Break Free from the Newsroom: Create Unique Content with your own Thoughtfulness

Improve the time you spend preparing for your show. Are you thoughtful about what you're going to discuss with your radio listeners or podcast fans tomorrow? Preparing for your show is not about waiting for some editor in a newsroom to decide what is newsworthy and then regurgitating it back to your audience. Stop that. That's not a show prep. First off, I'm a human being. I don't need anyone to tell me how to think or feel about what's happening in the world. What can I bring to the world that you own as an experience and not just what somebody else said? How do you take the top news stories that some editor deemed noteworthy and present them in a unique way? Who made this person the authority on what is important? Really think about that. Why would you let someone else's thoughts guide the direction of your show? Thoughtfulness!! This is what I'm talking about. It's not about what somebody else thinks; it's totally about what I think. I get to decide. It's my show, and I'm taking full ownership of its content every day. Here's the question you may want to ask: "Well B.J. So you are saying you want me to ignore the top news story everybody is talking about?" Of course not. I'm saying that I get to decide how I'm going to talk about this news story. What angle do I want to come from? Let me sit down and be truly thoughtful about how I feel, instead of blurting out cliche statements that you think make you sound smart. I may feel totally opposite of the popular opinion. To be remarkable in this game of radio, you have to make remarks worth remarking about. This only comes from drilling down on presenting your unique, well-thought-out ideas and presenting them to your audience. See how many angles you can come up with by being alone in a room and using your brainpower, not somebody else's. For every topic see if you can come up with 10 to 12 angles or more. Have fun being yourself on the radio!