3 common podcasting mistakes and how to overcome them

Nothing is more frustrating than listening to cranky audio feed recorded in the field or in the studio. You don’t know what to do with it, other than junking it and recording a fresh feed. But this cannot happen always. The conditions may change or the subject may not be available.

To avoid such a situation, you need to adopt the following three practices:

# 1. Always wear headphones while recording
You should never record an interview without wearing headphones. The headphones alert you to audio quality. As a rule, you should do an audio check before hitting the record button. This allows you to become aware of extraneous sounds like the air conditioner hum, traffic noise, etc. You can then take corrective action by changing the seating position of the subject, closing the window, etc.

# 2. Make sure that the mike is placed correctly
You should go through the recording manual carefully to know the distance at which a microphone should be placed. There are times when you may have to hold the microphone in your hand. You must practice how to hold the microphone. A shaky hand can affect audio quality besides distracting the subject.

In case of a wireless microphone, you should do a test check to make sure that the audio is not getting distorted by labored breathing. If it is, you need to change the position of the wireless mike. Instead of the top button, the mike can be clipped lower down.

You also need to decide where to place to attach the battery unit. Should it be clipped to the belt, slipped in the front coat pocket or placed in the back pocket? If the subject is a woman then what is the best place to clip the microphone and the battery unit.

These are elementary precautions but they go a long way in creating a good podcast.

# 3. Get your questions right
You should never make the mistake of going unprepared. The worst podcasts are those where the podcaster asks lengthy questions and the subject responds with cryptic “Yes” or “No” replies. Make sure, that your questions are not close ended.

You should also not put the subject on the defensive. A good practice is to let the subject settle down. So, the first few questions can be general interest questions that need no special effort to answer. These questions can be later deleted during editing. But they can make the subject unwind, and help him become comfortable.