Thanks to the popular Hulu/Disney murder-mystery series Only Murders in the Building, podcasting is the fashionable medium to get into. But as Mabel, Oliver and Charles discover, it can also be stressful. This need not be the case! No one needs to die for a great podcast.
In this article I reflect on the characteristics of successful podcasts and the techniques that great podcasters use. In my experience anyone can make a good podcast, if the right ingredients are there – and that has very little to do with technology or editing techniques (in fact the less editing the better). I’ll include some tech recommendations at the end. But it’s really all about attitude, feelings, and motivation – a state of mind. As with any creative endeavour, there are some people who are able to get themselves into this state of mind and sustain it through whatever challenges emerge in the process. But most people benefit from doing this with others. They are social creatives. I’m definitely like that. Although I have all of the technical skills and content, I just can’t sole-produce a podcast (I don’t actually ever like working on my own).
I have many times collaborated on podcasts and video discussions, and absolutely love doing that – even when I’m the main contributor, talking in a social context with people I like makes all the difference. I can talk fluidly, interestingly, deeply, profoundly, funnily, empathetically, engagingly – all the things that make for good listening. I can also follow cues from my collaborators to change focus, to go into detail, to summarise, and to come to a conclusion. Feedback is everything! Seeing the reactions of the other people gives me the confidence and guidance I need.
Consider the opposite result: someone talking in a flat, unresponsive, emotion-less tone for 30 minutes to an hour (we get enough of that as it is). The worst possible podcast is an essay read out line by line. A good antidote to this tendency is to think about your audience. Don’t pack in lots of detail. It’s not a lecture, your audience aren’t going to be diligently following, pens in hands, writing detailed notes. Make your points clear and memorable. Maybe include short stand-out sections summarising with clear statements. Provide any more detailed information, and links (which you certainly shouldn’t try to read out in the audio), in some other format – in the text-based description of the episode, or in a connected blog article. In fact, maybe that’s what lectures should actually be like – simple, engaging, shorter, and with the detailed information provided in a more appropriate format.
When do people listen to podcasts and why?
In the bath. When cooking. When travelling. At night. I mostly listen at night when I can’t sleep. I also listen when I’m fixing my motorcycle. What do listeners want it to be like in those situations? Of course there’s a range of styles. Sometimes we might want it to be more lively and requiring more concentration. Sometimes we want to listen lazily and not have to work too hard to follow what is being said. Unless your topics and goals lend themselves to those extremes, it’s best to aim somewhere in the middle. But make sure you know what you are aiming for. Choose a style that fits, and stick with it. Your audience (make sure you always think of your audience) will tend to want to immerse themselves into your podcast as a whole satisfying episode, having chosen a podcast to fit what they want at that time. If you start off with a relaxing tone, and then suddenly delve into frenetic technical detail, you’ll lose them (and they will not come back). Also avoid sudden bursts of loud music – when listening at night that can be a bit of a shock.
How do we make this happen?
Here’s some advice. It’s not sequential. You might start by finding people you can develop ideas with first, and then discovering shared interests. Or vice versa. Or even both at the same time.
What are you interested in?
For a good podcast you need to be able to talk enthusiastically about something, or some category of things. I listen to history podcasts, that explore an event, an era, a historical character, usually with someone who has spent their lives researching that topic (the History Hit channel is good for that).
My friend Jim Judges does podcasts about his “thing” – a particular type of stand-up comedy – in his Character of Comedy podcast. He is a comedian. He’s also a great person to chat to in a podcast. So he works well as a well-informed and thoughtful guide to that world, as he interviews other stand-ups. He has his angle, his theory. He’s actually also an academic researcher studying comedy. But he doesn’t let that dominate. Each performer he interviews is given the freedom they need to express their individuality.
I especially like on-location podcasts, with some of the sounds of the location included, and the presenters taking prompts from what they encounter. Ramblings (Radio 4) is a good example. Descriptive language is important for this, as well as good sound recording and editing skills (probably the only time there are more advanced technical challenges). Do you have locations that might inspire your podcasts?
