Cool Radio Show Ideas To Get Your Audience Talking

Having your own radio talk show segment is awesome, and it is certainly one of the things that people still love about the radio and is why they keep on listening. Whether your radio show is on one of the big stations in your area, or you have started up your own little online radio show, having engaged listeners is vital.

You always want to feel like you are making a positive impact on your listener’s day. Also, if you are working for one of the bigger stations then it can get a little bit more cutthroat, i.e. if you don’t perform and get a solid amount of listeners to your show then you might be let go!

It is one thing to have listeners, but another to have engaged listeners. Engaged listeners are especially important because they are more likely to call up (if that is something you allow) or connect with you on social media etc. But how can you get listeners engaged with you and your radio show? It is certainly a lot easier said than done!

There are all different types of topics that people love to talk about and connect us all as human beings. It is just about finding the right types of things that people love but may have differing opinions on to get people motivated to call up and speak about their opinion on the air.

When encouraging people to call up to discuss a certain topic, you should lead the way and state your own opinion on the matter. The topic should be something that we can all related to, like “Do you think it is considered wrong to keep in contact with an ex while dating someone new?”

Obviously, it doesn’t have to be that exactly, but something that people will have a strong opinion on. The great news is that there are a lot of different topics out there to choose from.

But if you are stuck just getting the ball rolling for ideas, have a look below at some of the best (and most commonly used) radio talk show ideas that will motivate people to ring up:

Music

The radio was built around music , so why not discuss it in your talk show segment. There are a lot of different angles you could take with this topic, for example:

• If there is new music out by a popular artist you can ask your listeners what they think about it and how it compares to their previous music
• If it is an anniversary of a famous album (i.e. like 10, 20, 30 years ago) you can ask people what they think about the album now and what memories it evokes
• Are there specific singles and hits you’d recommend?
• If there was a live performance or festival etc. ask people what their thoughts on the performance were
• Any general music news that has a little bit of controversy in it, ask people what they think

Food

Everybody has to eat eventually right?! So why not give the topic of food a chance on your radio show. Food can be an interesting topic because it is different in each culture and there are lots of different ways you can tackle this topic, for example:

• Ask listeners where is the best/ worst restaurant they have ever eaten at and why
• What their go to food is when they are feeling down?
• If they have even had any major mishaps in the kitchen while trying to cook something
• The restaurants that are the most Instagrammable
• What’s the one piece of food your listeners couldn’t live without?
• Ask to see if everyone’s Grandmother excessively feeds them when they come to visit
• What’s the craziest food you have ever eaten?
• Have you ever won or entered an eating contest, what was it for?

Relationships

You have heard the saying before “sex sells” well it does and people love talking about relationships and sex! If you want to steer down and more PG-13 path, you can focus on not romantic relationships but other relationships like with friends, or family etc. Things you could ask in relationships that would get people talking include:

• What’s the weirdest place you have ever done it?
• What’s the biggest fight you have ever had with your mother and what was it about?
• What’s the most annoying thing your partner still does even though you have told them to stop?
• Have you ever gone away on an extended holiday with your best friend, how was it?
• Do you think living with your best friend is a good option, or will it eventually ruin the friendship?

You could even just open up the lines for people to call in with their own relationship problems and discuss with them how to deal with it. Most of the time people just want a sounding board and feel like they are not alone with their issues. At some point in everyone’s life they will have a relationship issue of some sort, so opening up to callers could be a great option.

Money

Money is something that is constantly on everyone’s mind, it is quite literally the thing that makes the world go around. People are always looking for ways to save or get more money. You could go down the serious approach with this topic or keep it light and humorous (or both!), for example:

• Have you recently purchased your first home? How did you do it and save for the deposit?
• What is the thing you are saving for at the moment?
• What is the best money saving advice you have ever heard?
• What is the funniest thing you have ever purchased drunk?
• What is something that you regret buying?
• Stupidest/ funniest thing you have spent money on
• What is the most amount of money you have even found on the ground, and what did you do with it?

Home life

Everybody has to live somewhere, so why not get people talking about their home life. Everyone has different living situations and there can be very funny and engaging topics to discuss that will surely get your listeners laughing, for example:

• When you lived at home with your parents, did they ever walk in on you doing anything you shouldn’t be doing?
• What is it like living with your partner?
• Living alone vs living with roommates, which option is better?
• What is the craziest thing you have heard while living in an apartment block?
• Has your home ever been broken into, what did they take, what was it like?
• Best ways to deal with messy roommates

Animals

Now, not all people love animals, but most people do, so it is a pretty save topic to discus on your radio talk show! There can be lots of different ways of tackling this topic, from pets to wild animals, for example:

• What is the stupidest thing your pet as ever done?
• Any crazy stories about stories involving animals?
• Do you let your pet sleep on your bed?
• Does a snake make an acceptable home pet?
• Do you think it is appropriate to pet a dog you don’t know/own?
• Have you ever seen someone not pick up their dogs’ poo, what did you do about it?
• What is the cutest thing your pet does?