So many times, I put on a podcast and I am slowly lulled to sleep because of the wide spaces in the audio...the host is thinking... or he is saying the same thing he has said 3 times... the chitchat is left in and it's getting long. All of those things tend to leave a listener wanting to hit the pause button or switch podcasts all together.
The purpose of a podcast is to entertain, inform, or discuss all kinds of topics. When you plan and produce that puppy, it's work! Having a podcast is more than just interviewing someone and recording your info. Your sole aim should be that you keep your podcast listeners engaged. You don't want them hitting the dreaded STOP button or switching to some other podcast! So after the recording, the work begins. Working on making sure the audio sounds professional, thinking about your main points/goal of the episode and helping the pace to move at a good clip are all things you should be thinking about.
Editing a podcast is of the utmost importance. I'm not just talking about taking out the coughs, the ums, or the noisy chair and yet, you don't want it to sound unnatural with tight edits between each sentence. But what I'm suggesting is really tightening it up by thinking about your overall take-away and editing with that in mind. Taking out parts/questions that don't push the conversation to that take-away. Keep the pace of the interview moving forward, not floating to a standstill. It gets your important messages across in such a way that leaves your listener ready to listen to your next episode!
Just like anything, when you've sat with the content and thought long and hard about it, you can sometimes be your own worse critic or be so tired of the content that editing and finding the best parts of the episode can feel cumbersome. I would suggest that having fresh ears and eyes on your episode could really propel your podcast forward. When you hire someone else to do the editing (and promotional materials) for that episode, you can focus on the bigger-picture-planning for the future. Get that next episode rolling while the other is in the process of being finished! Not to mention, having someone else who can highlight the parts of the podcast that were beneficial to them can be so encouraging to you in your work!
If you can't bear to listen to that podcast ONE MORE TIME, get someone else to listen to it, suggest edits. While I am a podcast editor, what I really am is a listener of podcasts and I want podcasts to be excellent! Happy to be doing podcasts with you and encouraging people.
Anne Fickel started out in radio doing morning shows. She loved the work but hated the hours. She has experience in video production, communications and encouraging leaders to be servant leaders. She loves to come along side people and strives to do all the things with excellence.
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