Podcasting Tips....Courtesy of Ms. Conover

Hey Gang,

Please read these suggestions closely and carefully. Imprint them on your brain because they're good as gold.

First and foremost, don't talk sooooo fast that we, the audience, have no think time. One thing I didn't get to do, which I think would be worth your time, is to play them a little bit of a piece from "This American LIfe."

Ira Glass, the host, says the silence is as important as the words.

I truly, truly believe that. Sometime we miss half of the story because it's flying by; we can't take it in.

Secondly, don't turns away from the mike at any point so your voice becomes very
soft--the difference in volume is quite noticeable.

Thirdly, also a lesson for all, there should be no excuses for messing up the words. If you stumble, you just say the line again from the beginning of the sentence. Then you edit out the blooper. (Can you tell I'm a perfectionist).

Finally--and this doesn't apply to all---if your character is going to off himself, this needs to be his "suicide note." He/She can't write to us from being dead. He just needs to change a few things so that the words on this podcast "are his/her last."

Just to clarify that think-time thing. It's using punctuation to conduct pacing.

Period = a very full stop so we can digest what's being said.

Comma, colon or semi-colon= a California stop.

Those spaces do not need to be filled with music. We can just let the speaker's voice and story sink into us. Bigger transitions need music, small breaks in the narrative flow of the piece, don't.