need 12 more callers at 20 dollars a month or 6 more at 40 dollars to hit the 41 percent mark of the overall goal but we’ve only got seven minutes left or 2 songs and 7 lines are now open at 866-592-2309 or text 523-4294 and be one of the 12 or the 6!!!!”) I’m not being empathetic.
When I write liners like, “Hey everybody, bring your kids to our bounce house on Saturday!” I’m not being empathetic. Not everyone’s a parent. And who wants to be called “everybody”?
When we don’t deliver what people are really looking for when they tune into a Christianradio station, it’s because we’re not being empathetic.
There’s a difference between a personality or station who’s adept at getting attention, and being a personality or station who connects with people and is granted deep influence in their lives.
And that difference is empathy.
I’m working on it.
Brant Hansen
CURE Advocate/Radio Presenter, CURE International
Brant writes books, hosts radio shows, works for CURE, and is spending the pandemic playing video games and missing his radio friends. His newest book, The Truth About Us, is available wherever books are sold. You can reach him at brant@branthansen.com.
98.5 KTIS strives to point people in the Twin Cities to Jesus on the air, online, and on the street. Through remarkable service projects, 98.5 KTIS listeners are the hands and feet of Jesus to multiply the KTIS impact in our community. The first Friday of each month was 98.5 KTIS Drive-thru Difference Day, as listeners shared God’s love by paying for the order of the person behind them in the drive-thru. Moms overcame health, financial, and family difficulties through 98.5 KTIS’ Heart of a Mom initiative; meeting needs for a kitchen update, fulfilling a missed honeymoon with a cruise to Alaska, securing a reliable vehicle, and more. 98.5 KTIS’ Christmas Blessing resulted in remarkable stories of goodwill in the community, meeting needs by blessing people battling cancer, overcoming miscarriage, and recovering from financial devastation. Collecting thousands of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes filled with toys for kids around the world, the 98.5 KTIS Shoebox Showdown shared the hope of Jesus from the Twin Cities to children around the world. Listeners continued that generosity by working together to collect over 11,000 pencils for boys and girls in the Dominican Republic. 98.5 KTIS listeners ‘Shared the Warmth’ as a local business paid listener heating bills during the cold winter months, and listeners used those funds to bless their favorite Twin Cities nonprofits. 98.5 KTIS’ Ministry of the Month connected listener passions and talents to local ministries, highlighting the good being done in our community by these organizations on-air and online.
Through intentional, community focused service initiatives, Spirit 92.9 partners with listeners and businesses to help make their community better, together. The station’s first “Community Spirit” project in 2022 focused on showing God’s love to children entering foster care in the area after the ministry learned that there were more children than ever before in the system. During a weeklong collection drive, Spirit 92.9 listeners and business partners generously helped provide a new pair of pajamas and a stuffed animal for over 1,100 kids. Hoping to lead by example through serving, the Spirit 92.9 team helped prepare over 800 free meals for individuals and families in need for Easter, prepared and served a meal at the local homeless shelter, and helped clean up trash at an abandoned property near their studios. Hundreds of women in the community were served and uplifted in January at the station’s first Ladies’ Night Out-an opportunity to worship, laugh, receive support and prayer. In the fall, listeners and business partners joined together to help three local organizations provide free homemade, holiday meals to those in need. This ‘More Than A Meal’ on-air and online fundraiser helped feed over 3,000 in Central Minnesota. At the end of the year, Spirit 92.9’s “Share The Joy” promotion offered listeners the opportunity to nominate someone to receive a financial blessing. Single mothers, elderly homeowners, and the family of a father badly injured and hospitalized out of state were among the 12 people granted a $500-$1000 gift.
