Episode 35: From procrastination to podcasting; tips for Toastmasters

If you're a Toastmaster, and have thought about tackling the Level 4 elective project Create a Podcast, but don't know where to start, check out this episode.

Building on last week's episode, Discover the power of podcasting for Toastmasters, I share how I conquered procrastination and navigated the overwhelming process of starting my own podcast, thanks to the invaluable resources from Toastmasters. 

From research and preparation to script writing, recording, editing, publishing, promoting, and evaluating, I walk through each essential step of this elective, sharing how I tailored them to launch my podcast earlier this year. 

You'll learn about the flexibility of the project requirements and the wealth of transferable skills you can gain, whether you're aiming to become an expert in your field or simply gain hands-on podcasting experience.

Ready to launch or refine your podcast? This episode is packed with practical advice and inspiration to propel you forward.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:08

You're listening to the Talkative Toastmaster podcast. I'm your host, melanie Surplus. In this podcast, we explore how Toastmasters can help you to polish your public speaking skills, communicate with confidence and amplify your authenticity. You'll hear from my fellow Toastmasters and I how this global organization has impacted our lives for the better and how it could impact yours. Now let's get talkative. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to episode 35.

Speaker 1 0:42

This week I'm continuing with part two of my multi-part series about podcasting. As I mentioned in last week's episode, since launching this podcast in January, a heap of Toastmasters have mentioned to me that they're interested in doing this project, but say that they're really not sure how to get started. I get it. I procrastinated about starting a podcast for years. I was listening to the high profile online marketers and content creators like Pat Flynn, tim Ferriss and Gary Vaynerchuk talking about how to start podcasting at least 10 years ago, so I even knew conceptually what was required to make it happen. But I think for me, the sticking point was always around the issue of what would I speak about? What topic that I both knew about and was passionate about and felt comfortable talking about would lend itself to the podcast format while providing some sort of information or entertainment for any potential listeners. I get why it feels overwhelming. Been there, felt that, and so I'd like to talk through how the Level 4 Create a Podcast project in the Dynamic Leadership, presentation Mastery and Strategic Relationships Pathways can guide you through all of the key steps to kick off your own podcast, and then, in the next episode, I'll talk about the practicalities, like podcasting platforms or other ways of distributing your podcast out into the world, what sort of equipment and tools you'll need, and the production process, and so on. Before we begin, though, I'd just like to reiterate a message about the Talkative Toastmaster podcast that I shared in episode 32.

Speaker 1 2:34

If you're not yet a Toastmaster or are relatively new to Toastmasters, the first 30 episodes of this podcast are going to give you a deep dive into the benefits of joining the organization, what you can expect from visiting a Toastmasters club, what actually happens at meetings and what each of the speaking roles in club meetings involve. In those episodes as well, you'll learn about how club meetings can help you to develop confidence in both prepared and impromptu speeches, and what opportunities are available to help you to develop confidence in both prepared and impromptu speeches, and what opportunities are available to help you to develop additional skills through speech contests or taking on club leadership roles. My amazing guests have illustrated these points with their inspirational stories of their Toastmasters journey, so definitely check out those episodes as well. Going forward, this podcast will focus less on introductory topics about Toastmasters and as I gain more exposure to the organisation through my current role as Area 26 Director, I'm planning to explore more topics around leadership, as well as some of the more advanced skills in which we can gain experience, like podcasting. Of course, I will continue to interview other Toastmasters and share their inspiring stories. That is one of my absolute favorite parts of this podcast. So we will be getting back to interviewing guests the episode after next.

Speaker 1 4:03

And with all that being said, let's now look at how the Level 4 Create a Podcast project can introduce you to the skills needed to organize, present, produce and distribute your own podcast. The actual assignment itself requires you to record a minimum of 60 minutes, and you're free to divide the episodes as you wish. Each separate episode must be at least 10 minutes, but can be longer if it fits your topic and style. After you record all the content, you'll then play a five to ten minute segment in a club meeting and start by introducing the segment in a two to three minute speech. So there's not a massive requirement for the actual level four elective project itself. It's only if and when you decide you want to keep going with a podcast or if, as you're planning it, you decide that it's going to be a body of work that you want to create. You know whether that's to position yourself as a expert in your field or you're looking to get some really consistent, regular experience with interviewing people or sound editing or marketing a podcast and all the things that you have to do related to podcasting. Yeah, the actual requirements of the assessment are 60 minutes of published work.

