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The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcast Tips, and Podcast Community
E636 - Don't Let Anyone Think That You Are Unsure, How to Avoid UpSpeak as a Podcaster
00:25:20
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- [00:00]
A
Okay, we're rolling. Hey, welcome back to the how to Podcast series. It's Dave with you. Hope you're doing well. We're going to be talking today about clarity on the microphone. This is part of our behind the Mic series. We'll add this to a playlist that we have on YouTube where we have episodes specifically for you to help you behind the Mic, as aptly named, so that you can be a little more effective and a little bit the clarity of what you do and the connection you have through your voice in an audio format without video. And now you can connect with your audience better by learning how to use this microphone and how to use your voice. And yeah, this is part of this little series we're doing. So we keep adding to this and if you're ever interested, just go to YouTube how to podcast and you will find our playlist. Best way to get there, go to howtopodcast.ca Links will take you right to our channel. Simple, right? Good. We're gonna be talking today about upspeak. We've mentioned it in the past, and if you're new here, welcome to the show. Glad to have you here. We want to talk about upspeak and how it can at times kind of disqualify you as a thought leader, as a teacher, as an authority on your topic. Because when you use up speak, and we'll get a little more about what it is, but as you use this in your content on the microphone, it gives off an air of you potentially not really sure of yourself, sure of your topic, sure of your information, and almost like you're questioning if you should be the one talking about this in the moment. It. It builds in a little bit of reaction from your audience that you can't control. And it might seem harmless to you, but there's an impact on your audience and how they view you as a content creator when you use upspeak. So let's get into this. It's not meant to be judgmental. It's meant to be helpful. And I'm glad you're here. We're going to talk about upspeak here on the how to Podcast series. One of our Canadian exports is Mike Myers. You know him from all of the great movies, right? Austin Powers. And on and on and on and on. And yeah, he is. He's one of our Canadian people, right? We. We love him up here in Canada. And he talks about that here in Canada. We basically kind of have our own version of Up Speak as Canadians. And hearing him explain it, I'm like, well, yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. So there's. There's people that I know in Minnesota that also kind of sound like how Mike is going to explain this to us. So it's funny because they're. They kind of fall into this as well. So this is Mike Myers talking about the Canadian rise that we have in our voice and how we use it, because we use it very uniquely here in Canada. And as I hear him explain it, I'm like, yep, that sounds right. And you've probably heard me use it here on the show because I'm Canadian, and maybe this is my default setting. But here's Mike explaining it a little bit more. Here's Mike Myers.
- [03:26]
B
You know, Canadians have this rise at the end, so every statement sounds like a question. So even if it's snowing, obviously they'll go, it's snowing. I've got an amazing cable access show, and I still know how to party. And it's kind of like. It's called. Linguistically, it's called the Canadian Rise, which is, I'm gonna talk. I'm gonna talk. Then it goes down, and that means it's your turn to talk. So it's like, the other day a guy came up to me, and he was really mad. Now it's your turn to talk. Cause I went down. And that's the accent for Wayne.
- [03:57]
A
So there you go. That's how Wayne Campbell. Nice last name, right? Wayne Campbell, got his voice and character from Canadian speech. That Canadian rise, so upspeak, has many different forms. And as I've been researching it and talking with podcasters and coaching podcasters around their presence on the microphone, what I find is that when we use up speak a lot, it. Like I've mentioned in the beginning, it feels like it's almost a verbal eraser. For any form of confidence in your topic being the authority, being the person with, you know, listen to me. Here's what I've learned. Here's what I know, here's what I'm teaching. It creates a space for people to question whether or not you know what you're talking about. Because when you go up in your voice at the end of a sentence, it doesn't. It doesn't land. You're. You're. It doesn't land. It doesn't. It doesn't come to a natural conclusion. It opens the door for. For not really feeling or giving off the impression that you are completely aware or sure of what you're saying. That's kind of the. The. The the feeling. And now this is not just for one specific gender. I hear this in all different types of podcasters, men and women. This is, this is not specific to any certain group of people by any means. And it's interesting because when I, when I point it out with people and I'm helping to, to get them some more clarity on the microphone, sometimes I get some pretty significant pushback where people say to me, well, that's just how I am. That's how I always talk. I always do that. I'll never change. I like who I am. And kind of a how dare you moment, right, that I point this out. The thing about this, though, is, yes, you can just kind of default this to your. This is how you speak, and you'll never change. But I think we're all on this journey of getting better and improving how we present ourselves, how we show up, and anything we can do to be better for the sake of the audience. Right? Put yourself into the seat of the audience member and how are they reacting to your voice? You might not see this as a big deal, but your audience member might. So if it's enough for people like Mike Myers to be talking about it. And I'm going to play some more for you others that have been teaching about upspeaking and the impact to your content and to your audience, there wouldn't be people talking about this if it wasn't something that's worth bringing up and putting in front of you. So let's talk about it a little bit more. Here's another person talking more about up speak.
