Voice-Overs for Podcasting

How to Develop a Career and Make a Profit

Elaine A. Clark

• Publisher: Allworth
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781621537472
• Topic: Medien & darstellende Kunst
• Subtopic: Darstellende Kunst & Business

A Creative Performance Approach to Producing Podcasts that Showcase and Monetize Your Skills, Knowledge, and Personality Voice-Overs for Podcasting is exactly what podcasters of all levels need: an essential handbook to create, build, improve, and connect with audiences around the globe. Written by veteran voice-over coach and author, Elaine A. Clark, this book delivers the nuts and bolts of podcasting and elevates it to a new creative level where the voice is the star and the listener is the happy recipient. Clark shows the reader how, in addition to developing knowledge and expertise on their topic, a podcaster's emotion, storytelling, content, voice, and performance techniques can hugely impact listeners and reviews. This must-read guide offers a fresh approach for podcasters to perform and deliver the most engaging story that audiences will want to hear, turning a small fan base into millions of subscribers. Chapters cover topics such as:

• Podcasting styles
• Episode formatting
• Voice quality and improvement
• Performance techniques
• Tips for overcoming pitfalls and challenges
• Recording, editing, and equipment
• Posting podcasts
• Monetizing
• Legal matters
• Insider tips and tricks
• What's trending
• And much more practical and creative advice!

With Voice-Overs for Podcasting, you'll be on your way to creating, improving, and sharing your voice and story with the world.

1

Introduction

Podcasts continue to be the Wild Wild West of broadcasting. The field is vast. Expectations are numerous and varied. Results are all over the map. It’s filled with hobbyists, professionals, and everything in between. How does a wildly popular podcast like Serial build an enormous following and corporate financial sponsorships?

1. Engaging story.

2. Organized content.

3. Interesting audio format.

4. Voice that draws you into the auditory world so the audience not only hears words but can see it, smell it, taste it, touch it, and imagine being there.

Theater of the mind is not new. Shows like Dick Tracy, I Love A Mystery, and You Are There are but a handful of old-time radio shows that brought joy, laughter, information, danger, and mystery to people gathered around their radios. With podcasts as diverse as their nearly century-old predecessors, it’s time to raise the stakes and make this golden age of podcasting even better.

As a communication and voice-over coach for over four decades, I’ve been interviewed by and have worked with numerous podcasters. To get immersed in this real-life setting or fictitious world, speakers must switch gears from being visual communicators to auditory storytellers. This adjustment is easier for some than others. Even with the restraints of having to stay “on mic,” movements and gestures are needed to add humanity and realism to the recording. Increasing the intensity and adding an emotional arc in each episode helps engage the listener and hold his or her attention. Podcasters must bring each audience member into his or her world and trust that it’s an interesting place to explore … episode after episode.

As you plan your podcast, remember that the idea or dream of what you want to do or say is easy. Putting it into action is the work. This book will give you a soup-to-nuts overview and insights on how to format, perform, produce, broadcast, network, and monetize your podcast. The goal is for your personality, opinion, inspiration, and truth to shine through. Embrace this information so your voice is heard and your unique message stands out in a meaningful and engaging way.

If you want to start or improve your podcast, let’s begin! It’s time to use your voice effectively and share your message.

2

Podcast Styles

Audio podcasts are often listened to when driving, walking, waiting, and away from the computer. They are performed live or pre-recorded and edited, streamed, or downloaded. They are open to the general public or through a subscription. They can also include supplemental video, pdf, or .epub (electronic publication) files. Vidcasts and vodcasts, on the other hand, are video podcasts intended to be viewed on computers, tablets, phones, and monitors. They rely on the visual connection of a talking head and graphics to convey the message. Since the focus of this book is on voice-overs and how words are spoken, we’ll concentrate on audio podcasts, spoken words, and storytelling that engage, inspire trust, and draw the listener in.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT?

There are so many topics to podcast about: business, hobbies, travel, music, tech, books, art, family, romance, politics, school, sports, fashion, public relations, acting, news, etc. Your unique perspective and reason for presenting this message to the world needs a style that fits your time, budget, message, and audience. Selecting a style will add continuity, context, and a format to this auditory experience.

CHOOSE A STYLE

Below are descriptions of seven different podcast styles. They all have advantages and disadvantages, depending on your time, budget, recording and editing skills. Positives and negatives are listed under each style to help you choose the format that best suits your podcast goal.

1. Single Personality

There is just one person speaking in every episode. That’s typically, you! There are no guests. It requires a strong, comfortable, engaging personality that connects on a one-on-one level with the listener and audience. Since it’s relying on one voice, the format should be well organized. This can be done by creating unique and specific sections. The story should progress in a logical, sensible way throughout each episode. Another approach is a self-interview, where a list of questions are planned or pulled from social media sources and live questions.

Positives:

• It’s just you.

• Easy to schedule the recording time.

• Celebrity status is enhanced.

• You are always the focus.

Negatives:

• Difficult to pull off.

• Tendency to ramble on too long.

• Easy to lose listener’s attention.

• Only dedicated followers stay to the end.

To keep the show moving forward, brief musical interludes, pre-recorded subject subtitles, sound effects, or ads could be placed between sections to keep the show on track or on time.

2. Co-Hosts

Two people are on every episode. Both personalities have equal airtime. While each should be an expert on the topic, their voice quality, attitude, and perspectives should be different from each other while complementing the other’s contributions, too. Perhaps one is the statistician who can quote confirmed numbers from memory, a resource guide, or do live searches to find the answer while the other host is adding amusing anecdotes, insights, or a different point of view.

Positives:

• There are two points of view.

• Workload can be shared or strategically divided.

• Audience has the auditory interest of hearing two voices.

• Two people can bounce ideas off each other when planning and performing.

Negatives:

• The more hosts, the more editing time.

• Tendency to talk over each other.

• Potential scheduling conflicts.

• Hurt feelings or differences of opinion that can escalate.

When working with a co-host, discuss and confirm each person’s contribution to the podcast. Maybe one prefers doing the pre-show organizing and planning while the other is better at editing and uploading the podcast. Together, they can share the social media awareness and audience maintenance.

3. Interview—One guest at a time

On a podcast that features one or two hosts, one new guest is interviewed per episode. By adding a guest, it’s not always possible to control the recording. Ideally, the person comes to the location where the podcast is streamed or recorded. When that is not possible, you will have to record from two different locations. As a result, the audio quality may suffer. So, arrange a time to do a sound check prior to the podcast. Even if it’s fifteen minutes before you start, it should give you time to iron out some of the wrinkles.

Positives:

• Doesn’t require a lot of prep time.

• List of questions is minimal.

• Each new guest provides an interesting perspective, so the show tends to flow easily.

• There’s a unique energy, tempo, and personality to each show.

Negatives:

• Researching multiple interview guests, rather than one person or topic.

• Scheduling and relying on the guest to show up.

• Additional post-production time matching the quality of the guest’s mic and room tone vs. the interviewer’s, when recording from different locations.

• May have to do additional editing to eliminate stutters, run-on sentences, over use of words like “and, basically, so,” etc.

With so many interview shows out there, you’ll need to find a way to make yours stand out. Adding musical int...