Speaker 1 5:28

Now what I found? That, having heard so much content about how to create a podcast from the influencers and experts I mentioned earlier, I've got to say that I was really impressed with the material in the Toastmasters resources for this elective. One of the huge benefits of being a member of Toastmasters resources for this elective, one of the huge benefits of being a member of Toastmasters and working through the Pathways program, which this elective is part of, is that you get access to some really quality resources that are not only going to help you, move you through the assignments and give you the right skills, but they're also going to give you actual transferable skills. So the project guide details seven key areas of creating a podcast, and that includes research and preparation, developing the concept, script writing and planning, recording, editing, publishing and promotion, and evaluation and feedback. So we'll just dive into those areas in a little more detail, because this is the part that actually really steps through how to go about getting started, which is my intention. If you want to start a podcast, I'm really hoping to inspire you to just get started. So the first area is research and preparation, and the guide suggests to begin by researching existing podcasts that you like and listen to to understand the different styles, formats and niches.

Speaker 1 6:57

Now I mentioned in the last episode that comedy, news and true crime are amongst the most popular podcast genres out there, as is educational content. So when it comes to you selecting a topic for your podcast, have a think about what are you passionate about and what do you feel would appeal to your intended audience your intended audience. As I said earlier, it was this step that really stalled me and continued to ensure I procrastinated about starting a podcast for years, because I just couldn't nail down a particular subject that I wanted to talk about, and when I came across this elective, it became so obvious that why not speak about Toastmasters? And if you want to start a podcast about Toastmasters for the purpose of this elective, why not? Because it's something that has such a number of topics and every Toastmaster has their own experience, and, to me, talking about Toastmasters as a Toastmaster to other Toastmasters just provides so much scope for content.

Speaker 1 8:10

Now, if you want to create a podcast for professional purposes, or you want to build up knowledge in a particular area and really start to present yourself as an expert in that field, think about topics that, again, you're going to feel passionate about talking about, because it would be really hard going to create a podcast on a topic that felt like drudgery to you. That would just be a miserable experience for everyone concerned. So you have to be passionate about what it is that you're going to talk about, and this part may require some time to think, to mull over ideas. Kick around a few ideas and just see what resonates for you, and as you're kicking around ideas, the name of a podcast might materialize. You never know how these ideas are going to come up If you think about the way you currently write speeches and where you get your inspiration from to do that.

Speaker 1 9:10

This exercise is not too far removed from creating one speech. What a podcast is is a number of speeches around the same topic. So, again, think about a topic that will give you some longevity. You know, maybe it's going to be reporting on a particular event or a defined period of time, or other content might be more what we call evergreen, in that it's timeless, you know. So the type of content I'm creating is mostly timeless. It's not deadline specific, it's not like it's breaking news, it's ongoing content that really is about the Toastmasters organization. So that's not going to date as much as something as, say, news content might. So then, the next step is developing the concept, and this is the phase where you start to develop a clear and focused concept for your podcast. And this looks at deciding on the podcast's name, the format. So, whether it's going to be interviews or solo episodes, panel discussions or whatever format you like, some people will choose to do their podcasts live, others will pre-record them.

Speaker 1 10:29

When I worked through this part of the process for my own podcast, I got a spreadsheet and tried to brainstorm at least 20 ideas for 20 episodes. So once I knew it was going to be about Toastmasters, I thought, all right, if I'm trying to explain to a new person, you know what it's about and all the different elements. I mapped that through in what I felt was a logical process. You know, if I had to explain it step by step, how would I help to get that person from point A of being completely new to the organization and having no idea what it was about, through to hey, welcome to the club, here's what you can expect, and welcome to your Toastmasters journey. So try to think about how you could help to get someone from point A to point B, and then there is so much potential for variation here and for really putting your own mark on it.

Speaker 1 11:37

I happen to like doing the combination of interviews with guests and solo episodes, because the way I mapped out my content was that I wanted to have some core material that was almost like a lecture, I suppose, in nature, and then I wanted to have guests illustrate that particular point. So that's roughly how I tried to map out my material. But I absolutely found that the process of mapping out at least 20 ideas was very helpful because it meant that I was never going to run out of ideas for those first 20 episodes, and now the ideas pop into my mind and I think, oh, that might make a good episode, or that might make a bit of a mini series, or here's what I want to highlight next. So, once you've gone through that process, I find it becomes easier to continue to think of more topics for the podcasts. But also, in this phase, you want to be looking at how regularly you're going to be putting out the episodes. So if it's, for example, the one hour's published content just for the sake of the elective project, it might be that you put out a 10 minute episode each Monday morning for the course of six weeks. Boom, you're done. That's the requirements for the show.

