The Basics of Show Preparation


Years ago, a friend of ours went to a Jethro Tull concert. (Our younger readers will have to take our word for the fact that Jethro Tull was a popular British rock band from the 1970s.) Our friend was impressed with everything about the show including the apparent abandon with which the members of the band jumped and ran around the stage as they played.

As it turned out, our friend was offered a ticket to see the band again the following evening, an offer he gladly accepted. As he began watching the band for the second night in a row, though, he realized something startling: Every movement had actually been planned. All the running, jumping, and gesturing that seemed so spontaneous the evening before was actually choreographed down to the smallest detail. The band members duplicated the previous evening's performance precisely.

There's an important lesson in this story, one that can elevate your podcast to a whole new level. Even if you want it to sound completely spontaneous, off-the-cuff, and unrehearsed, the most important factor in your podcast's success is still going to be how well you prepare for each show.

Show preparation consists of deciding what you're going to talk about on each show and planning the order in which the various topics and elements of your show are going to be discussed.

It would be almost impossible to overstate the importance of adequate show preparation. In fact, show prep is important for several reasons.

It Allows You to Approach Each Show More Confidently

Whether you're a veteran podcaster or you're getting ready to produce your first podcast, you still probably get a few butterflies in your stomach as you get ready to hit the "record" button on your software. This is a natural reaction that you probably won't ever lose completely.

You can, however, tame your butterflies considerably by being as prepared as you possibly can for each show. The time you invest in show prep will allow you to sit down in front of the microphone confident that the show you're about to create will be as entertaining and engaging as possible.

It Improves the Flow of Your Podcast

Consider this: Your audience is listening to your podcast on a computer or an MP3 player. In either case, there's a large number of entertainment alternatives available if your show starts to falter. That means you've got to hold your listener's attention from the beginning of your show to the end.

The most important factor in holding your listener's attention is the flow of your show. It has to move smoothly from start to finish and it's got to be engaging enough throughout to keep your listener from bailing out.

Adequate show prep will help you to manage the flow of your show and to make sure that there are no avoidable dead segments or awkward segues that might prompt your listener to turn her attention elsewhere.

It Guarantees You Won't Overlook Something You Wanted to Talk About

It's the end of your podcast. You wrap up by reminding your listeners of your email address and website. Then, just as you click the "stop" button to conclude your recording, you remember something you wanted to include in the show that slipped your mind while you were recording. At this point, you can either edit in the material you wanted to cover or you can wait until you record your next show.

Sure, this isn't exactly a tragedy…but it's certainly an annoyance. More importantly, it's an annoyance that could have easily been avoided with a bit more attention to show prep.

It Makes Post-Production Easier

One of the great things about podcasting is that it gives you the ability to clean up any rough edges before the show goes out to your listeners. Just because you're able to do that, though, doesn't mean that doing it is fun!

Your entire post-production process will be much easier and go much faster when you don't have to do a lot of editing. And you'll find that your need to edit will generally arise in inverse proportion to the quality of your show prep. This is significant when you consider that, for most podcasters, the majority of the time it takes to complete a podcast is taken up with post-production work.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting
Absolute Beginners Guide to Podcasting.
ISBN: B001U8C03Q
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 167

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