Focus on the listener.
The stereotype of the disc jockey as egotistical and self-involved is not entirely fictional.
Most jocks ask themselves, “What can I do that will get attention? That will make me look good?”
They should be asking, “What can I do that will entertain, interest or touch my audience in a meaningful way?”
A true entertainer will follow his own interests…but will in a way that includes his listeners.
One vital way to keep your focus on “delivering the goods” for your listeners is to prepare for your show.
For many jocks, preparing means going online just before their air shifts and checking the latest headlines and the free show prep services.
A more effective approach is to find out what’s happening in the world and to discover how you react to the various events of the day.
(That, of course, requires more effort than simply finding out how shows in other markets reacted to the same events.)
Remember: Most jocks don’t prepare for their shows. That’s why we have the word “average.”
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I have found one of the best resources to keep up on what is catching the “local” community’s attention is to read the letters to the editor section of the local newspaper daily. Papers will break them up to topics from one day to the next, so read it every day. If there is a topic or 2 that keeps coming up, you can bet you will get there attention when you give it some time.