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How To Podcast - Chapter 5 Doing the actual podcast

So you think you have everything all set and you are ready to do your first podcast. Let's go over a couple of things before you start.

1. The most important rule of podcasting is to make sure you listen to your podcast after it is done. Don't create the podcast then upload it to the web! Unless you have a lot of practice as a radio DJ your first couple of attempts at podcasting are going to be pretty lousy. So make sure you listen to what you have done so you can decide if it is good enough to broadcast to other people.

Here are some things to watch for as you are podcasting - people have the habit of saying ummm, uhhh, ahhh, and other such mumbling sounds a lot. Be conscious of the fact that you might do this and try to refrain from it. When you replay your podcast listen for these little sounds and either edit them out or redo the podcast. You may be shocked to see that in a 15 minute podcast you have said ummm thirty times without even realizing it.

Filling the air space: There is nothing worse than long pauses in an audiocast. the audience can't see anything and will quickly get bored if there is no sound coming. Try to keep your speech smooth and without long pauses. Listening to your podcast will make you aware of this. In the radio world this is called "Dead air" and it is a big no-no. If you have dead air you can always cut it right out of the podcast using the cut tool in the audacity workspace.

Have a good script - By good script I don't mean an oscar worthy piece of beautiful writing. I mean that it should clearly point out to you the things you are going to cover and the things you are going to say. And you may want to practice with your script before you record anyting at all. This will help you to see any points that are confusing. And it will give you a good idea of how long your podcast will be. You would be surprised by how fast you can get through a script. You thought you had a good solid half hour of stuff and you went right through it in seven minutes.

Doing the Actual Podcast

  1. Make sure you have all your materials within reach - books, magazines, web urls and your script.
  2. Make sure you are comfortable and that nothing squeaks in the room like your chair.
  3. Make sure you have gone over your script so you have no questions that will cause you to stop your podcast.
  4. Make sure that the room and the rest of the house is quiet, shut the door and keep all outside noises to a minimum. Not good to be talking your podcast about being a big time hero and have your mom call you to supper in the background!
  5. Be comfortable and watch the nonsense words like ummmmm and ahhhh
  6. Be sure to go over the important points of your podcast - I mean like the introduction so people know what your podcast is about , and the call to action so they do something like visit your website
  7. Try to keep a casual tone like you are talking to a friend and act as if you are talking to an audience of one person.
  8. Don't assume anything about your listener. Your listeners will be from many backgrounds, age groups and interests, each with an individual awareness of your subject.

Always remember the Goal of your podcast and keep to this goal. Your podcast should be about ways to enrich the lives and experiece of your listeners. It isn't just an ego thing for you. Why would somebody listen if it doesn't give them anything of value?

Let's Continue on to Chapter 6 of podcasting :Promotion