How Do You Sound on Your Podcasts?

Podcasts and webinars are a great way to receive information and not interfere with your day. Those who are capable can listen to them and still get work done. However, here is my problem with them. Have you noticed that the majority of people who podcast or on webinars sound simply put, stupid? Yes I did just say that.

I cannot tell you how many podcasts I have listened to that I get so annoyed I just shut it off. I have even stopped listening to webinars that I have paid for because the people conducting them are horrible! Technology is a blessing, do not get me wrong. People’s abuse of how the technology is being used is beyond irritating.

From a marketing perspective a podcast is a great way to show prospective clients that you really do know what you are talking about. But what about those people that sound like they are talking to a class of Kindergarten kids during their podcast? Do you really think that is going to help your business? Is that really going to help how people perceive you or your company?

What about those people that pretend they are giving a keynote or a speech and have PowerPoint slides to accompany their webinar? Oh and don’t forget the preconceived questions that the host is clearly reading off of a sheet of paper! If you are going to blend the concepts of a speech with the technologies of a webinar, you need to make sure you are doing it right. Utilize the various forms of media for their strengths not just because it is the cheapest way you can come up with.

Webinars, podcasts, blogging, video blogs and any other means you can come up with all have their purpose and strengthens. Use them for that and only that—if you are qualified. Just like any other means of marketing or doing business, they can (and will hurt you) just as much as they can help you.

Great examples of this are radio disc jockeys and TV anchors. Believe it or not, those are not jobs that just anyone can do. You have to have a certain voice to be on the radio and you have to know how to control it as well. Television anchors have to have the looks and be able to multitask. They need to take cues from the production team, read prompts (without looking like they are) and be in the moment all at the same time. These are two very different breeds of people and rarely will you see one doing the other.

This being said, take cues and learn tricks from these professions before you do anymore podcasting, webinars or video blogs! You can learn a lot from them.  Learning to speak properly is also a good idea.