Speaker 1 12:59

What I would say, though, is that it's really important to publish your content on a consistent basis, and this is echoed in all of the material by all of the online digital marketing experts. Consistency is so important because it helps to, I suppose, train your listeners about when they can expect an episode from you. If you say that you're going to publish twice a month, just make sure you publish twice a month. If you're going to publish every week, make sure that your podcast is coming out at about the same time every week. It just really helps that engagement process, I feel. Again, the project material gives you a podcast organizer worksheet to help you to outline those first few episodes.

Speaker 1 13:47

So, as well as mapping out the general themes of the episodes, if you can then go through and map out, say, the structure of one episode and get a feel for what that might look like. And, again, the resources give you a sample format to think about and if you've done your own research and if you've listened to other podcasts, you might say well, I want to ask a series of questions each episode or I want to have a particular format. There's a lot of planning decisions in that phase and I find that for me, just sticking to a regular format makes it much easier to plan for and to create content for, because I'm not thinking of a new structure each and every episode. That would just take way too much time and thought process. Again, the resources provide you with worksheets on how to do that. As far as managing this bit of the process, for my own podcast I created an Excel spreadsheet or a Google Sheets spreadsheet that mapped out each episode, so the name and when it was going to go to air and what number episode it was. And then on the spreadsheet I had a tab for each episode and that would be where I would collect specific information about the guest. Look at the questions I was going to ask them. Note any specific information that I ask them. When I invite them on and they agree to come on, then there's a bit of an exchange about you know how it's going to work. So I note all of that information on an episode tab. So that's a little bit more about developing the concept.

Speaker 1 15:36

Then the third area that the guide talks about is script writing and planning. The guide does step through how to write scripts or detailed outlines for your episodes, including key points, questions if you're interviewing, segments and how to go about putting that together. And so whether you fully script each episode or work with the outline model and talk ad lib, it's up to you whatever you're most comfortable with, and you'll get to know how that works for you over time. My episodes don't have specific segments as such. I just tend to run through each episode or each solo episode as if it were a speech. So there's normally an opening, some key points and then a conclusion With the guest episodes I tend to follow a base set of questions but then let the questions and the discussion go on to wherever the guest and I choose to go with the conversation. So I like having a skeleton structure of questions in place just to guide the conversation. But then I always say to my guests look, these are a guide, let's just see where the conversation takes us. So again, that's going to be up to you and your preference about whether you want to fully script everything or just ad lib and see how you go.

Speaker 1 17:10

In this phase of script writing and planning it's also worth creating a standard intro that is the introductory content to the podcast, and an outro. And again, in my podcast I use the same intro and same outro each time so that content tops and tails whatever recorded content I produce for each episode and that just helps to give the podcast a consistent theme. It pulls it all together, it makes it cohesive and I think makes it sound professional and if you're going for that professional quality finish, to me those elements are important and the guide clarifies that as well. The next phase is recording, and the guide talks to some extent about the equipment and software you'll need for creating high quality audio for your podcast. And I want to just stress here that it can be very easy to get caught up in the technical requirements like I have to have a studio, or I don't have the equipment or I don't even know what to use and at the very most basic setup you might have a laptop or a computer with a zoom account and do your recording into that zoom account, edit that audio and top and tail it with the intro and outro, like I just talked about in some free editing software, and that's it. It really doesn't have to be more complicated than that, particularly if you're just starting out.

Speaker 1 18:59

Starting out, I know I spent a lot of time looking into microphones and speakers and setups and all of the things, but in the end to me that was all just another form of procrastinating. And it wasn't until a member from my Leading Edge Club did a speech about microphones and presented three different options what was great about them, what he liked about them, what price points they were. And I just remember seeing this one particular USB microphone that he mentioned, and it was the Rode Podcaster microphone, and I'll talk more about that next week. But I just remember thinking, wow, usb, that sounds easy, plug it in, ready to go, and that, for me, is the extent of my audio setup. It really doesn't get much more complicated than that, so I could have saved myself a whole lot of procrastinating by just getting going. So after the recording phase, we have the editing phase, and the guide does provide basic instructions on using audio editing software to enhance the quality of the recordings, remove errors or add any desired effects or music For this phase.

