Trafcom News

Podcasting answers: What’s the maximum number of guests for a podcast?

Part of the series of answers to students’ podcasting questions. For more about this series, read this post.

Question from Andrew P.

What number of guests is considered to be too many in a single podcast? Also, how do you control the flow of conversation within the group so that the discussion comes across as natural and not contrived/scripted? 

Answer

How many is too many podcast guests?

Let’s think of the listener first. If the voices are distinct, we humans can do a pretty good job of figuring out who’s who. But if we’re listening to five people speak, and their voices are similar, that’s a problem. One of the podcasts I listen to, InsidePR, is helmed by a group of three people, and their voices are quite distinct. The Gillmor Gang, a popular podcast, regularly featured four or five people at once.

For your own podcast, think of how many people you need to get a good conversation going about the topic. Two? Three? Four? More? I’d say if you have more than four, you might find it challenging to keep everyone on track and not have people speaking on top of each other.

 

Natural flow of conversation

As for the second part of your question, make it clear in advance that guests can know the general themes to be discussed, but that they should not expect precise questions in advance, and they should definitely not prepare detailed answers ahead of time. Why not? I can guarantee you that the guest will start to read his or her answers. I’ve heard this many times. Stop them in their tracks. No one wants to hear someone reading (unless he’s a trained voice actor).

So the best way to encourage a natural conversation is to have one! Don’t set the stage for a stilted podcast by providing questions in advance and allowing your guest to read “on air.” Another tip: Before you start to record, warm up the guests with some informal chatter; it will help to relax them. Some people get nervous before being interviewed.

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Podcasting answers: What do podcast listeners value?

Part of the series of answers to students’ podcasting questions. For more about this series, read this post.

Question from Neha M.

My question is based on Trafcom News Podcast 82: Five tips for podcasting success. Apart from the niche and the use of proper sound recording gear, what does a podcast listener value and look for the most in a podcast? Is the main goal of a podcast simply to speak and take a stand on an issue, hobby or interest?

Quality above all

I’ll start by answering the first part as an avid podcast listener. Most important to me is high-quality content. That’s why I faithfully listen to For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report (which I mentioned when I was a guest lecturer in your class). I learn from this podcast, and it makes my time on the treadmill or other torture device fly by quickly. Fortunately, this podcast has excellent production values so it doesn’t strain my ears or my brain.

I do listen to other podcasts in the public relations and communications realm, such as Inside PR, Marketing Over Coffee, Six Pixels of Separation and others. And from time to time I enjoy entertaining podcasts that are not related to work. Check out some of the offerings from CBC and NPR.

But beyond my own tastes in podcasts, my conversations with podcast listeners, and surveys I’ve been involved in, reveal that the majority of podcast consumers are looking for relevant content delivered in a way that’s easy to listen to.

Hobby podcast vs. business podcast

As for the goals of a podcast, I think there’s a big difference between hobby podcasts and podcasts that are produced to meet business goals. If you simply want a platform for sharing your views on your favourite TV show, political party, sports team, vegan recipes or whatever, then you can create a podcast and have a lot of fun with it. You might not be too concerned with listenership. Of course, if your passion shines through and your content is great, you may just find an audience anyway.

The podcasts that I produce for my own consulting practice and for my clients do have a business purpose. They are designed, for example, to demonstrate thought leadership, or showcase expertise, or spark a discussion about an industry topic, or highlight an event, or encourage donations to a cause. In this case, we do set goals for the podcast, and try to measure our success against those goals. And overall, we do want to podcast with passion and create content that our intended audience will consume with enthusiasm.

Let me ask you, Neha: What do you value in a podcast?

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Podcasting answers: Reading a script naturally

Part of the series of answers to students’ podcasting questions. For more about this series, read this post.

Question from Austin W.: When reading a script for a podcast, or any sort of recording for that matter, I tend to sound like I’m doing exactly that – reading off a piece of paper. This probably has to do with the fact that I am not a very good voice actor. What are some tips or tricks you do for adding emotion to your voice while reading a script to make it sound more interesting?

Answer: Most people don’t realize that there truly is an art to voice acting. When I studied voiceover years ago, some of my friends chuckled at the idea of my “practising” reading. Then I encouraged them to try it themselves, and they stopped laughing. It’s not easy.

As you know, I don’t recommend routinely scripting all your podcasts, but there are times that we need to do this, whether we script lightly or fully. In some previous posts, I have outlined some of my methods for reading a script naturally:

• How to write a podcast script (blog post)
• How to read a podcast script and not sound like you’re reading (blog post)
• Faking it: How to read a podcast script and sound natural (audio)

Preparation is the key
You’ll notice that all these techniques can be boiled down to one word: preparation. If you’re scripting, you need to first ensure that your script is written for the ear, not the eye. Keep in mind that your listeners don’t have visual cues in front of them, so try to use devices such as numbered lists: “Let’s talk about the three ways to…”

Use the active voice when never possible and keep sentences short. Be sure to add transitions between your points, and a recap at the end, using your numbered list as a structure.

