7 Ways to Sound Good on Your Business Podcast
Posted on 13th January 2021 at 16:17
These are my top tips for getting into your best podcast-presenter mode.
They’re tips I’ve collected over decades of broadcasting experience so trust me, they work.
About the Author - Serena Gay – founder and managing director of Made4U Podcasts
Serena founded Made4U Podcasts in 2018 after a career spent in radio and TV in the UK with the BBC and Germany with DW TV.
She has years of experience writing and voicing well-researched and engaging material and developed her social media marketing skills managing companies in the UK and Germany.
7 Ways to Sound Good on Your Business Podcast
Follow these 7 ways to sound great on your business podcast.
They’ll help you avoid making rookie mistakes. Soon you’ll be hosting your recordings like an old pro.
These tips are about:
The practical side to helping you sound good
The mindset you need to adopt
Preparing your voice to sound great
How you interact with your interviewees
Tricks to sound relaxed and confident
But let’s start off with….
1. Every professional podcaster’s little secret!
From my many years of live radio and tv broadcasting, I know that sounding professional is really about … pretending! I know, shock horror, eh?
Keeping cool as a cucumber while chaos reigns behind the scenes is a real test of your ability to dissemble. Fortunately, you, as a business podcaster, can record in relative peace and quiet.
But even so, there is an element of performing as there is in any situation needing you to “present”. Just act like you’re in charge and everyone will believe you!
There are a few other things you can do too to make a vocal hit on your business podcast.
2. The practical steps
Make sure your mic is about a fist’s distance from your mouth – not too far and not too close.
Protect your mic from the plosives – the popping noises - that your lips produce when you vocalise hard consonants like bs and ps. A pop filter or a foam cover are dirt cheap to buy, easy to fix and they work a treat.
Make sure you wear headphones to catch and silence any off-putting noises before you press record. That way you won’t be distracted. Choose closed back professional headphones (as described in my ultimate podcaster’s guide) with comfortable cushy ear pads.
Wear nice soft clothing that doesn’t produce sounds as you shift in your recording chair. Artificial fibres can be strangely noisy!
Take off any jangly jewellery – your accessories may look great, but they won’t sound great!
3. Sounding professional on a podcast is all about mindset
People new to podcasting are often put off by the thought of what other people will think of them. This is a fear you need to ditch right from the outset. If you have something interesting to say – and you do – there’ll be plenty of people ready to listen and appreciate it.
Believe in yourself – because if you know what you’re talking about, you will definitely solve someone else’s problem and your voice will express your confidence in yourself. That said, there can be nothing more off putting than worrying someone is listening outside the door as you do your podcast recordings!
One effective way to overcome that problem is to make sure you wear your professional headphones. Those cushioned ear pads make you feel cut you off from the outside world and as if the only person who can hear you …. is you!
4. Use your imagination to help your voice sound natural
A great tip that many professional broadcasters use is to imagine they are talking to just one person. For a business podcast maker, you could focus on talking to your ideal client whose pain points you know so well.
Remember, podcasting is a conversation that you are leading – your listeners will certainly be talking back to you as they listen to your podcast.
Hopefully, they’ll be agreeing, or expressing surprise or interest but they will certainly be feeling they are part of a two-way conversation and that you are talking to them alone. How good can that be for your business?
5. Look after your most important tool – your voice!
Be kind to your voice leading up to and during recording days.
Try to cut back on dehydrating drinks like tea, coffee and alcohol. Also smoking if you’re a smoker. Drink plenty of water.
A dry mouth makes crackly sounds that mics pick up and there is nothing more irritating to listen to than the revolting noises a dry tongue makes as it slaps around inside your mouth.
A few mouth stretching exercises like yawning, pouting, and stretching your lips back over your teeth help you articulate better and limit any tripping up over words. You can even warm up your voice with a song or two!
My favourite tip is to sing a song through a straw. This is also a conveniently quiet way to sing a song in the office without attracting too much attention!
6. Being well-prepared makes you feel and sound confident
Coming across as professional as possible on your podcast will be much easier if you are really well prepared.
Plan your podcast – either by using bullet points or a script – so you know exactly what you want to say.
And if you’re interviewing people, have a pre-interview chat to find out a bit more about them so that your prepared questions extract the best possible answers.
During your interviews, really listen to what your guests says and pose your follow-on questions as you would with any conversation so that it flows along intelligently.
7. More tips to sound relaxed and confident on your podcast
Remember to inject energy into your voice – and by that, I mean enthusiasm and excitement for what you’re talking about. If you express that, your listeners will feel it too.
And finally – SMILE! Because a smile brings warmth into your voice and gives it an endearing sound that people will love to listen to.
Summary: What are the best ways to sound good on a podcast?
Take these tips to heart and you will sound genuinely professional:
Pretend to be cool, collected and confident. It’s what all the professionals do!
Follow my suggested practical tips to avoid beginner’s mistakes
Adopt the right mindset and tell yourself you simply can’t fail to be engaging
Use your imagination to help your vocal presentation strike a really personal note with your listeners to encourage them to “talk” back to you
Protect your voice and remember to hydrate
The more you plan your content the more professional you will sound
Smile and inject your voice with energy
Let me know if these tips help you with your podcast presentation. It would make my day to hear from you – email serena@made4u-podcasts.co.uk
Planning to launch your own business podcast?
Why not download my guide to business podcasting?
And have a listen back to all my previous bite-sized editions of Podcast Launch Pad which I think you’ll find helpful and concise.
If you’re looking for a friendly community to discuss your podcasting plans with – please join my Facebook Group, "Podcasting Blueprint for Women Business Owners"; EVERYONE is welcome!
Finally, please check out my company, Made4U Podcasts to find out more about me, my podcasts and the services we offer.
P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!
Tagged as: Podcast Launch, Podcast Production Service, Podcast Vocal Tips, Podcasts, start a business podcast, Tips to sound good on a podcast
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