There are a few more tightly scripted podcasts that work – this is harder, more like a radio broadcast or a talking book. Tim Harford is one of the best at this, with his moral tales of statistical and economic hubris, but even then it can feel a bit too contrived. Reading from a monologue script is a specialist skill that requires training and practice. Do you have a compelling story to tell? Make sure your story really is a story, and not just a sequence of events. A story has an “arc” from setting the scene through to a thrilling conclusion. It has characters, often with a heroine/hero with a backstory and motivations. There are twists and turns, failures and successes.
Sometimes podcasters are very ambitious – this is a good thing! In their Theoryish podcasts, Warwick PhD students Paola Medina-Gonzalez and Hannah Ayres examine (sometimes forensically) key theorists that many people find difficult, but who are considered to be vital to understanding culture and life today. It’s a bit like two semi-blindfolded people juggling flames together on a tight-rope over a raging torrent. It might all go horribly wrong! Will they survive? Or will Deleuze and Guattari et al. eat them alive? In this case, the podcasters are our heroes. A death-defying narrative arc through confusion and out to the sunlit uplands of critical theory. Yeah, that kind of thing. Thrilling!
And I like podcasts where people just riff off each other within a theme or a format: No Such Thing as a Fish being the most famous in this style (omg i’ve just realised that I have listened to all 508 episodes). Success here depends on the ensemble of presenters, their interactions, and the quality of what they share (in this case, bizarre but true facts).
So what are you interested in? A story? Characters? Places? Random interesting stuff? If you haven’t got something that you are really interested in, be curious, get interested in something, or find people who are, and who are willing to share their enthusiasms.
I don’t even think that it matters if you have an obvious audience for your enthusiasms. Do what you think is of interest, for the sake of developing your own enthusiasm. Maybe an audience will develop.
Advice: before you even think about recording, just talk about the topic as much as you can, explore all of its details and aspects, until you get really fluent with it. Then maybe identify some headlines, some questions, some structure for your podcast. Creating a mind mapInformation or ideas organised into a tree like structure or "spider diagram", with a central topic and branches of sub topics. Mindomo is a sophisticated but easy to use tool for mind maps and concept maps. More can help with this. You can do this on paper, or use an application like MindomoA sophisticated browser-based application for rapidly recording information and ideas (text, links, images, audio, video, files etc.) and organising it into either a spider-diagram layout with a central topic (mind map) or an interconnected web of topics (concept map). Large amounts of information m... More. You might find it easier to combine some short scripted segments with some more improvised talk. The segment-based production approach in the Spotify Podcasting app makes this easier. If you’re not so good at reading from a script, find someone who is. You don’t have to don’t have to do the whole podcast (or even any of it) in your own voice. When you get someone else to read your script you will also notice mistakes and things that don’t flow well. Rehearse, improve, rehearse, improve….as much as you need to.
Don’t be over ambitious
If you can sit down at the mic and speak well and compellingly for 30 minutes or more you’re unusual. The art is in breaking things down into manageable chunks without breaking the flow. The Spotify for Podcasters app helps with this – episodes are built from segments, with announcements and/or music in between. Segments can easily be replaced and re-ordered. But don’t over edit. It’s OK to have a few mishtakes, errs, ums, laughs etc. It’s a podcast not a Radio 4 show. You might even use the segment based recording approach to develop your ideas and possible content. Record lots of short bits, listen back, and decide what to expand.
Who do you feel comfortable podcasting with?
Right from the outset podcasting is best done as a social activity. This will help you to find your thing, to develop ideas that you are confident in, and to get fluent. Have people who share your interests, but also people who can give it a critical edge, helping you to shape it as an listenable episode. If when you are chatting about the topic you become non-self-conscious, relaxing into the flow, losing your awkwardness, then you’ve got it. One of the most annoying things I’ve found is that I get into this flow-state with someone, perhaps just chatting over coffee, and after 30 minutes we realise we should have recorded it! But it’s OK, we can get back into it with a mic.
