Listen to the right voices for maximum benefit.
Are you now expecting a selection of recommended podcasts to add to your already overflowing list? I can offer you that over here, but I have three other thoughts I wanted to share with you.
Reference Episodes
Think about the last podcast episode that you enjoyed, really enjoyed, one of the best ever.
Now tell me why.
Quick analysis – was it the content, the delivery, or the way it made you feel (or all of the above). What can you steal sorry, learn from and apply to your work but in your way?
NB Podchaser is a free and easy place to make lists of podcasts – here is one of mine. Please share something from your list when you make it.
Reviews and Technical
Who do you go to for information on tech and software? The web is full of opinions and videos but can I suggest you find some voices you can trust and have confidence in. You don’t have to agree with everything they say, but it should be people you can understand and appreciate for their wisdom, knowledge and experience. My own current goto’s include:
Mark Asquith of Captivate FM – marketing and growing your audience
Bandrew Scott of Podcastage – reviews of hardware with detail and reasoned opinion
Mike Russell of Music Radio Creative – software, particularly Audition and Audacity
Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast – all things podcasting (some a little dated now but excellent information on foundational principles of podcasting). This link is a checklist you might find useful.
Who do you go to?
You are worth listening to
As well as people and places to go for outside support, you should listen to you!
You are the decision-maker for your podcast – you had the original vision and passion to publish. Trust yourself and your original intent. Balance your tendency to be overly self-critical or blinded by your brilliance – aim for somewhere in between but be generous to yourself.
I love the Ira Glass animation below by Daniel Sax which I have shared before, and this quote from it
“Nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish somebody had told this to me — is that all of us who do creative work … we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there’s a gap, that for the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good, OK? It’s not that great. It’s really not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not quite that good. But your taste — the thing that got you into the game — your taste is still killer, and your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you, you know what I mean? (Ira Glass)
Your taste is still killer!
When I tell you that you can do better – do you hear it as a criticism or an encouragement. It is for you to decide, but please know I mean it as an encouragement – so go do better!
And then do it even better than that.
Listen to yourself.
See – the back-story and forward-story of Audacity
Hear – find your focus sentence
Read – stories that make a difference can be told in many ways
And finally
- Find people worth listening to
- Ask good questions if you want good answers
PS if you are finding the newsletter helpful, please share it with a friend. Thanks!