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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for November 10, 2009
“How to Say Phone Numbers on the Radio”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
So how should you say phone numbers on the radio?
Well first of all, it’s better not to say phone numbers because they are hard for people to remember.
So do you make a black and white rule, no phone numbers, ever?
No, because some phone numbers work great on the radio. For example, take a pizza delivery joint and sing their phone number in a catchy jingle. The jingle sticks in your head, and now when you want a pizza you can easily recall the phone number.
See how that works? Instead of the listener having to remember seven random digits, in order, now all they have to remember is the jingle.
So maybe we need a black and white rule, all phone numbers must be in a catchy jingle.
But now you just forced your local attorney to sing his phone number, “1-800- A-C-C-I D-N-T.”
It reminds me of the time John Wayne received a telegram at his front door. Just as the little man began to read the telegram John Wayne said, “Sing it.”
The little man said, “But Mr. Wayne, it’s not a singing telegram.”
“Look. I’ve never had a singing telegram before, so this is my chance. If you know what’s good for ya, you’ll sing it, right now.”
“Okay,” said the little man. He tapped out a beat with his foot, then sang: “Your sister Rose is dead.”
See, some things just shouldn’t be sung, so you have to be careful about making black and white rules.
Back to phone numbers on the radio, I’m sure you’ve heard commercials where they repeat the phone number over and over. That’s a great way to make it stick in your mind, right? So maybe we need a black and white rule, always repeat the phone number several times.
But I’ve heard complicated phone numbers that, no matter how many times repeated, I was not going to remember.
Sometimes you hear phone numbers where they’ve converted the last digits into letters. I remember one number: 1-800-HELP-4-ME.
So maybe we need a black and white rule, always substitute some of the numbers for letters.
Well this radio station has two phone numbers. One is 926-8000 and the other is 926-9258. Which one should we use on the air?
Now let me add that 9258 can also be said “WAKU,” our call letters. So which is easier to remember, 926-8000 or 926-WAKU?
Well 926-8000 is still easier because the last four digits really just make up one simple number, eight thousand.
“What does this have to do with anything, Doug?”
Okay, what am I supposed to do about these phone numbers on the radio? As I teach young people to write scripts, what do I tell them?
Should I make up a list of rules a mile long, and then have them memorize it? Or make them consult the “Phone Number Stylebook” every time they write a phone number?
That’s just not practical. Yes, you can create some guidelines with examples, but as soon as you come up with a black and white rule there will be an exception. So what should I do?
Here is what I do. Instead of a bunch of rules, I give them one simple tool. Just ask yourself, “How can I say this in the most memorable way?”
See how that works? Instead of giving them a black and white rule, I give them a wisdom principle. Then they can apply that principle – and in the process, they will grow in wisdom.
That’s the way I’ve tried to manage employees, and that’s the way I’ve tried to raise my children. Instead of telling them what to do in every situation, I give them wisdom principles that they can apply in all situations.
And I think that’s the way God handles us. Yes, He has many black and white rules, but often He just gives us wisdom principles, and expects us to apply them.
Maybe that’s where you are today. You’re saying, “If only God would tell me exactly what to do!”
Yes, God can certainly do that, but more often I’ve seen it work like this. Instead of telling us exactly what to do in every specific situation, He has given us something we can use in all situations: His wisdom principles.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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