I've been listening to AOM for many years because of that podcast has swell guests, a swell format, and a pretty swell host. Certainly qualifeid advice!
It makes sense, but I never even thought about that fact that you don't air some podcasts due to quality of content. I would hate to go through all that work of reading their book, doing the research, preparing the time for the guest, and then the conversation itself is lackluster, so you have to scrap everything. I guess I never considered how often that probably happens! Especially in the instance of an author who "ghostwrote" a book. That has to be pretty frustrating to discern that about your guest mid-conversation.
I always feel super bad for Brett when it happens because he does invest a ton of hours in preparing for the interview, and if we don't use it, that all goes down the drain. Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often because we do a prescreening process. However, there are cases where a guest doesn't have a previous interview appearance to vet them from and we decide to take a flyer on them anyway, or maybe it turns out their latest book is ghostwritten or something like that.
Ah, a peak behind the curtain - you remove the filler! Ha ha! One of the things I love about the podcast is the lack of "likes". There have been other podcasters that I've had to stop listening to because it's nails on a chalkboard. One I've noticed more recently is when I question gets asked the responder says "Sure!" before launching into the answer. Ugh, once you start hearing that you can't ignore it. A harder one to remove I'll bet. I don't know that anyone would ever want to interview me, but I'm keeping this article in my back pocket. Thanks!
We take out as many likes as possible, because I agree, it can be like nails on a chalkboard! Some are left in because they sound more natural to keep or because they were too close to the previous word to be cleanly removed. So know that if you do still hear some likes in the show, it wasn't for a lack of trying!
Great article. I can definitely attest to the possibility of anyone being a podcast guest, because I was one. I participated in a niche league (20 teams) in a niche fantasy baseball format (ottoneu) and one of my league mates offered to have any of us on his podcast. I was one of the few that took him up on his offer and it was a great experience. It helped that he was a video editor as his day job so my rambling and ummming and awwwing was turned into a professional sounding product. Even if only ten people listened.
I seriously was just wondering about using some kind of embodied method to help with speech. Was considering taking a breath instead of "um" since the filler word seems to work as a kind of physical anchor to help you stay focused. If I cut it out with no replacement I tend to just forget what I was talking about.
So that podcast was exceptional and super relevant. I wish I had known about those methods like 10 years ago when I first got interested in practicing speech and conversation as something that could be trained. Will be giving these ideas a shot, especially the finger walking and vocal warmups before I go out and talk to people.
Another fun exercise I've been doing for speaking extemporaneously is a section of this website called rappad.io where it throws random words up with a beat (it's supposed to be used for free styling practice) and try to make a statement about each word.
Numbers 1 and 10 are huge!! It's SO disappointing to see an intriguing guest on one of my favorite podcasts.....and they're talking into a laptop mic. Can't do it!
And yes, ending sentences with "....right?" is everywhere now. It becomes distracting (like the other verbal crutches that you mentioned) and takes me out of the conversation.
I went in thinking "I'll never be on a podcast, but I'll read anyway" and this just turned into a great article on how to speak publicly and in conversation. I'll be using this while speaking with friends and colleagues as well as addressing my church, family etc.
When blogging many moons ago, I did exactly 2 podcasts and the amount of work that goes into that is astounding. It feels like it takes 3x the amount of editing/time to produce audio than what you hear. I really commend your efforts to get that much content out consistently for YEARS, all while still running the site and your family etc. Also, the AOM podcast was the first podcast I ever listened to regularly and got me hooked on them.
Interesting reading. I doubt my future in podcasts, but as a part time jazz trumpet player, almost everything you said can be translated to music. Even when you ad-libs solos, it's not winging it. You practice the songs and chord progressions. You also leave space between the notes. No reason to fill every nanosecond with sound (Miles Davis was pro at this).
Good read. And ummm thanks for the microphone recommendation.
