I Can Do That...

I've been in radio for years. It's where I learned the skills to write, voice and produce on hold messages. You often hear people saying what a cool job it is. "Sitting around playing music, answering the phone, that's great" is something you hear a lot. Just for fun sometimes when someone says that I'll just start walking towards the door and tell the person, "When that song is done just start the next one for me..." Have you ever seen someone turn white in an instant? It happens under this scenario in a heartbeat. The "apprentice dj"starts to stammer and stumble and say things that are unintelligible for the most part. All of a sudden it's not so much fun I guess. The best story was one time a buddy of mine was on the air and the janitor came in to do his rounds and he had a guest or trainee with him. My friend overhears the guy say "See, he just listens to music and reads the paper". The point of all this is when someone does something well, you feel like it's so easy you could do it too. It's not until you're faced with the prospect of really having to do it that you realize that you're ill prepared to take on the task.

When I'm producing an on hold message the delivery is a result of many years of reading countless thousands of pieces of copy and interpreting it the way it makes the most impact. When someone hears it they don't give that a thought. However, if I was to have them read it the difference would be highly noticeable.

And don't even get me started on all the other tricks of "sweetening" the voice track and mixing the music to sound just right. Many of the little things that give your message the polished sound it deserves. Nobody really gives it a thought, but hears the difference in an inferior product.

Now, excuse me, but I have to get back to listening to some music and reading the paper...