Listening to podcasts is an excellent way to learn new knowledge, strengthen our expertise in a certain topic, or just laugh at a good joke. Check out the first blog in the series to learn more about how podcasts can even be used as a time-management and wellness tool.
After consuming countless hours on this activity, I asked myself how to: how can I create my own podcast? Should I do it – is it worth it? In this article, I will explore the fundamental questions to ask ourselves before starting our own creation and give a glimpse into the mistakes we should avoid!
Reasons to Start a Podcast: Gaining Hands-On Experience
Creating a podcast is an activity that requires a duality of thinking.
Soft Skills
- Communication and listening skills: by creating a podcast, we are not only improving how eloquently, fluently, and smoothly we speak, we are also encouraging ourselves to let another person speak and express their ideas. Besides that, we are learning how to ask relevant, open questions that spark interest and curiosity.
- Creative thinking and collaboration: podcasts challenge us to work with another person to develop the topic’s framework.
- Time-management: we learn how to efficiently make use of our time during the podcast – we cannot diverge too much from the main topic and we need to be clear about the structure.
Shaping our podcast in terms of concepts and timing can be challenging but it is an activity that will help us grow for school, the workplace and in our personal life.
Hard Skills
Creating a high-quality podcast requires us to use software that gives us the flexibility to enhance the final product. It should be able to reduce background noise, trim audio, and adjust volume to name a few. That is why there is a great deal of excitement to learn new applications that allow us to effortlessly do this. Sometimes it is difficult to select the software we will be using – given that we are just starting to embark on this journey, we recommend to start with the ones included on this blog . I will be diving deeper into software applications in the next part of this series – keep an eye out for its release!
Remember that we can find the comprehensive list of softwares available in https://learningcommons.ubc.ca/tech-support/diy-media-studio/
Tips for the First Recording
Underestimating the Background Noise
If you plan to record your podcast outside the DIY media studio, feel free to borrow a microphone from the Chapman Learning Commons! However, be mindful that there might be background noise (i.e., wind, people walking by). This is a risk to the sound quality and it will require you to spend extra time fixing it. I recommend using our for better quality.
Not Saving the Files
In the DIY Media Studio, files cannot be saved to the workstation and are deleted between sessions – please make sure to bring an external storage device to back up the files. Alternatively, uploading the file to cloud storage is an option but sometimes these files are too large and may lose some of their quality if stored online.
Not Researching the Topic
Conversations are more interesting if we go beyond the superficial. What makes podcasts unique is the contribution it adds to the community. Make sure the podcast goes beyond the general conversation to enlightening sub-topics that are yet to be discovered.
Reading from a Script
Podcasts are a wonderful way to have a conversation either with our own thoughts or with someone else. It is okay to have a script that allows us to remember certain important points. However, just recording ourselves reading from a text can be a little monotonous and dull. Be flexible! Leave room for freedom and creativity.
In conclusion, creating a podcast will stimulate new areas of your growth. It is an excellent project to have a hands-on experience that requires you to master soft and hard skills. Failing to plan is planning to fail so ensure you follow our tips to have a wonderful experience. We hope this blog sparked your interest in Podcast and will guide you with the advice you need to start your Podcast journey.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us in-person, through email, or by phone. More information about how to “Contact Us” here.
