It’s as if some personalities have the idea that adding extra words makes them sound better. In a programming environment that stresses shorter breaks, air personalities have a hard time having something to say in a short period of time. Word economy is the key, and it’s one of the 3 steps to performance excellence.
As an industry, word economy is under attack. Talent takes 20 seconds to deliver a 7 second weather forecast. They deliver informational details that add length to a break while the audience’s eyes glaze over in boredom. I call it jamming 3 minutes of content into 7 minutes.
Taking longer to make a point doesn’t make it more important. The opposite is actually true.
And, by the way, this has nothing to do with shortening a break. I’ve heard 20 second breaks that sound like they’ll never end and 8 minute segments that fly by. It’s all about staying tight and connecting quickly to appeal to a distracted listener with extremely short attention spans.
Programmers Must Coach Word Economy
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