After you’ve drafted the script, you next have to practise, practise, practise. I begin by marking up the script so that when I read it, I remember where to pause, emphasize, slow down, speed up etc.

I would add this tip: I have heard of some voice actors pinning a photo of a friend near the microphone. The voice actor then pretends to be speaking to the friend, not just to the mike. This might work for you.

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Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.

Podcasting answers: Getting good audio quality without expensive equipment

Part of the series of answers to students’ podcasting questions. For more about this series, read this post.

Question from Hilary R: In Trafcom News Podcast 83, you list four things to get the best audio. One of the things you said was not using a built-in microphone to record your podcast as it doesn’t have the best audio quality, but you also talk about minding your surroundings and thinking about using noise and silence to your advantage. If you don’t have a microphone available and use a built-in microphone, but you take into consideration the room you’re recording in and the method of recording you’re using, do you think the podcast will be just as effective if the material and context is good? Do you think it’s possible to have a good podcast without having the best equipment possible?

 

Answer: Yes, I think you can have a very good podcast without using the best (i.e., expensive) equipment. You’ve already pointed out one factor: ambient noise. You definitely want to avoid recording in a noisy environment. Secondly, you want to make the best of what you have. For example, the built-in mic on my MacBook Pro is pretty good. If I experiment and learn where to position myself, and how loud I should speak, I will sound OK.

Before you decide to employ your built-in microphone, answer this: Do you have an iPhone? Remember that you can use the mic/headset gizmo that came with your iPhone, along with an app like iTalk or Voice Memo, to capture pretty good sound.  You must be sure to position the mic properly and speak at the right volume, but that’s true with any microphone.

Keep in mind that if your content is truly excellent, people will forgive less-than-sterling quality. However, as a listener I get annoyed when supposedly influential organizations publish podcasts that sound like they were recorded in a tin can. To me, this is akin to sharing your first draft with someone. It’s not polished.

So, overall, I believe that anyone who wants to podcast professionally should invest in decent gear, but I do realize that students don’t always have the resources to buy microphones. So make the most of what you have! You might want to check out this interview with voiceover pro Joe Cipriano on Trafcom News Podcast 46. He shares some great tips for capturing audio.

Related posts

Trafcom News Podcast 66: Sound check (comparing different types of audio)

Trafcom News Podcast 46: An interview with voiceover pro Joe Cipriano

Trafcom News Podcast 83: Why does my podcast sound so bad?

Students’ questions about podcasting: How can you sound like you’re in the same room?

Last week I spoke at my friend Joan Vinall-Cox’s Documentary Scripting class at the University of Toronto (Mississauga). In the Q&A session, I answered many of the students’ questions about podcasting, but there wasn’t time to cover everything. So I’ll be answering the remainder of their very thoughtful questions here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.

For reference, here is the slide deck I showed the students last week:

Podcasting in the real world 2012

View more presentations from Trafalgar Communications.

By the way, you’ll find questions and answers from previous years’ sessions in the U of T question students Q&A category of this blog.

Question from Bethany R: In Trafcom News Podcast 100, you state that you read Ann Handley and C. C. Chapman’s book, Content Rules. Did you read it because of the interview with them? Or had you read it, liked it, and then decided your listeners would be interested in the content, and then did the interview?

I am also curious as to whether you three were all sitting in the same room. It sounds as if you are, but your show is based in Oakville, and they don’t live in Canada. If you’re not in the same room, how did you make the podcast?

Answer

I’ve done book-review podcasts in different ways. Sometimes I’ll read a book, enjoy it, and invite the author for a chat on the podcast. At other times, as in the situation with CC and Ann, I requested a review copy and then invited the authors for an interview. (Of course I also receive books unsolicited; I don't always review these.)

CC and Ann were both in the Boston area and I was in my studio in Oakville when we recorded the podcast. We spoke over Skype, and I used Call Recorder to capture the audio. I had to do some editing to clean up the sound. In the end, the quality was pretty good, eh? That’s the ideal for a podcast – to make it sound as though everyone is in the same room.

 

Are you an artisan, guardian, idealist or rational?

 

 

My friend Sue Johnston explains these four communication styles in the 108^th edition of the Trafcom News Podcast.

Hop over to the site to grab the audio file and peek at the show notes. You’ll also find a very helpful illustration from Sue of the styles and how to distinguish one from the other. Which style are you?