The 8 skills you'll master when you Podcast
Podcasts have the power to grow your business, nurture your community, boost your networking and have a very positive impact in your brand’s image. But did you know that the biggest impact will be on yourself? In this article, I’m breaking down the 8 skills that you’ll be able to master once you start your own Podcast!
Improvisation skills
Hosting or co-hosting will grow your exposure to both expected and unexpected scenarios. You may find yourself in a situation that you didn’t plan for, or that you don’t really know the outcome of! Podcasting gives you a platform to create, digress from a script, ask unplanned questions, ad lib or even think on the spot! It’s YOUR show, so give yourself permission to try new things, but remember that no one likes to listen to endless rambling, so be intentional about it! It may feel uncomfortable to experiment on the first episodes, but the more you do it, the easier it will be to recognize an opportunity to go off script!
A podcast can be the perfect platform to start dipping your toes into public speaking, moderating or being more comfortable presenting a project or idea. Many authors launch Podcasts to promote their books and to get comfortable getting their story out there!
Interpersonal skills
Today, a large percentage of professionals have trouble starting a conversation or just connecting to a total stranger due to social anxiety or lack of practice. But what if you had the ability to practice the skill, while being in control of the conversation, and in a topic that you’re comfortable talking about? That does sound more manageable, right?
Think about it like this: if you’re interviewing a guest once a month, you’ll have talked to 12 complete strangers by the end of the year! And in a year of a pandemic, practicing safe socialization is key to keep us healthy and sharp! Rather than inviting all of your friends and favorite people on the podcast, why not taking this project as an opportunity to broaden your circle of influence and to find common ground with complete strangers?
Interviewing and listening skills
Being a good interviewer means that you are a good listener too. Someone who is a good interviewer will be able to pick up the subtleties of an answer and connect that to their next point, whether that was part of a script or not. Bad interviewers just stick to their script, digress, or worse, don’t recognize a good story when they see one.
I guess what I’m trying to say is: you have to be curious about what your guest is saying, and for that, you have to be actually listening and being flexible about where the conversation will take you. Just like everything else, practice makes perfect, and a great way to do this is to keep the script with bullet points, instead of a full script, so that you’re still able to see the connecting points or potential questions.
Before you hit ‘record’ or ‘go live’, use prep time as a great opportunity to build a foundation of trust or rapport, with your guest, and get a taste of what type of guest they’ll be, what they’re doing right now that you wouldn’t have known through extensive research, or social media stalking. Again, pay attention to their body language (if you’re using video) or the emotion or passion in their voice. Look for signals and act accordingly!
Networking skills
To some, networking is a dreaded word, for others, it’s the art of meeting new people, schmoozing, or to connect with other peers. Years ago I, too, disliked the concept until I decided to shift my mindset from ‘being forced to meet random people’ to it being ‘an opportunity to discover what I have in common with this person, or what is something new that I can learn from them’ !
Remember this: ‘your network is your net worth’. The more people you know, the more lives you can impact, and the more opportunities you’ll have in the future. This is particularly true if you’re using your Podcast to network and warm up potential business leads, or to showcase how experienced you are in the industry!
Pitching skills
By hosting a Podcast you’re able to pitch multiple scenarios at the same time, and at a rate that you wouldn’t be able to do and test unless you had a sales team or all you did was pitch all day! If your Podcast had 1K unique downloads in a week and assuming that these were by 1K different people (and not replays) how else would you be able to pitch your message in such an intimate way?
When Podcasting, you’re able to pitch:
an agenda directly to listeners,
your influence in an indirect (or direct) way,
your skillset to a potential lead,
your services.
Technical skills
By hosting your own Podcast, you’ll learn mic technique, how to project your voice and how to breath and save your breath for a long read. These skills are extremely useful for any type of public speaking or presenting - and the best part is that you can learn these at your own pace within the comfort of your home.
You’ll grow your tech-savvyness and you’ll learn about the basics of sound (or video) and studio set-up, editing skills, marketing and promotion and what makes a catchy soundbite!
Project management skills
Managing a Podcast in the long term is one of Podcasters’ biggest struggles: whether you’re hosting a serialized or ongoing show, you’ll need to plan, manage your time and work on a release schedule, and in some cases, coordinate with podcast guests, editors or other team members!
It can feel overwhelming in the beginning, especially because of its many moving parts, but just like any other task, all you need is to put the right processes in place to succeed! I’ve put together a guide on how to streamline your Podcast, including the booking process, and our favorite tools to make it happen.
Read our How to streamline Podcast bookings article to maximize your time!