- [07:00]
C
Then I use, as you said, uptalk. So good morning. I'm so happy to be here. And what the brain does when it hears the an accidental question flexion. It's called a question flexion. So my name is Vanessa. I'm here to talk about body language. When you hear me accidentally use a question flexion, your brain goes from listening to scrutinizing. The reason for this is because liars often accidentally use the question inflection because they're asking, do you believe this?
- [07:30]
A
So did you hear yourself? Did you hear someone else that you know and love that has that good morning that kind of ring to their voice? And they go up like that. It just, I just did it. I just did it myself up like that, right? That rise at the end of your, at the end of what you say, it's so it can become something that just you. You default to and you don't even think about it anymore. And what I, what I really want to Point out here is that on the microphone, when we're trying to make a point, when we're trying to convey a message, the last thing we want to do is leave that message open to interpretation by our audience where we sound unsure about what we're saying. They don't know how to receive it. And it creates this. This gap that needs to be filled. It's a question that needs to be answered. Even though we're not asking a question, when we go up at the end of our sentence, it just creates this need to resolve. In music, we. We resolve our songs, our chords, so that there's a conclusion. It doesn't. We don't let it sit. We always resolve the chord so it'd be like, you know, songs like da da da da, right? And as an ending, that last. But when we go like, da da da, that kind of like, wait, what if we don't resolve it? We don't complete the music. That's kind of what's happening with this upspeak. So here's a little bit more comments around upspeak.
- [09:11]
D
I ended every sentence on a high pitch. I've been studying communication for the last 10 years, and I'm certain that I'm going to be able to help you solve all of your communication problems, a very common thing we do here in Australia. So if I end my sentences on a lower pitch, watch what happens. I've been teaching communication now for the last 10 years, and I'm certain I'm going to be able to help you solve all of your communication issues. What a crazy difference. And that's just the ending pitch. If you're not aware and you keep ending on a higher pitch like this, then everyone's going to question your authority. And often we do this in Australia out of a beautiful place because we want to be humble. But I clearly learned something in America that always ended on a lower pitch. We are the best at what we do, even when they're not. But again, they say with such conviction, you believe them. Make sure you end on a lower pitch.
- [09:59]
A
One of the quickest ways to undermine your authority, speaking on the microphone or in public, is to end with that upspeak. To end sentences with an upward pitch like you're asking a question instead of like you're asking a question. That simple rise in your voice at the end of your statement. It can make even the most confident ideas seem uncertain, a little tentative, like you're not really sure. And listeners might actually tune out, wondering if you're delivering answers or just guessing like, you didn't do any work to get ready for this talk. You didn't do any work to prepare for this podcast episode. You're just kind of hoping that when I get on the microphone that my voice will come through and you'll get understand what I'm trying to say. And it's just it. After a while you start to go, wait a minute, does this person even know what they're talking about? So I got three practical ways for you to come to combat this. Up speak as a podcaster, and the first is to script out. Even if you don't read from a script, but script out your endings with periods and not question marks. If you want to be clear on the microphone and connect with your audience without giving questions and you want to give statements, then script out an outline with a clear period, endings at the end of your thoughts, and even like a little arrow down to remind yourself to go down instead of up. Write it out. This might help you. When you see a question mark, let your voice lift naturally. But for statements, commit to a downward pitch drop at the end and practice reading out loud. So before, this would be your up speak. Today we're talking about podcast growth, right? Instead, with authority. Today we're going to be talking about podcast growth, right? Can you. Can you hear it? I'm telling you what we're going to do. I'm not guessing. It's not coming across like, this is kind of like, I hope we're going to get to talk about podcast growth. And you're. My voice is up higher again, right? Like this. No, Today we're going to be talking about podcast growth. It's a complete thought. Beginning, middle, and end. Upspeak is not a complete thought. It feels like it's an unresolved question. Mark your notes with this downward arrow after key statements as a visual cue for you. If you read from a script and record short test segments and listen back, train your ear to catch that trailing lift that you've been doing in the past. So script out your