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The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcast Tips, and Podcast Community
E633 - How To Ship Your Pants - How Enunciation Can Save Your Podcast
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Okay, we're rolling. Hey, welcome back to the how to Podcast series. Dave with you. Hope you're doing well. I want to talk to you about how you talk on the mic. This is going to be part of our behind the Mic series, which you can find a bunch of, like, episodes together on our YouTube channel under a playlist called behind the Mic. And it's just things that we can do as podcasters to be better on the microphone, improve our skills. A lot of us are doing this for the first time. We've never done this before. So we're pulling together episodes to help you be better on the mic, better connection with your audience. And the one thing that we need to do as podcasters is to enunciate and to speak clearly. How do you know if you're speaking clearly or not? Pull a transcript of your latest episode and look at your words. Look at how you pronounce people's names and places, commonly misspelled words, and how you do what you do. And look at the transcript. Look at the ums, look at the ahs, look at the. The filler words that you do, but also look at the clarity of the transcript. Well, these transcription services will pull exactly what you said and how you said it. So. So understanding that your enunciation and how you say the words that come out of your mouth can really give you some pause and reflection on maybe how you can improve. A simple little trick you can do right from the beginning. Grab a pen. A pen that's on your desk. Hopefully it's your pen, not someone else's pen. Grab a pen and stick it between your teeth. So it's long ways. Not like you're pretending you're smoking, but a long ways across your mouth and. And then speak and then try to talk. I'm gonna do this. I'm putting the pen in my mouth right now, and I'm gonna say something like, welcome to the how to Podcast series. Here we go. Welcome to the how to Podcast series. There you go. So that was with my pen in my mouth, which is now wet. I'm gonna have to clean that. By doing things like that, you're going to use different parts of the muscles around your mouth that you don't normally use. And if you have a thick accent from different countries, this is also a great way to train your mouth on how to pronounce English spoken words. And it's going to help you to be a little more clearer on the mic. Big thing in all of this. Slow down, slow down. When you talk, the Faster you go, the more incoherent you sound, and the more anxiety goes up for your listeners. So just, if anything, as we talk about enunciating on the mic, just slow down. If your audience finds you too slow, they can always speed you up on their device as a listener, and that's always an option. But it's better to speak slower and clearer and enunciate your words, because if you don't, somebody might think you're saying something that you're not. And there was a funny commercial that came out years ago from Kmart, and it was all about the. The option of being able to buy in store and have the products shipped to your house. And the way they did the commercial made me laugh, and I had to go look on YouTube and find it. But, yeah, it's. It's pretty hilarious. Here's the commercial, and I want you to understand they're saying, S H, I, P. Ship. Not another word that sounds like that. S H, I, P. Ship. Here's the commercial. Hope you enjoy. Make sure you enunciate. Okay, here we go. Ship my pants right here. Ship my pants. You're kidding. You can ship your pants right here. You hear that? I can ship my pants for free. Wow. I just may ship my pants. Yeah, ship your pants, Billy. You can ship your pants, too. I can't wait to ship my pants, Dad. I just shipped my pants. And it's very convenient. Very convenient. I just ship my drawers. I just shipped my nightie. I just shipped my bed. Enunciation matters, because I'm just waiting to see what my transcript is going to be for this episode. Ship S H I P is what they were saying, just in case you're wondering. And I have this. I love that commercial. And it just proves that annunciation really matters. You want to be clearer about what the words that you're saying, and so they translate to your audience. One thing I notice in podcasting is some podcasters, they mumble a lot. Some podcasters will start strong with their voice. And now the longer they talk, the quieter they get. And then they just kind of fade away and start mumbling. And you're at the end of their sentence, you have no idea what they're saying because they've just trailed off, and you're like, I. I don't know what it is you just said on the microphone. We're trying to get our message across clearly. We're trying to reach an audience. We're trying to grow our audience. And anytime that we make our voices and our message Unclear. It usually comes from how we speak on the microphone. And again, we haven't gone to school for this. For the most part. Most of us have never had a radio background. Most of us have never been in front of a microphone as much as we are as podcasters. So we're learning this. It's all net new for