From entertaining the airwaves on KFRC-FM in San Francisco, to dancing away the late 90s on WKTU-FM in New York City, to encouraging and uplifting Atlanta on WFSH-The Fish every afternoon, Beth Bacall’s three decades on the air have had a lot to say. In 2003, she embraced CMB and the CCM sphere when she started working at Star 99.1 FM in NY/NJ. Since 2005, she has served on the Momentum Leadership Team while also offering mentorship to CMB’s Women in Radio community. Beth is a champion for others, taking a sincere stance of integrity and leading by example with her on air work, community engagement, and show prep. As a top talent coach, she equips multidisciplinary broadcasters and artists to embrace their authentic self, grow awareness, share stories effectively, and create meaningful Christ-centered content with all audiences. Beth specializes in moments that matter and is a driving force behind The Fish Christmas Wish Program and Fish Acts of Love. Working on all aspects of creating promotional, reward-based content, including research and execution, Beth is a dot connector that the Lord uses to bring joy and experiences into the lives of others. Even after these promotional seasons, she’s always looking for the next opportunity to be a blessing.
For over four decades, Rick Dunham has been at the forefront of marketing and fundraising for Christian nonprofits. In 2002, he founded Dunham+Company, which has become a global leader in providing multi-channel strategies across some of the world’s most influential sectors. Through radio and television, local churches and overseas missions, medical relief and philanthropic initiatives, Dunham+Company is multiplying the reach of the Gospel. The company currently serves nearly 100 clients in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand – whose collective effort is reaching nearly every corner of the globe. Rick is the author of Secure: Discovering True Financial Freedom and If God Will Provide, Why Do We Have to Ask for Money? He serves as a member of the board of The Giving Institute and is a former chair of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the most widely respected annual report on giving in the U.S. He has been published and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post and more. From devotionals to blogs, webinars to books, Rick’s personal faith in Jesus and his Biblical training are the driving conviction of his communication.
Over the decades, Jacobs Media has become known for advising broadcasters on strategic planning and digital transformation, championing forward thinking of the in-car audio experience, developing its innovative Techsurveys, and driving research initiatives with some of the most influential companies in media. In partnership with Radio Ink, the Jacobs duo created the DASH Conferences in 2013-15, bringing together leadership from both automotive and radio broadcasting industries. Working with CMB, Jacobs Media launched the first of its annual tech surveys for Christian music radio in 2014. Working in collaboration with the NAB’s Connected Car Committee, they developed the original “Best Practices” report in 2017. Fred Jacobs, a 2018 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, is credited with the creation of the Classic Rock radio format in the mid-80’s. Paul Jacobs specializes in revenue generation for Jacobs Media’s clients including heading up jācapps – the industry’s first, and now largest, mobile application development company with more than 1,300 apps worldwide. In 2022, Fred and Paul were recipients of the National Radio Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Broadcasters. They were the first duo to receive the award as well as the first consultants.
Jim Leightenheimer has passionately pursued the mission of teaching, mentoring, and preparing college students to serve Christ in radio since 1982. A 30-year radio veteran, Jim implemented and developed a student radio station that started as an AM carrier current, transitioned to a low power FM, and is currently streaming as Resound Radio. Under his leadership, student radio has served to jump-start the careers of many current leaders in Christian radio stations and networks across the United States. His students, both past and present, credit Jim for being the catalyst in building their love for radio. Throughout his career, Jim has enlisted graduates and other professionals to serve as mentors to his student radio staff. He has introduced scores of students to CMB by bringing them to Momentum and, more recently, CMB University. Jim currently serves on the board of directors at WCVO (104.9 The River) in Columbus and continues to be a resource not only for his current students, but for those who are living out his legacy in radio.
Joe Paulo has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hope Media Group since 2018. With an extensive background in media and leadership, he began at KSBJ (now Hope Media Group) as Vice-President of Operations in 2017 after serving at Educational Media Foundation (K-LOVE/Air1) as the Director of Donor Stewardship and Communications. Prior to that, he led a division of Columbia International University as Director of Broadcasting until 2014, overseeing the growth of successful radio stations in Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC. Joe has also provided volunteer leadership at the board of directors and advisory levels for other nonprofits such as Youth Commission International, CMB, and Crime Stoppers of Houston. In addition to speaking on leadership, fundraising and media, Joe and Kelly, his wife, have spoken at marriage and parenting events to share their passion for marriage, parenting and adoption.