endings and actually give yourself some notes so that you're aware that you're going to go down at the end of the sentence instead of going up like you might naturally do. That's the first one, Scripture endings. Second one is anchor your delivery with breath and posture. Upspeak often stems from shallow breathing and sometimes for some of us, nervous tension, right? Like we, we're not professionals on the microphone. This is all brand new for all of us, so we can't just assume that we all have Radio training. And we know how to breathe on the microphone. We know how to do all this. It's something that takes time. A deep belly breath before your sentences. And exhaling fully on the final words is really going to help you. You can stand or sit tall, shoulders back, when we slouch and make ourselves smaller, like our torso, it compresses your vocal energy and you don't have as much room for those breaths. And place your hand on your chest during your practice and feel it drop as you're. As you land your statements firmly, you'll actually feel it with your hand on your chest. That deep breath that you have will serve you well. Because what I do notice is when the people I work with in podcasting, they'll start their sentence with a nice strong volume to their voice with a good breath. But as their breath runs low, they get quieter and they pull back from the mic and they end up at the end of their sentence, almost just mumbling where it's almost incoherent because they've run out of air. So you want to make sure that your. Your sentences are reflective of the amount of breath that you have. So don't be doing paragraph on a breath. It's not a marathon. Break your statements up into smaller statements, smaller sentences. Have your breath and breathe deeply. Not in your throat, but you'll feel it in your chest again, hand on your chest, you'll actually feel it. So anchor your delivery with breath and posture. And then the third part that's going to help you with this up speak is to practice with intentional contrast and get feedback. So I want you to practice giving yourself some intentional contrast just so you can feel it and you're more aware of it. So give yourself three definitive statements with a strong down inflection and then follow it up with an actually a real question where you're going to go up and you're going to actually use up speak in the proper way and then end with a command like a cta, like, subscribe now. So you can say, here's my three. This is the how to Podcast series, where we teach podcasters how to be better on the microphone. At the how to Podcast series, we have a meetup group and we meet twice a week and we help podcasters through community. That was number two. Number three at the how to Podcast series, we don't just teach podcasting. We walk with you and help you with your show. So if you want to make money with your podcast, reach out to us at how to Podcast ca. That was three all of them went down in my inflection at the end of the sentence and then follow up with a real question. So if you've been asking yourself like, how do I. How do I grow my show? And you're like, dave, what's the best way for me to get more listeners for my podcast? I really don't know how to do this. Can you help me? Can you help me? Did you hear it? Help me. I went up and then follow it with a Command or a CTA. Go to HowToPodcast CA. Everything you need is there for you to start and grow your podcast. See you at howtopodcast ca. Record 60 second reads like that. Play back immediately and score yourself at 1 to 10 on authority. Aim for variety. Monotone is as bad as upspeak. And then share your clips with a trusted peer for blind feedback, like, did I sound sure of myself? And then over time, your default becomes more more sure of yourself. It's you sound more committed to what you're talking about, less scattered and less unsure. So keep that in mind. The key takeaway here is upspeak. I think from my perspective as a listener of your show, over time can help, can actually erode trust. Firm endings build trust. Upspeak removes trust over time. So commit to periods. Your voice at the end of your sentences instead of question marks, your message will land with clarity and you will command attention. When you have control over your microphone and control over your voice and don't give people the opportunity to question, do you really know what you're talking about? Upspeak is not your friend on a consistent basis. You have to know how to use it, where to use it, and it's not going to be something that you use in every sentence. So use it well. Use it sparingly and for the right reasons. Upspeak can serve you well, but not if you're using it too much. Hey, it's Dave. Thank you for sticking around to the end. This is where we do our call to action or pathway to engagement, as I like to call it. And here's what's interesting. I've been doing this podcast for years now, hosting meetups, helping podcasters, editing for people, doing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. And I, when we have people who follow the show, reach out to me and say, dave, guess what? I'm like, what? They said, I just hired my first consultant. I'm going to go work with them and help me with my podcast. And I kind of go, wait