Almost nine in ten UK adults still listen to live radio every week. Headland Director and former BBC News correspondent Jonathan Blake considers what its enduring appeal can teach leaders and organisations about the power of connection.
Talking to one person
Early in my broadcasting career, while working as a presenter on local commercial radio, I got to know a woman called Debbie very well indeed. She lived in Lancashire, had two young children and worked part-time in a bank. Whenever I was on air, I’d imagine Debbie in her kitchen, driving the kids to school or putting her feet up with a cup of coffee. There was only one problem. Debbie didn’t exist. Debbie was a fictional character created by the station’s bosses to represent our target demographic. We were encouraged to “talk to Debbie” as much as possible.
Thankfully for Debbie and everyone concerned, I quickly discovered that I was better suited to reading and reporting the news than talking between, say, Robbie Williams and The Pointer Sisters. But the principle of talking to one person, even when millions might be listening, stuck with me. It’s something that allows radio to achieve the intimacy and immediacy, particularly when it’s live, that TV and other media lack. At its best, radio achieves something fundamental to good communication: connection.
Why radio still connects
That connection, I’d argue, is key to understanding radio’s continued appeal. Recent figures from RAJAR, the body that measures UK radio listening, show that 87% of adults (15+) listen to live radio every week. Radio has the highest reach of any media type in the UK, according to Ofcom. Amid an unprecedented choice of streaming services, podcasts and algorithm-driven, personalised media, most of us still make room for live, linear radio in our lives. Advances in technology have changed the ways we listen (DAB, phones, smart speakers) but the core experience remains the same.
In a surely unbeatable meeting of radio greats, the late Terry Wogan told Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs, “You have to create this little club. We’re not talking to an audience. You’re talking to one person and they’re only half-listening.” Wogan hinted there at another facet that forms part of radio’s appeal: it fits into our lives and forms part of our routines.
This has long interested academics too. Media scholar Paddy Scannell has written about the way broadcasting “sustains the lives and routines” of whole populations. In her brilliant book Travels With My Radio, Fi Glover describes an “addiction” to radio as the soundtrack to her day. These observations show us how radio accompanies us, rather than demanding our undivided attention. Yet in doing so, it can create an unusually personal connection.
From transmission to conversation
When coaching leaders to communicate well, I always invite them to consider their audience. It might sound obvious, but often someone will be focused on what they want to say without thinking enough about who they’re talking to. Only when we think about our audience will we be able to achieve that crucial connection. Using familiar language, finding the right tone and acknowledging what your audience may be thinking or feeling all help enhance your communication and find that connection. Suddenly, communication becomes a two-way thing and you’re talking to your audience, not simply at them. The listener, meanwhile, feels like they’re a part of a conversation rather than being lectured or left out. For a CEO stepping into the Radio 4 Today programme studio, or a spokesperson facing a grilling from Nick Ferrari on LBC, focusing on the listener can help calm nerves, focus the mind and ultimately produce a better interview.
Connection beyond reach
Connection is a crucial part of effective communication in any setting, but radio is where it comes into its own. The radio landscape itself is changing. New speech brands sit alongside established broadcasters and digital spin-offs enable stations to serve increasingly distinctive audiences. For businesses and organisations, that creates opportunities to communicate with significant reach and the right audience – whether to make a case, influence a debate or explain something that matters. Radio’s enduring appeal points to something more fundamental than reach, however. Technology changes and audiences fragment but the need to connect remains.
In our coaching work we often talk about three ingredients of effective communication: clarity, conviction and connection. We’ll explore the first two another time, but radio is perhaps the purest demonstration of the third. Whatever the size of your audience, communication works best when each person feels you are talking to them, not at them. Debbie included.
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