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One Great Source of Show Prep Material
by Dan O'Day
Inside Secret: Originally my plan was to fill this column with a list of "Ten
Great Sources of Show Prep Material." So I made the list, and then I began to
make a few notes to explain or illustrate each item. Before I knew it, I had
filled two columns worth of material...just from Item #1.
Extra-Terrestrial Publications
Always look for opportunities to collect publications you never knew
even existed - trade magazines from other industries, special interest
newsletters, etc. Immediately turn to the "Letters to Editor" page, and you'll
discover raging controversies and galloping passions. When you find a topic (or
point of view) that's new to you, make a list of all the possible ideas that
come to your mind...whether they "make sense" at the time.
To demonstrate the value of this technique as an idea-generator, I just
conducted a two-minute search among my pile of to-be-read-when-I-get-a-chance
publications for magazines that few listeners are likely to receive.
The first is FREQUENT FLYER. It comes free with my subscription to OAG
(Official Airline Guide), a monthly compendium of airline flight information. On
Page 10 is "Speaking Out," the Letters page. This month it contains five letters
from readers.
Letter #1 talks about the height, width, and legroom of seats on United
Airline's new Boeing 777.
Thought-Starters from Letter #1: (Remember, at this stage all we do is
list ideas. We do not judge or edit while we compile our list.)
1. Worst airplane rides I/listeners ever had
2. What co-workers do flight attendants get along with
LEAST?
3. "If I could design my own airplane, it would look like
this..."
4. Which airlines have the best food? The worst?
5. Worst airline meal I/listeners ever had
6. Dumbest thing I/listeners ever heard said on an airplane
7. Listeners' secrets for enjoying flights (e.g., bringing their own
special food on board)
8. Secret methods for getting upgraded into First Class
9. Scariest moments on an airplane
10. Favorite/least favorite airports
11. Friendliest/unfriendliest airlines
12. Money-saving travel tips
13. Has anyone ever actually flown cheap or free for one of
those "courier services"?
14. Travelling with infants
15. Travelling with children
16. Travelling with pets
17. How to travel with your spouse without straining your
relationship
18. Combatting or preventing jet lag
19. Melatonin & jet lag
20. "Natural" remedies that worked for you (Note that this
has nothing to do with air travel; it was suggested by #19.)
21. Best books to read on airplanes
22. Strategies for keeping the seat next to you empty
23. Hotel tips for travellers
24. Things you once thought you'd never do...that now you
do. (This comes from me remembering how for years I thought flying First Class
was a ridiculous luxury; now that I spend half my life planes, one of the worst
things that can happen to me is to get stuck in - gasp! - Coach Class.)
25. Preventing/overcoming motion sickness
26. Most embarrassing moments (This comes from #25, which
reminded me of when I, as a 24-year old, went out on a rowboat in a very calm,
tiny lake with my 85-year old grandfather... and I got seasick.)
27. "Old sayings" that really are true, those that really
aren't. (This comes from my grandfather - see #26 - who had a "maxim" for
everything.)
Letter #2 is from an airline employee who says, "At the airport, the
gate agent is GOD." She goes on to say her husband always gets upgraded because
of his relationship to her and his respectful treatment of gate agents.
Thought-Starters from Letter #2:
28. Who is the most powerful person in YOUR company (e.g.,
in a hospital, school, restaurant, etc.)?
29. Where has nepotism reared its ugly head in YOUR
workplace?
30. Have you ever been your spouse's boss (or
vice-versa)?
31. Listeners' stories of their workplace romances (e.g.,
meeting future spouses on the job)
32. The strangest co-worker you've ever had
33. The worst boss you've ever had
34. The best boss you've ever had
35. Best/worst excuses for being late to work (Again, notice
that these last few have NOTHING to do with the Letter to Editor.)
36. If you were elected President of the United States, what
would be your first three official acts? (Last time I'll point this out:
Although completely unrelated to the Letter, it somehow follows my semi-derailed
train of thought.)
In Letter #3, a reader complains about the lessening quality of the
USAir's "Priority Gold Plus" membership - for their most frequent flyers.
Thought-Starters from Letter #3:
37. What's your favorite "perk" of your job or profession?
38. What's the one big misconception people have about your
profession? (Example: Disc jockeys work just four hours a day.)
In Letter #4, a reader recounts his outrage at paying $200 a night for a
hotel room and still being charged for toll-free "800" calls he placed from his
room...and that, as a result, he'll never stay at Marriott again.
Thought-Starters from Letter #4:
39. Solicit stories of people who have abused expense
accounts
40. The worst rip-offs in daily life
41. Funny (bogus) new "900" phone lines
42. The dumbest thing I ever bought through mail order
43. The dumbest thing I ever bought at a garage sale
44. Interview an auctioneer
45. Use an auctioneer as the voice on your station promos
46. Have listeners enter their answering machine messages in
contest for funniest ones
47. Should car phones be outlawed?
48. Comedy sketch about what parts of our lives we can
expect Technology to take over
49. Listeners call in to share the best bargains they ever
got (e.g., a washing machine they've used for 40 years)
Letter #5 is from a reader who used to work for an airline and
thinks....Well, it's only semi-coherent, and I don't know what her point is. But
she does praise United and Delta for their First Class cabins.
Thought-Starters from Letter #5:
50. What is the one thing you can't get your Significant
Other to understand?
51. What is the one thing you and your spouse always
disagree on?
52. What's the one big way your family differs from your
spouse's family?
53. If you could have been part of any fictional family,
which would it be?