a minute, you what? They're like yeah, Yeah, I found a podcast consultant and they're gonna help me with my show. It's hard to pretend to be happy. Why? Because I want to work with you. I like. Wait a minute, like Dave, you know the guy Dave who's been doing the how to Podcast series and eight other podcasts, and the guy that's been with you the whole time, and we've done meetups, we've done time together, we've spent time together. And you've hired somebody else. Now maybe I'm not your person. That's okay. I'm totally fine with that. By the way, keep coming back. I love having you here, but if you're like, well, I didn't hire you because you don't have anything like that, do you? And I do, and I have been for a long time. And I don't talk about it enough, apparently, because people are going to other people looking for things that Dave does. So in the spirit of Dave and in the spirit of making better connections with you, I do have personal coaching in podcasting. I have podcast community. I have all of the resources, I have all of the background, the history in podcasting and the love for you as a fellow podcaster. If you're looking for a podcast coach, somebody who can walk with you, somebody who cares about you, someone who is your challenger, your cheerleader, and your coach. Because even though I've said on the show you can't be all three, I think I am. And I want to help you. So. HowtoPodcast ca, please, before you go searching anywhere else, come to where we started and where we met first. Right here. I'd love to help you. HowToPodcast ca come, reach out to me. I wanna talk to you. Thanks. Hey, you're still here. Awesome. Okay, so here's a question I get often they're like, dave, we listen to the show, love the show, great show, thanks. Thanks. By the way. But we would love to know what kind of coaching you do, because we're trying to figure out who we're gonna go work with for our podcast. We want to grow, we want to start, and there's so many people out there that coach, and we want to make sure we pick the right person. So here's my. My kind of. My rule of thumb, I guess you could say, around selecting your next coach for anything podcast related or whatever, is to pick somebody who's already invested in you first. They've. They've given you free content, they've given you their time, they've given you themselves as Someone that you are following, you're listening to. You're listening to this right now. Go with somebody who's given first before you commit to anything. Because I finding a lot of people signing up with people they don't know keep paying a boatload of money and then not having a great experience. So keep that in mind. Go with somebody who's invested in you first. That'd be the first thing I would put in front of you as a consideration for your consideration. You decide. But that's the one thing I would say. I work with podcasters all the time and help them with starting their show. One of the things I love doing is helping podcasters get to their first 10 episodes, where we work together over like 10 weeks, for example, an episode every week. And I will help with editing. I'll help with getting you set up on all the podcast players. I'll help you with launching your show, creating your trailer, helping you with your artwork, getting you on all the hosting sites, all the different player apps. I'll help you with all those things. I love doing that. It's really, really fun. So that's some of the stuff I do. I can help you on the microphone to gain some confidence. There's a lot of different things that we can do together. And happy to help you with that. Again, I don't, I don't promote as often as I should, according to some people. They're like, Dave, why don't you talk about this more? I want, I want this podcast to always be free. I want the resources here to not be behind a paywall. I don't want to. To hide content from you. So these episodes are always free. And I don't have ads. And you, even though I've had people want to be on the show and advertise to you, I've said no. I want to keep this free and ad free as well. But yes, I do help podcasters and I love doing it. It's just, it's like the highlight of my week to spend some time with people like you and help you with your questions, help you with your confidence, help you with the tech side. Whatever you need, I'd love to be there for you. So. So please reach out anytime. HowToPodcast ca. There's a calendar link right there. It's always on my website. 30 minutes, you and I can get together, talk about your hopes and dreams for your podcast, your frustrations, and let's see what we can do together. Happy to do this. And I have coaching programs as well where we can work together over a period of time. Some paid options. If you're interested in paying for coaching, all of that is available as well. But yeah, the calendar is always there for you on the website. I'd love to talk to you anytime. So let's meet. I don't I'm not going to put you into a cookie cutter bucket where you want coaching. And while you go in this bucket, let's create our own bucket, you and I, where you can decide what you want and we can figure this out together. Happy to help. HowToPodcast CA thanks for listening. Keep coming back, keep podcasting.