Have a question that has been nagging you for a while now but you are too embarrassed to ask aloud? Worry not, email us your question and Susie shall answer!
This week, Susie was asked, ‘How to host a podcast?’
Sheldon Cooper did it first. Long before Joe Rogan became the poster child of podcasters everywhere and signed up for a 100-200 million dollar deal with Spotify, Sheldon Cooper uploaded his first episode of Fun with Flags. A predecessor to what would become podcasts later (that everyone and their fathers are hosting these days), Sheldon Cooper’s Fun with Flags, was the OG cool podcast - you learn a little, there are guest appearances and candid conversations. Of course, you are not Sheldon Cooper, Amy Farrah Fowler is not your co-host and Will Wheaton is not your best friend who would make a guest appearance to boost your views! So, what do you do? How can you host a successful and fun podcast?
Here are the top three tips from Susie :
1. Do not make it very niche-y / super specific
You like finance, want to share your financial wisdom with everyone, and happen to know speakers in the domain too - good for you! As they say, well begun is half done! Remember that most of the listeners/viewers who tune in may not be as financially literate as you and may not be as well versed with the financial vocabulary as you. Keep the introduction light, introduce the subject in a way that you would introduce it to your friend who is not a subject matter expert. Do not use vocabulary that will effectively gatekeep non-experts.
2. Let the conversation flow! It is not a job interview.
Yes, you put in the work and prepared a questionnaire and you want to ask all the questions on it too because you have a lot of ground to cover but nothing says ‘Mechanical and Robotic’ (in capital letters) as speeding away with your questions without really acknowledging and incorporating the response you are getting. Leave the long pauses, awkwardness, and robotic delivery of rehearsed lines to Amy and Sheldon, they are able to get away with this purely on the basis of its cringe value (and of course their chemistry), for the rest of us, we have to be quick on our feet!
3. Make it personal!
Yes, the audience wants to see and hear some emotion, enthusiasm in your voice and on your face. They want to hear where you stand on things, they want to hear your thoughts on the subject you are discussing. They want to hear your subjective experience! They want to know your take!
There you go! Get that mic, draw up a list of subjects you want to discuss, invite interesting people, find a quiet room and go and host a podcast! Remember, if Sheldon with his camcorder could do it more than a decade ago, so can you!
P.S. Here is a fun 30 seconds clip of Sheldon introducing the Bavarian Flag! With Oktoberfest around the corner, it is a good time to take a trip to good old Bavaria and have some of that famous festival beer and brezen (Pretzels)! Remember to put on your dirndls and lederhosens as you party like locals! If the Oktoberfest planning committee chances up on this and needs a team of English translators who love German beer, look no further! We will be there before anyone can say ‘Prost! (Cheers) ’.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6xz19186o
