The other day I heard a rather experienced talk show host open up their show by saying, “Hey everyone!” Maybe you’re not in radio and you’ve never really thought about this before. Maybe you’re a radio student and you’ve just had this drilled into your head. But one of the top rules of radio is, when you’re on the air, you’re speaking to one person at a time, not a group, and certainly not “everyone”..
Radio is such a personal medium. Think about this: when the host says, “Hey everyone”, chances are, you are hearing it when you’re alone. You may be driving to work, in the car with your kids in the back, ironing in your laundry room, gardening or doing any number of things, but often times, the listener is alone. So when he or she hears, “Hey everyone!” it’s like, POOF, the intimacy of the moment is gone and the potential connection is broken. Everyone? Who’s everyone? It’s just me here! They’re obviously not talking to me, they’re talking AT me.
”Hey everyone” is appropriate to get the attention of those taking part in a walkathon. It works for a concert audience. It’s right for any occasion when you can actually see a gathering of people. It is not right for trying to make an emotional or intellectual connection to one person at a time, which is the whole concept of why radio works.