Speaker 1 20:12

In my podcast I definitely looked at a lot of YouTube videos on the best software to use and what types of things would need to be edited, and I ended up going with Audacity, which is free editing software. Garageband is another version of sound editing software. I was starting to use the free options first and I still don't know enough about sound editing to feel I have to go on to any paid platforms or paid options like the Adobe Suite or the more complicated ones. I just wanted to make it as easy as I could, so I did watch a few tutorials on how to do basic sound editing, and that is a process I will continue to refine it's. I feel like the quality of the content and the sound is good enough If over time I can improve that happy days. But again, I wouldn't get too hung up on it and the technicalities. All you need to do would be to watch a couple of videos on sound editing and I can point you to those some of the helpful videos that I used when I started to use Audacity and, yeah, that really just helps to make it sound good, but I wouldn't stress too much about that.

Speaker 1 21:41

And then, after the editing phase, the guide talks about publishing and promotions, and I'm going to dive into this in a whole lot more detail in the next episode when I talk about the specific podcasting platform I use and why I use it and how it makes it fantastically easy to push the podcast content out onto different platforms. Now, for the sake of the minimum of one hour's published content for the actual project, it might be that you decide just to publish that content on, say, youtube, which will let you publish audio only files, or you might have a blog or a website that you could push that content out to. It might also be that you share that content on LinkedIn, just a link to the podcast episode. So we'll talk more about that in detail next week when I look at podcasting platforms, but this is, again, just another one of those decisions that you have to make about how you're going to push this content out decisions that you have to make about how you're going to push this content out.

Speaker 1 22:47

One thing the guide doesn't really talk at all about is how to promote your podcast content. So, beyond getting it out onto a publishing platform like Spotify or iHeartRadio or YouTube or wherever it happens to be going, you'll then need to think about how you actually want to promote the content, to get it in front of the people that may benefit from listening. After all, that's your objective in creating this content. Right? I'll talk more about this idea of marketing your content in next week's episode, because it's an area that I absolutely love. I'm passionate about social media and sharing content, but there's also old school ways. You know very traditional ways of sharing your content, like telling people that you have a podcast, maybe having a business card created that points them to the web address where the podcast is hosted, things like that. So we'll look at marketing in the next episode. And then, finally, the guide talks about the idea of evaluation and feedback. So this is the part of the process where you'll actually present a segment of one of the episodes to your Toastmasters club meeting and have it evaluated. And I think this feedback process is important because, again, like any Toastmasters speech or performance, it's great to get feedback on how you're going with it, if people feel you could improve or if there's things that they really like. So I think that part of the project itself is an important part of the process, you know, just getting feedback.

Speaker 1 24:27

In wrapping up this episode, I really want to reiterate that the Creator Podcast Elective in the Pathways program offers a comprehensive and practical guide to entering the world of podcasting. There were certainly parts in the guide where I had to go off and do some extra research and learn about different things, but in terms of the actual structure of how to set up a podcast, I feel like the material was pretty solid and I feel that it offers members who want to take on the mission of starting a podcast the chance to develop technical and communication skills while giving a structured but flexible approach to learning. And again, I probably wouldn't have started my podcast had it not been for this episode. So I'm particularly an advocate of this particular project. In the next part of this podcasting series I'll talk about the practicalities of podcasting. So I'll run through a little bit about how my podcasting platform works and what some of the other options are there. I'll run through what sort of equipment and tools you'll need and I've given a bit of an overview in this episode, actually, but I'll go into a little bit more detail about that and also what are some of the other software applications I use just to finish things off. And then we'll talk a little bit about marketing and, as I said, how to push your content out. So stay tuned for that one and have a great week. We'll talk a little bit about marketing and, as I said, how to push your content out. So stay tuned for that one and have a great week.

Speaker 1 26:17

Thanks for listening to today's show. Head to TalkativeToastmastercom, where you'll find the show notes for this and all other episodes, as well as links to some awesome Toastmasters resources. If you found value in today's content, I'd really appreciate if you could share it with friends and colleagues who may be interested or leave a review on iTunes. This helps more people to find us. Until next time, remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Until next time, remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Speech is power. Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. Have a great week.