In Part two of this podcast we talk with Elaine Appleton Grant about How to be a Good Podcast Host and what Hostiness means.
“And that is also something you asked before about common problems with new podcasters, and this is true of companies and organizations. They can be very large, very well-funded organizations, it doesn’t really matter. They’ll say ‘we want to have a podcast.’ Well, why do you want to have a podcast? ‘Well, because everybody has a podcast’ or ‘because we want to get our message across well.’ That’s not a podcast, that’s an ad. Go buy ads on somebody else’s time. Or they simply don’t really know. They think it would be a good vehicle, but they don’t really know, and, um, and therefore it’s very hard to make it succeed.” — Elaine Appleton Grant
This episode’s the second half of my interview with award-winning journalist, audio producer, and Sound Judgment host Elaine Appleton Grant, as we talk about the challenge of building an effective audio brand from scratch, how an increasingly diverse audio industry has helped give more people a voice than before, and our experiences with Twitter alternatives Mastodon and Post.
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Way More than Music
The second half of our interview begins with a look at Elaine’s experiences with large companies that try to follow the trends and enter the podcasting space without entirely understanding their goal or reason for wanting a podcast. “They think it would be a good vehicle,” she explains, “but they don’t really know, and therefore it’s very hard to make it succeed.” We talk about audio branding and the holistic approach it requires: as she puts it, “it’s way more than the music, that’s just a tiny piece of it.” The discussion turns to how a bad strategy can end up being worse than no strategy, and the lessons we’ve both learned over our years in the voiceover and voice production industries.
Voices That Speak to Us
Our discussion turns back to the question of hostiness and just what it is that brings some hosts to life for their audience, and Elaine shares her thoughts on the sense of safety and trust that forms the foundation of a successful podcast, no matter the topic. “The quality,” she says, “the need to build that relationship appears to be universal.” We talk about our increasingly young and diverse population and how more people than ever before are being represented in podcasting, advertising, and other forms of mass media. “More and more,” she explains, “we want to hear voices that speak to us.”
Getting a Fresh Perspective
As the interview comes to a close, Elaine tells us about an NPR study on just why people listen to podcasting and streaming audio, and how, while the number one reason is multi-tasking, a close second is getting a fresh perspective. We discuss what that means, and how much voiceover representation has improved since our careers began, As she says, “there’s a sense of ‘I’m in the community with you,’ that we’re a part of and I feel seen, that someone understands who I am. They sound like me. They talk about what I’m interested in. That was, just, it gives me chills to think about it.”
Episode Summary
- The challenges large companies can face when trying to build an audio brand
- What hostiness really means and what audiences value most in a podcast
- How a more diverse audio industry is helping more people feel seen than before
- The importance of empathy and humanity when it comes to podcasting
Connect with the Guest
Website: https://www.podcastallies.com
Follow Elaine Appleton Grant on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elaine.a.grant/
Connect with Elaine Appleton Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appletongrant/
Follow Elaine Appleton Grant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/elaineagrant
Listen to Elaine’s Podcast, Sound Judgement. You’ll be glad you did!
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This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.