Great advice Brett! ...not that I've been on many podcasts... I have been on broadcast radio since 1998 though, in one capacity or another, community FM and now creating a segment for shortwave radio. I've also been a ham radio operator since 2015. Though mostly I've done music shows, I have done my share of interviews. All this served me well when I went on the other side of the mic as an interviewee at the local NPR affiliate to talk about my first book, The Radio Phonics Laboratory. Oh, zikes, there I am talking about myself again... note to self, re-read point number 7.
Anyway, the AOM podcast has been a favorite since I started listening to podcasts regularly. One of the more recent episodes that I loved was your interview with the son of Louis L'Amour. It has really stayed in my memory.
We do seem to be moving towards an oral culture again. Perhaps we can somehow get to a nice mix between the written word and the spoken word.
I'll be keeping this article in my back pocket, as these are also great general tips for public speaking as well.
Soap box moment: I love the medium of radio, and I think one way to revitalize over-the-air broadcasting would be for stations to bring in the talented hosts of podcasts and get their messages to bounce like zorbing balls across the ionosphere.
All good tips. Now here’s what else I wonder about podcasting… are the guests paid? Or do they all just go on as a way to promote their work and share ideas? And if a publisher reaches out to you to have an author on, do they pay you? (Answer or not, but I’ve always been curious about that.)
I don't think it's common for podcasts pay guests to come on the show, but sometimes guests do pay to come on podcasts. We've never had guests pay to come on the show.
Cool. Thanks for responding you two. I figured this is how it was, but just wondered.
I’m certainly one who is grateful for all those guests and good interviews. I’ve bought the occasional book and made some changes here and there. And ever since that Peter Reinhart interview, I’ve taken up sourdough bread making. I’ve got some mini bread bowls in the fridge right now going through their cold ferment. Step 9!
Thank you for the microphone recommendation!
You'll love it!
I've been listening to AOM for many years because of that podcast has swell guests, a swell format, and a pretty swell host. Certainly qualifeid advice!
It makes sense, but I never even thought about that fact that you don't air some podcasts due to quality of content. I would hate to go through all that work of reading their book, doing the research, preparing the time for the guest, and then the conversation itself is lackluster, so you have to scrap everything. I guess I never considered how often that probably happens! Especially in the instance of an author who "ghostwrote" a book. That has to be pretty frustrating to discern that about your guest mid-conversation.
I always feel super bad for Brett when it happens because he does invest a ton of hours in preparing for the interview, and if we don't use it, that all goes down the drain. Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often because we do a prescreening process. However, there are cases where a guest doesn't have a previous interview appearance to vet them from and we decide to take a flyer on them anyway, or maybe it turns out their latest book is ghostwritten or something like that.
I was on a podcast episode for a friend and I wish I had read this beforehand
I've been in the market to a new USB mic, so I will pick one up. That's been a huge help. Thanks!
Get a foam ball to put on top of it to reduce those splosives.
Will do! Thanks!
Ah, a peak behind the curtain - you remove the filler! Ha ha! One of the things I love about the podcast is the lack of "likes". There have been other podcasters that I've had to stop listening to because it's nails on a chalkboard. One I've noticed more recently is when I question gets asked the responder says "Sure!" before launching into the answer. Ugh, once you start hearing that you can't ignore it. A harder one to remove I'll bet. I don't know that anyone would ever want to interview me, but I'm keeping this article in my back pocket. Thanks!
We take out as many likes as possible, because I agree, it can be like nails on a chalkboard! Some are left in because they sound more natural to keep or because they were too close to the previous word to be cleanly removed. So know that if you do still hear some likes in the show, it wasn't for a lack of trying!
Great article. I can definitely attest to the possibility of anyone being a podcast guest, because I was one. I participated in a niche league (20 teams) in a niche fantasy baseball format (ottoneu) and one of my league mates offered to have any of us on his podcast. I was one of the few that took him up on his offer and it was a great experience. It helped that he was a video editor as his day job so my rambling and ummming and awwwing was turned into a professional sounding product. Even if only ten people listened.
