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(By Troy Price) “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The old joke asks. The answer offers us all some much needed advice… “Practice, Practice, Practice!”
I am binging a show on Netflix titled, “Comedians in cars getting coffee”. What every guest talks about is the hundreds of times each of them were working at little no-name places while they were trying to make a name for themselves. And what they all say about that part of their career is that they needed it to get better. They needed to perfect their word choice. Perfect their delivery. Perfect their pause for laughter.
Some podcasters view each episode they release as a practice for the next episode, and that is true. Everyone improves over time. However, we podcasters should strive to improve ourselves. How do we do that? Practice, Practice, Practice!
Before you record our first episode, fine-tune exactly what you want to say. I am not endorsing only scripted podcasts, but am encouraging that you should present a level of consistency and confidence in your show that only preparation and practice (even down to specific word-choice) can give. And while your show is in production but when you are off the mic, like in the car or sitting other places alone, rehearse your show’s into and outro. That is definitely something you can practice and a polished intro could make people want to hear more from you. Finally, in your daily conversations, use the power of the pause. Practice being the right amount of quiet so that the person you are talking to can speak more.
There are lots of conversations about how to improve a podcast. It is easy to talk about improving your equipment. It is easy to talk about fine-tuning your workflow. It is not so easy to talk about the need for you to improve yourself through practice. However, that is probably the most cost-effective way to pave your path to podcasting greatness.
Troy Price is the co-founder of Front Porch Studios and he can be reached by e-mail at Troy@frontporchstudios.com