54. What is your earliest TV memory?
55. What is the one TV show you wish they would bring back?
56. What is the hardest job in TV?
Well, that's 56 ideas in 10 minutes. Maybe not 56 good ideas. Maybe only half
have potential. Perhaps only one-third. Maybe only 10%. That would be only ten
good ideas in ten minutes.
The second magazine I tried for this exercise is THE CHAMPION, which is
published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. (Blame it on
the O.J. Trial, but I actually subscribed to this a few months ago. Haven't had
time to read any issues yet, but one day I will.) Their "Letters to the Editor"
page features only two letters, both singing the praises of a recently deceased,
apparently much-beloved defense attorney with high political connections.
Thought-Starters :
57. Humorous names of publications for other professions
58. A defense attorney getting married, verbally jousting
with the minister over the precise wording of the wedding vows
59. New career options for O. J. Simpson
60. "Battle of the Bands" concept pitting famous fictional
lawyers against each other
61. Who was the best movie "James Bond"?
62. Should bald(ing) men consider toupees? (Okay, I'll
explain the connection: James Bond ...Sean Connery...His virile image despite
relative lack of hair....)
63. Bad career moves (Connection: Sean Connery left the
Bond films, which was not a bad move for him...But how good was it for Pernell
Roberts to leave "Bonzanza"?)
64. New career opportunities for Bill Clinton if he loses
the 1996 election
65. Judge Ito's child-rearing tips
66. Interview with defense attorney regarding ethics of the
job
67. Solicit calls from lawyers, saying what type of law they
wish they had specialized in from the start
68. Day in the life of a beat cop
69. How does an FBI agent spend a typical workday?
70. The Management Techniques of Bart Simpson
71. Have listeners complete this simile (with their
individual explanation): "Life is like...."
72. Things That Are Not Illegal...But Should Be
The third and final magazine I found is COMPUSERVE MAGAZINE, which I liberated
from the waiting room of the CompuServe office in Wellington, New Zealand.
Letter #1 asks about a CompuServe forum devoted to Esperanto.
Thought-Starters from Letter #1:
73. Listeners contribute favorite examples of bureaucratic
doubletalk (from memos, employment manuals, etc.)
74. Best ways for an adult to learn a foreign language
75. Listing of words, terms & phrases that didn't exist when
we were children
76. Translating the jargon of today's teenagers
77. Sponsor's commercial that humorously translates product
(or teenage, hip-hop, etc.) jargon into "everyday" language
78. Create a character whom no one understands
79. Create a character with a strong yet unidentifiable
accent - running gag is no one can figure out just where he comes from
80. Things We Wish Our Computer Knew How To Do For Us
81. 101 Uses For The Old, 20-Megabyte Hard Drive That You
Thought You'd Never Be Able To Fill But Which You Long Ago Put Aside Because Now
It Seems So Small
82. What it would be like if the U.S. Postal Service were
put in charge of delivering all e-mail
Letter #2 asks about listings of World League Football statistics.
Thought-Starters from Letter #2:
83. Retired football players as poetry professors
84. Parody of meaningless statistics in sports
85. Most annoying cliches of sports announcers
86. Using the "designated hitter" concept in other areas of
life
87. Comedy piece centered on play-by-play broadcast of
non-sporting events (e.g., a First Date)
88. Sporting events for non-athletic people
89. Station promotion: Office Olympics....Homemakers
Olympics.... Grandparents Olympics
90. Running gag: Impersonated voice of sportscaster keeps
reporting on new statistics of your show ("You've just climbed to 17th place on
the all-time list of Most Mispronounced Words In A Single Broadcast.")
Letter #3 is looking for a forum devoted to origami. (Origami is
the ancient Japanese art of paper folding.)
Thought-Starters from Letter #3:
91. How do you react when you receive a computer-generated
(rather than hand-written) thank-you note?
92. Humorous list of fictitious, unusual hobbies (fish
folding, sewing trousers for asparagus stalks, etc.)
93. Assign station staff member to prepare weekly report on
a different museum or gallery in your city
94. Recurring station promotion: Helping to organize school
trips to local museums, historical sites, etc.
95. Contest prize: Cooking lessons in the cuisine of your
choice (Japanese, French, etc.)
96. Contest prize: Dinners at the best local restaurants in
each of the various cuisines
97. Best-Tasting Recipes That Sound Like They Would Be
Terrible
98. Bachelors' cooking tips
99. "You Know He/She Is Not Married When..."
100. Things that married people miss most about no longer
being single
101. Home decorating tips for people with no taste or budget
102. Cheap office decorating tips
103. How to run a small office on a tiny budget (serious or
humorous)
Letter #4 is computer gibberish, asking about "the VBRUN100.DLL Windows
file."
Thought-Starters from Letter #4:
104. Marriage counseling for couples comprised of one
"Macintosh" person and one "PC" person
105. Feature on the addictive nature of being on-line
106. Feature reviewing the latest & best in children's
educational software
107. Weekly program devoted to #106 above - sponsored by (but
editorial content not influenced by) local computer store
108. Favorite "home remedy" style household hints ( e.g.,
mixing these two common substances provides a perfect window cleaner)
109. Feature Report: Challenge local hacker to see how much
information can be found about you in one day, using only his computer
Letter #5 is from a reader looking for a forum devoted to building and
architecture.
Thought-Starters from Letter #5:
110. Survey of most beautiful, ugliest buildings in town
111. Multi-part feature giving histories of local landmarks
112. Your Favorite Household Gadget
113. Best excuses for getting out of doing work around the
house
114. The Time I Was Caught Telling A Lie...
115. Contest: Guess which one of these is NOT the name of a
dish currently being served at a local school cafeteria
Final Tally: 115 ideas - some bad, some good - in about an hour.
For more information on Dan O'Day, his products and services, go
to danoday.com
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