Where do you feel comfortable podcasting?
I don’t know anyone who is able to get into the podcast-production flow-state in a typical academic office. They aren’t often conducive to conversation. That’s why people spend so much money in the cafes. But recording in a cafe presents technical challenges, controlling the level of background noise. Lapel mics can help with that. Using two mics mixed in together requires some additional equipment. Recording at home, in a warm, cosy, softly furnished space is often the best approach. Soft-furnishings can create a nice warm sound quality too. If you have to use a less than ideal space, get as comfortable as possible, add cushions, alter the lighting, provide drinks and snacks, put up a do-not-disturb sign. Anything that helps to get into the flow-state.
Equipment
Sound
Always test-record and listen back to confirm everything is set up correctly. If you use an external mic, it might have an output for headphones to monitor levels and sound quality as recording.
Most laptops include a good-enough quality microphone for straightforward recording in a controlled space. On Macbooks, when recording into an app like Spotify Podcaster, you might need to grant mic access permissions to the app first. Follow the instructions on the screen. You might also use your phone or a tablet, if you can position them in a stable position. On recent Macbooks you can use your phone as a remote mic as well. The important thing is to position the mic well (not too far, not too close, do a test recording to confirm), in a room with good sound quality (listen to it, avoid harsh, cold echos – a softly furnished room at home is good), set the levels correctly (Mac, Win), and speak with a fairly constant volume (you can modulate a bit, but don’t go wild). If you place the mic/device on a table, and lean on the table while recording, you might pick up the sound of the table moving. Also avoid the sound of moving chairs, tapping feet, and other annoying distractions.
For recording people and sounds on location, you might be OK with a phone mic, but more sophisticated kit gives you better quality and more control. To capture speaking, lapel mics are good. Shotgun mics (on a boom, with a furry cover) require an operator and are expensive. Your device might need an adapter to accept the mic input. If you want to use more than one mic, then a mixer will help.
Software
For decades the free Audacity software has been the first choice for amateur (and some pro) podcasters. It’s an audio editing application, without features to aid the creative process. More recently, dedicated podcast production apps like Spotify for Podcasters have taken over. This allows a podcast to be built-up from segments recorded directly into the app, or uploaded. Segments may then be trimmed and arranged in sequence, along with royalty-free music. Podcasts can then be published through Spotify, and downloaded as files (oddly it downloads them as .mp4 files, possibly to avoid patent infringements, but they can be converted to the more usual .mp3). Overall it is a brilliantly well-designed workflow. Watch this excellent tutorial showing just how simple it is.
Copyright and stock-audio
First the bad news with some good news, then some very good news.
Your podcast (as with any other production you create) must comply with copyright rules, meaning you cannot copy other people’s work (in part or whole) without their permission (which will often mean buying some kind of license). Even if a production seems to be “in the public realm” that does not exempt it from copyright. In return, your work is protected by copyright (so someone can’t use your script or your recordings without permission). If you do use other people’s work without permission, you may have to pay compensation for the license you didn’t pay for before using it. Copyright is a financial protection. Be especially careful when using music. The Spotify for Podcasters app includes royalty-free music that you can use. There are other sources of royalty free music as well. Always attribute ownership to the rights owner.
However, there are exceptions. In UK copyright, you can use “an insubstantial part of a whole production for the purpose of criticism or review” – meaning you can, for example, use part of a recording if you are genuinely discussing the recording in your work. Limit it to what just what you need. This is essential for academic and journalistic work, so has been protected. How far can you push this? At the top of this page I use a photo from a TV show, and refer to the show and its impact. That’s probably OK, just. Although it is a promo photo, so in the interests of the rights owner for me to use it. Don’t be scared of copyright, but be thoughtful.
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