Learning How To Talk Good
Focusing on the user experience of podcasting
Three weeks ago, Patrick and I launched the pilot episode of our very own podcast. What began as a fun idea to talk about how society is changing due to technology advancements quickly became a reality as we huddled around his microphone one evening to start recording.
One of the most jarring parts of this creative process has been listening to our playbacks and realizing that standalone audio content requires us to be painstakingly mindful speakers. Yes, delivering quality content was crucial, but we were shocked at how large a role tone of voice played in the enjoyment of podcast listening.
There is an inherent discomfort at having to listen to the sound of your own voice. After overcoming that initial discomfort, listening to ourselves during the editing process highlighted a series of vocal tics and habits that had gone unnoticed during recording but became exaggeratedly apparent during editing. We were now hyper-aware of every single awkward pause, elongated um, and our strange vocal crutches. After many, many playbacks and even more crafty edits, we wrote down our biggest speaking tips as advice for future episodes. Some of these align with basic public speaking principles but we’ve tailored them to focus on creating quality user experiences for podcast listeners.
Limit interjections
Unlike a TED talk, where there is usually one person speaking alone, podcasts usually involve at least two, often three or even more, individuals. So when conversations become animated or someone wants to interrupt and make a new point, things can get a little crazy. And because there is no visual content to go along with your audio, it’s crucial to maintain unobstructed communication among all speakers so that listeners can follow along clearly. There should rarely, if ever, be a voice speaking on top of another. If we find ourselves overexcited, Patrick and I will either pause or give each other hand signals to indicate we’re going to finish our thought and provide the other a chance for response.
Avoid pesky vocal tics
Our first editing session was brutal. Our vocal tics ran the gamut with excessive uses of likes, ums, you knows, and while some of them afforded natural progression of conversation, most of them proved extremely distracting.
So we had to remind ourselves of a singular key advice straight out of a public speaking guide — eliminate filler words. In an effort to maintain that conversational vibe, it might be tempting to use filler words that come naturally during speech. But podcasts are still (albeit less formal) forms of presentation, and filler words detract from your audience’s ability to understand the purpose of your content.
Balance casual with informative
This one was really tricky for us. As big podcast fans ourselves, we drew inspiration from the cadences of some of our favorite shows and hosts who struck the perfect balance of spitballing yet enlightening. By focusing too much on packing an episode with content, we’d create stiff, instructional recordings. On the other hand, we were afraid a completely unstructured approach would leave listeners confused and lost. We needed to combine the two and develop our own unique ‘podcast personas.’ Ultimately, we came up with an approach where throughout an episode, we focus on answering three to five core questions. These questions answer what is the issue, who is affected, how are they affected, and why do we care. The method helped us ensure we created meaningful content but didn’t have to be too scripted or formulaic.
Engage your audience by having fun
Anyone listening to your podcast is devoting valuable minutes of his or her day to hear what you have to say. Within the realm of digital content, podcasts are successful because of their intimate nature. The best podcasts make you feel a part of the conversation or at least a very intrigued fly on the wall. Earn your audience’s time by having fun and making the experience enjoyable for your listeners.
Recording has been tremendously fun so far but receiving listener feedback has been even more rewarding. We’re looking forward to continue bringing you new and interesting content, so stay tuned.
Listen: https://soundcloud.com/patrick-y-26/sets/in-what-world
Tweet: @InWhatWorldfm
