Most of my friends regularly listen to podcasts. I don't. There hasn't been a time where I listened to one for more than five minutes. The mere thought of listening to a small group of people talking about various subjects for up to an hour or more didn't interest me in the slightest. I could be doing something a little more productive like playing or napping. There is no way I could be convinced to enjoy one without some sort of bribery.
I might be changing my mind.
I've been given the opportunity to help start a podcast group with three of my friends. This group will be discussing anything and everything related to video games and various other geeky topics like movies and comics. Why would I pass on the chance to sit around a table with my best bros and record our conversations and debates about the hobbies we love the most? This very question gave me the answer I needed.
To give a background on my experiences with podcasts, I was a guest on one a couple of times a few years ago. It was interesting, but I never wanted to hear my own voice on a recording. At the time I thought it would be too weird even though I did a voice-over for an infomercial and promo for a new product that was being pitched to a very well known company. Those little adventures did not work out unfortunately, but I did learn a great deal.
Speaking of learning new things, here are a couple of things I've learned from starting out no knowing exactly what I'm doing.
1. Editing is tedious work.
I volunteered to do the editing for the podcast with very little knowledge on the program I use. I thought it would be something simple where I would just press a few buttons and everything would be OK. I'm wrong. That's not how this process works. I have to listen to the whole podcast from start to finish, pause, stop, delete long silences and "umms", and listen to the same sections over again until they sound normal. I'm sure it gets a lot easier over time but right now, it's very time consuming.
2. Hearing my own voice is weird.
I live in the southern part of the United States. I'm regularly told that I do not have a southern accent by other southerners. I believed everyone. After listening to myself speak over an hour period I can safely say that I really do have an accent. It may not be as strong as others but oh my, it's noticeable. Not only do I have to hear myself speak in the accent I didn't think I had, I tend to over analyze my voice and how I communicate throughout the podcast. "You are your own worst critic" has never been more true.
3. That nervous feeling fades after a few minutes.
The first 10 minutes of the podcast really shows how nervous first-timers are. Words fumble. Sentences are spoken very fast. Topic transitions don't seem to flow very well. Thankfully after the first topic, everyone seems to calm down and speech becomes more natural. By the end of the podcast most problems fix themselves.
I have much more to learn in the coming days. I will continue documenting my journey into building a successful podcast. Stay tuned for my next installment!