us. So practice is your. Your favorite thing. Practice is going to help you. Getting feedback is also a great idea. Happy to help you with that as well. And if you ever just want to get together on Zoom and just talk about this and maybe get some feedback on your speaking style and you just want to get some tips, I'm happy to help. Happy to listen. I'm happy to encourage you over at howtopodcast CA Proper enunciation is one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools that a podcaster has in their toolkit. Many creators spend hours refining their content, upgrading their equipment, spending money on promoting their episodes, trying to get new listeners learning editing techniques. But far fewer actually pay attention to how clearly they are speaking on the microphone. The reality is simple. Listeners don't stop tuning out because your ideas lack value. They stop because they can't easily follow what you're saying, and they get lost in the words that are coming through their earbuds from you. When somebody presses play on your podcast, they they're often multitasking. They're doing something else. And I think a lot of podcasters lose sight of this. We for that our audience isn't super focused on what we're saying and not doing anything but just listening to us intently. No, they're usually doing something else. You're probably doing something else right now. They might be driving, exercising, or working. In these moments, your voice needs to carry your message, and it has to be effortlessly carried. If your words are rushed, mumbled, or blurred together even slightly, it creates friction, and people tune out. That friction forces your listener to work harder to understand you. And in a world full of endless content choices and distractions, most people won't make that effort for long. They'll leave your show. So if you want to grow your show, be better on the microphone. Clear enunciation is, at its core, a form of respect for your audience. I think it signals that you care about the experience that your listener has, and you want your message to land without confusion. When your speech is crisp and intentional, your ideas become more accessible. On the other hand, when your delivery is unclear, even the most insightful content can feel distant or difficult to engage with. For your audience, there's a lot of wrestling they're doing behind the scenes just to make sense of what you're saying on your podcast. There's also a strong connection between the clarity of your voice and the credibility of what you're saying. I think podcasters often struggle with confidence, especially in the early stages when you're first starting out. And it's partly because of port enunciation, which can unintentionally actually reinforce the uncertainty that you are feeling. It comes out through your words and it confirms for the listener that you might not know what you're saying. And that brings in imposter syndrome and so much other stuff. When words are swallowed or rushed, it can make you sound unsure of yourself and unsure of your content. Like you don't sound like a leader. You don't sound like you know your topic, even if you're the most knowledgeable person in the room. Speaking clearly, however, I think projects a confidence and it actually sustains your authority as you get on the mic and do your podcast. It helps to position you as someone worth listening to when there's so many other options. Why you Regardless of how long you've been behind the microphone, proper enunciation is going to help your show be better. I think listener retention is another area where enunciation plays a critical role. Podcasts are filled with moments where a single word or a phrase carries significant meaning for your audience. And if that moment is missed because it's not clearly delivered, the listener loses part of the story or the message. It doesn't resonate with them, doesn't connect with them. And over time, these small breakdowns, they add up. And a listener who has to rewind multiple times, or pause or back up a little bit or guess at what was just said. They might simply choose to move on to another show. It's really important for us to recognize that audio quality is not just about your microphone or your editing software. It's your voice. It's the primary instrument of your podcast. It's the most important thing your show. Even if you're doing video, your voice is the primary instrument of your podcast. Even the best equipment cannot compensate for unclear speech. A high end setup paired with poor enunciation will still result in a frustrating listening experience. A disengaged audience, while a modest setup with clear delivery can actually feel engaging and professional. It's not about the tech, it's about your instrument and how you use it properly. So use it properly. Enunciate. The good news in all of this is enunciation is is a skill that can be improved with awareness and Practice. Small little adjustments can actually make a big difference for you as a podcaster. Simply slowing down your speech allows words to form more clearly. You won't be tripping over your own words. Being intentional about pronouncing the ends of words helps to prevent them from blending all together. Give the words their proper