Have You Heard Yourself? Basics of Making a Podcast Better

Everyone hates the sound of their own voice. As a matter of fact, cringing at the sound of your own voice is so widespread that it has its own name: “voice confrontation”. It’s important to listen to your episodes before publishing them because sound is the basic component for making a podcast. If your audience hears too much noise or heavy breathing sounds, they will drift away.

Have you ever had someone breathing in your ears? Isn’t it horrifying? You’d be amazed at how many podcasts have that, because they thought putting it out “raw” and “uncut” would make it genuine. Majority of podcast listeners hear every sound through their headphones. Imagine hearing someone’s every breath directly into your ear canal.

Yep, you should cringe, and your audience will switch off in seconds if they hear it directly in their headphones. Listen whilst you record, it helps you keep track of those sounds as well as who’s too loud or too quiet. Invest in a nice pair of headphones; no, they don’t have to be studio-quality, just a good pair that plays sound clearly. The ones that came with your phone should suffice. Also, if you hear too much of heavy breathing in your episodes, it’s time to invest in pop filter, they’re around £7 on amazon and worth every penny.

While listening to your episode always think are there moments that you can cut because they don’t come across well? Are there moments of arrogance, heated or even flat conversations, and too much swearing in the recording? Is the episode not easy or fun to listen to? What can you do to improve it? Scribble notes, cut those

It can be a little tricky, but it is extremely important to listen back to yourself during the editing process carefully. Don’t forget to edit out the unflattering parts before you hit ‘publish’.