It was a regular Tuesday afternoon staff meeting when I learned this. I had already been working in radio for more than a few years at this time in 1995. The NU 107 On-Air Staff were gathered around the long table of our Conference Room at Strata 200 at the Ortigas Center in Pasig.

Ron Titular (Station Manager) and Claire Miranda (Programming Director) had just started a mini-workshop for us to take us back to the basics of announcing. We were spending our meetings brushing up on technique and playing games like Mad Gab and Taboo to become better jocks and newscasters. Who woulda thunk that? Board games to improve on announcing. My, my I do declare.

Mike Pedero, the station’s vice president and former radio veteran himself, peeked inside and joined us that day.

“One thing I don’t hear any announcers say nowadays is the word ‘you’,” Mike shared. “Everyone’s always saying to listeners, ‘you guys’. Why do you think that’s incorrect?”

We all averted our gazes in an attempt to look like we were in deep thought.

Claire chimed in. “How many people do you think are listening to you at any given time?”

“Hundreds?” Someone guessed.

“Thousands?” Came another reply.

“It’s much less than that,” Ron volunteered. “You’re forgetting the most basic of scenarios where people are tuned in…”

More averting of gazes and a mixture of feigned comprehension with the nodding of some of our eleven heads.

“Bathrooms, cars…” Claire finally said.

“You’re forgetting the intimacy and immediacy of radio,” Mike finally explained. “How many are listening to you alone in their cars? Or while they’re alone in their bedrooms?”

Finally. “One!” Someone shouted.

“There ya go!” Ron sighed.

Claire continued. “If you want your listeners to believe that you are addressing them, you have to express it that way. ‘You are listening to the Home of NURock’ and not ‘You guys are listening…’ This will make a huge difference in the way you sound to your listeners.”

“Imagine your listeners are a collective you… or that you’re talking to just one person. Think intimate,” Ron concluded.

Our meeting was adjourned and like every after-meeting mood before, we were excited to put what we just learned into practice. It’s the one thing I can honestly say I used not only in my boardwork but when I went on to do morning shows and as a live emcee.

Every chance I get to share this, I do. And as a listener, I can tell if a jock actually cares about connecting with me if he or she uses ‘you’ in their ad libs. If they don’t, they’ve lost half of me. The other half stays tuned in for the music. And even then, sometimes it’s not enough to keep me around.

The secret really is in using ‘you’. You should try it sometimes.

Lesson: Radio and even podcasting are very intimate media. Using ‘you’ vs. ‘you guys’ will speak volumes of how well you’re connecting with your audience. Talk to and not at them.