I seriously was just wondering about using some kind of embodied method to help with speech. Was considering taking a breath instead of "um" since the filler word seems to work as a kind of physical anchor to help you stay focused. If I cut it out with no replacement I tend to just forget what I was talking about.
So that podcast was exceptional and super relevant. I wish I had known about those methods like 10 years ago when I first got interested in practicing speech and conversation as something that could be trained. Will be giving these ideas a shot, especially the finger walking and vocal warmups before I go out and talk to people.
Another fun exercise I've been doing for speaking extemporaneously is a section of this website called rappad.io where it throws random words up with a beat (it's supposed to be used for free styling practice) and try to make a statement about each word.
Numbers 1 and 10 are huge!! It's SO disappointing to see an intriguing guest on one of my favorite podcasts.....and they're talking into a laptop mic. Can't do it!
And yes, ending sentences with "....right?" is everywhere now. It becomes distracting (like the other verbal crutches that you mentioned) and takes me out of the conversation.
I went in thinking "I'll never be on a podcast, but I'll read anyway" and this just turned into a great article on how to speak publicly and in conversation. I'll be using this while speaking with friends and colleagues as well as addressing my church, family etc.
When blogging many moons ago, I did exactly 2 podcasts and the amount of work that goes into that is astounding. It feels like it takes 3x the amount of editing/time to produce audio than what you hear. I really commend your efforts to get that much content out consistently for YEARS, all while still running the site and your family etc. Also, the AOM podcast was the first podcast I ever listened to regularly and got me hooked on them.
Interesting reading. I doubt my future in podcasts, but as a part time jazz trumpet player, almost everything you said can be translated to music. Even when you ad-libs solos, it's not winging it. You practice the songs and chord progressions. You also leave space between the notes. No reason to fill every nanosecond with sound (Miles Davis was pro at this).
Good read. And ummm thanks for the microphone recommendation.
Great advice Brett! ...not that I've been on many podcasts... I have been on broadcast radio since 1998 though, in one capacity or another, community FM and now creating a segment for shortwave radio. I've also been a ham radio operator since 2015. Though mostly I've done music shows, I have done my share of interviews. All this served me well when I went on the other side of the mic as an interviewee at the local NPR affiliate to talk about my first book, The Radio Phonics Laboratory. Oh, zikes, there I am talking about myself again... note to self, re-read point number 7.
Anyway, the AOM podcast has been a favorite since I started listening to podcasts regularly. One of the more recent episodes that I loved was your interview with the son of Louis L'Amour. It has really stayed in my memory.
We do seem to be moving towards an oral culture again. Perhaps we can somehow get to a nice mix between the written word and the spoken word.
I'll be keeping this article in my back pocket, as these are also great general tips for public speaking as well.
Soap box moment: I love the medium of radio, and I think one way to revitalize over-the-air broadcasting would be for stations to bring in the talented hosts of podcasts and get their messages to bounce like zorbing balls across the ionosphere.
What a great article! Do you plan to partner it with one about how to be a good podcast host?
All good tips. Now here’s what else I wonder about podcasting… are the guests paid? Or do they all just go on as a way to promote their work and share ideas? And if a publisher reaches out to you to have an author on, do they pay you? (Answer or not, but I’ve always been curious about that.)
I don't think it's common for podcasts pay guests to come on the show, but sometimes guests do pay to come on podcasts. We've never had guests pay to come on the show.
Cool. Thanks for responding you two. I figured this is how it was, but just wondered.
I’m certainly one who is grateful for all those guests and good interviews. I’ve bought the occasional book and made some changes here and there. And ever since that Peter Reinhart interview, I’ve taken up sourdough bread making. I’ve got some mini bread bowls in the fridge right now going through their cold ferment. Step 9!
We've never paid any one to be on the podcast.
In the 16 years I've been doing the show, I've only had one person ask for money when we invited them on the show.
They didn't come on the show.
I don't think paying guests is the norm, but I don't doubt it happens, though.