Recently I was honored to be a guest on The Authors Show podcast. It takes a while to prepare for these things, or it takes me a while to prepare for these things. Here are six podcast tips I hope you find useful.
Some podcast tips
1. Get the dogs out of the room. (Or cats. Or fish.) Yes, there are all sorts of things podcasters can do to filter out sounds, but you want to be focused. The first time I was ever interviewed, my dog lay at my feet, asleep. Angelic. I thought she would be fine until the moment the interviewer asked the first question. Immediately my dog began to scratch and jingle, I forgot my name, and I spent the next half hour kicking my dog. (Softly.) Hard to come up with a nuanced answer under those circumstances. This time I made sure Bailey was out of the room.
2. Try to establish a connection with the host, which in this case was the fabulous Linda Thompson, who has been running the Authors Show podcast since 2005. She’d clearly done a lot of research on me, had looked through my website and had some helpful suggestions for how I could improve it. We talked for about 15 minutes and we laughed about some things and then she said, “Okay, you’ve made me laugh. We have a connection.” It really did make a difference.
More tips
3. Have some cough drops handy. And water. I don’t know about you but even if I don’t have a cough, if I think I shouldn’t cough, I begin to cough.
4. Read the directions. For this podcast there was a full page of directions. For example, I knew I would be expected to read two pages from my novel, Maggie Dove. I knew I’d need a brief description of it. Reading the directions made me feel confident, which goes back to the whole issue of focus. You want all your energy focused on the interviwer and your answers. Not on worrying about what might happen next.
5. Turn off your cell phone. I guarantee you that someone you haven’t heard from in years will call you the moment you have to think of an answer to a question.
6. Which leads me to my last podcast tip, which is that as fun as it is to be on a podcast, you have to stay focused and keep your energy up. You don’t want to be meandering around. Ideally you’re having fun, your listener’s having fun, and your interviewer’s having fun and invites you back. Which she did. 🙂 But it’s work.
How about you? Do you have any podcast tips? Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Having only done one podcast, I don’t have any tips to offer. But I appreciate your tips.
Thank you, Catherine!
Yours are excellent! I’d add that if you have a landline, turn that ringer down, too. Someone offering you a discounted car warranty will always call just then!
Great advice! Thank you, Marni.
Those are great! I’ll add: tell your nearest and dearest to leave you alone and close the door. If there are very young or very old people in your house, ask someone to be there during your podcast, if possible, and run interference if they decide they MUST ask/tell/demand something. Speaking from experience…
This one I found most usefull–Listen to at least one, but better two episodes of that podcast. That way you get a feel for the host, how they talk, where they are, etc. One of the podcasts I did asks its authors about the oddest thing they like to eat (at the end of the interview). I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t listened, and I was prepared. Otherwise, I would have stuttered and cried probably.
Great tips. Nearest and dearest definitely problematic. 🙂
I’ve done one podcast. It was awkward because having no visual cues as to when people stop talking, there was a lot of stepping on each other. Zoom or other video platforms are fine.
It definitely has a different rhythm.
You are all so experienced in an area I am not! Thanks for the excellent post and responses everyone. I’m impressed with your generosity, my fellow Miss Demeanors!
Thank you, Michele! I’m sure you will have a lot in your future.
Great tips, Susan. When I have done podcasts or presentations online in the past, if I have something to read, I copy it and put it on my iPad in a very large font.Then I just scroll along while I read. It’s easier than trying to hold onto a book and keep your place, so you sound smoother and more polished.
And I always read it outloud before the podcast so I get the rhythm of the words. Even if I’m the one who wrote the words, it helps.