space. Use your words properly. Taking a few minutes to warm up your voice before recording can actually improve your clarity as well and help you with your control. And recording short little test clips and listening back with a focus on your articulation can also help reveal little habits that you may not notice in the moment. And getting feedback on your on your voice and how you speak is also very helpful. As a podcaster, your message deserves to be heard. Your message deserves to be understood. And many podcasters already question whether they are experienced enough or knowledgeable enough to share their voice. When you have poor enunciation, it can become an unnecessary barrier that prevents your ideas from connecting with your listeners. And by focusing on clear speech, you remove that barrier and give your content the best chance to resonate. If your audience has to work to understand you, they won't stay. If you're trying to say ship my pants, then say ship my pants. And don't forget the P on the end of ship. Enunciate. When you speak with clarity and intention, you make it easier for your listeners to engage with you, to trust you, and to keep coming back. Speak clearly. Take your time. If you find you're stumbling over your words, slow down, practice, get feedback and throw the pen in your mouth. And try speaking with a pen in your mouth. Clench between your teeth. Develop your voice, Develop the muscles in your mouth and don't mumble. Be clear. Get your message out. Take your time and don't be rushed. Let your words have every syllable. Don't chop off the ends of words. And be careful in how you speak because your message is worth hearing and worth connecting with. So give your words the space they deserve. You can do this. I got faith in you. Go enunciate. Use every single letter and syllable and consonant. Use it right and your audience is going to love it because they'll hear you clearly and they'll connect with you and your voice. Need help? Reach out anytime. Love to help you. Thanks for listening. So I get asked quite often, usually at the end of a podcast, like right now. Dave, how can we help you? Like, how can we, as a listener, like, support the show? Can we come rake your leaves? Can we cut the grass? Shovel the snow? Watch your dog help you move what can we do? Clean your dishes. Oh, that'd be interesting. Well, if you don't, if you can't do that because you know you're in Poland, maybe you can help us by supporting us with our Buy Me a Coffee. It's right there on our website. And you know, it just will help us to a stay fueled because, you know, we drink a lot of coffee around here and it helps the show. So if you want to help us, it's out of the goodness of your heart. I can tell you that listening to the podcast to this point, you've already helped us so much. But I do have people saying, dave, I'd love to, to give back something small, even just to the show. Buy Me a Coffee link is on our website at howtapodcast ca and you can support the show that way. It would mean a lot to have you on our team supporting what we do here. If you find value in the show, then that's great. Share the show, tell somebody about it. And when somebody says, dave, I want to start a podcast, who should I check out? Oh, you should go check out the how to Podcast series because of all the great co hosts and all the things that happen here, the meetups, everything. And I would appreciate that. And then fill her a cup once in a while if you can. But again, thank you so much for being here and supporting the how to Podcast series. Take care. Talk soon. You're still here. Good. Okay, so question came in, Dave. I want to be a guest on podcasts. I don't have money to hire an actual PR agent who's going to go find me places to be a guest on podcasts. What's another alternative? I have a little bit of money to do every month, but I don't have a. A ton. And I want to meet other podcasters. Simple answer would be Pod Match. Why? Because it's a dating site for podcasters. It's a great place for people like me who are podcasters to find people like you who want to be a guest. And for a small monthly fee, you can be, you can sign up, you can be part of the Pod Match. They've got great tools for you as a guest. They've got coaching, they've got classes. They. You have a way of rating the shows you've been a guest on, and the guest, the host, can rate you as well. Those are reviews about you, which then you could take and post to your website. And there's a lot of great advantages to joining the Pod Match family. So if you want to join. There's a link in the show notes in this episode. It's not going to make a lot of sense to everybody else because they're not here to hear this part, but, you know, because you stuck around. So thanks. But yeah, that's my link for Pod Match. If you decide to join, great. And you use my link. Thank you. It'll make a little bit of money from Pod Match for giving you that link. So thank you. If you have any questions about Pod Match, let me know. I can help you. And they're very helpful as well. So podmatch.com if you want to be a guest, you want to get in front of great podcasts, go try Pod Match. It's great. I love it. Great people there as well. Thanks for being here. Talk soon.