DEVELOPING SMALL MARKET PERSONALITIES QUESTION FOR DAN O’DAY: I'm a PD at a small market station and would like the station to be more personality driven. My jocks have great personalities off the air, but not enough know-how (I hate to say they lack talent, but maybe that's part of it) to translate that to their airshifts. How do I get them to bring their personalities out without running the risk of getting something second-rate? DAN REPLIES: 1. Expose them to as much "good" radio as you can. You can do this by soliciting tapes from friends in other markets, subscribing to aircheck services, etc. Play the "good" excerpts at jock meetings and have your jocks analyze what made the breaks work. 2. Give them frequent feedback on their work...especially positive feedback. Whenever you heard one of your jocks doing something that sounds "good" on-air, let that person know immediately. 3. Let them know that you will not punish them for failure that results from taking a chance, from trying something new. (Which is not to say you won't punish for breaking format or violating station standards.) 4. In addition to reinforcing successful risk-taking by praising the jock directly, praise the jock in front of the rest of the staff. For a lot more detailed strategies on getting the most of your air staff, you might get a copy of our audio seminar, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT: No-nonsense, proven techniques for motivating your staff to peak performance!