The broadcasting industry might not want to admit to this, but podcasting and commercial radio share a lot in common. In the early days of what is now a major radio genre, talk shows were reserved for National Public Radio and news stations. In general, they were pretty dry and lackluster, bringing their listeners the news, weather, and daily topics that affected the world — but nothing particularly unusual or exciting.
Then a guy named Howard Stern came along and changed everything in this once-tiny niche! You can love him, you can hate him — you can claim to hate him when secretly you love him — but Stern completely turned around what was considered AM-only programming. Now talk radio is big business. Some of its personalities are just out to entertain (Don & Mike, Ron & Fez), others are using it to voice their own political viewpoints (Rush Limbaugh leaning to the right stereo channel while Al Franken favors the left), and then we have the bottom-of-the-barrel personalities (insert your least favorite on-air loud-mouths here) who turn you off talk radio and on to podcasting!
A majority of podcasting is just that: talk radio. Actually, a more accurate description would be "homespun talk audio" because radio is broadcast while podcasting is narrowcast. Each podcast has a different personality and appeals to a different market. Finding your voice is one of the most challenging obstacles that you (as a once-and-future podcaster) must clear.
Even if your podcast's aim is entertainment, you have a message you want to convey. That message will influence the voice you adopt for your podcast. If you're podcasting an audio blog about life, its challenges, and the ups and downs that one encounters, then maybe a soft tone — relaxed and somewhat pensive — would be appropriate. But if you decide to go political — and let's say you are the Angry Young Man who is fed up with the current state of bureaucracy — then it's time to fine-tune the edginess of your voice. That's what you need for a podcast of this nature.
After you discover the passion your podcast is centered around (see the preceding section for tips on how to do that), here are some ways to find your voice:
- Record your voice and then listen to what it sounds like. It astounds me how many people hate listening to their recorded voice. It's a fear and abhorrence akin to getting up in front of people and speaking. When finding your voice, though, you need to hear what your current voice sounds like first. Write a paragraph on your show's subject. Then read it aloud a few times and find a rhythm in your words. Expect the following:
• Talking too fast
• Swallowing words like to, in, and small, one-syllable words
• Ignoring commas, thereby creating one long, run-on thought
• Lip-smacking, heavy breathing, and the unavoidable ahs and ums
Some of these problems can be edited out, but you should grow accustomed to hearing your own voice because you will hear yourself again and again . . . and again . . . during the editing process. The more familiar you are with how your voice sounds, the easier it will be for you to edit your podcasts and evaluate them before going online.
- Play around with the rhythm of your speech. You don't have to be an actor to podcast, but you can apply some basics of acting when you're recording. One of these basics is to "Make a meal of your words." This means to play around with the rhythm of your speech. When you want to make a point, slow down. If you're feeling a tad smarmy, then pick up the pace. Above all, be relaxed and make sure you don't sound too contrived or melodramatic.
- Develop your podcasting personality. After you know what you sound like when you record, here is where you develop your podcasting personality. Is your persona going to be light, fun, and informal, or something a little edgy, jaded? Is your message taking an angle of marketing, politics, or religion? Or are you podcasting a love of music, science, or your Macintosh?
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