Why would you turn-off a podcast?
I saw an interesting question in one of the podcast Facebook groups I am part of. “What are the things that make you turn off a podcast”. Apparently, we all know very well what we do not want to hear because there were almost 300 answers to this post.
So what are the reasons why these 300 people would turn off a podcast because as a podcaster you would want to know this? So you can improve, change and adapt. especially if you think you are doing any of these things that the listeners are mentioning. I have gone through all the comments and have grouped a few together as they relate to each other.
Top 10 of turn-offs to turn off a podcast:
1. By far the most mentioned comment was about poor audio quality. Volume levels that are all over the place, podcasts recorded on a phone or computer speaker.
For more information about creating awesome sound, I refer to my earlier blog posts about equipment and the room you record in. Suffice it to say; get a good dynamic microphone and pay attention to the space you record in.
2. Rambling (that exact word was used a lot), talking about the same points for an extended amount of time, no show prep, uninformed content, not getting to the meaning of an episode in the first 5 minutes.
Ramblings can happen if you are not properly prepared. If you haven’t done your research. You don’t have to write down a whole script but make a list with bullet points so you can stay on target and create an informed, structured and clear episode.
3. Just chatting, no meaningful content.
There is a reason why people are listening to a podcast. Usually, it is to get information or to learn something. Sure there is a market for funny/chatty podcasts but they all need to have some sort of meaning, a subject, a goal, a point they want to make. Chatting without providing anything valuable is not what your audience is looking for in a podcast.
4. Too long Intro
The attention span of people is short and if your intro is longer than a minute or so there is a chance that people turn off your podcast. As with everything on the internet, make it fast, simple, clear, and to the point.
5. A host that tries too hard, is not genuine. Self-righteousness and smugness, full of themselves, preachy, or too many inside jokes between hosts that leave listeners feel left out.
It all comes back to why you want to create a podcast. You want to help, teach, inform, etc. You are doing this for you, but also for your audience. Sure you are the expert on the subject you are speaking of in your podcast but stay grounded, be factful, and tactful. Treat your audience the same way you want to be treated. Be inviting, kind and respectful.
6. Advertisement, too much self-promotion
Most people don’t mind an ad at the beginning of the show, one that they can skip if they want to. But if you start your podcast with self-recorded advertisements that last too long you will lose the interest of your audience really quickly. As with a lot of things, moderation is the key. You can self-promote but keep it brief, to the point and move on to super informative content.
7. Monotone voices, dry delivery, no personality, clearly trying to be someone else, low energy, boring, too scripted
These are not at all the qualities you want from a podcast host. It is hard to keep the enthusiasm going if you are in a rut with content creation, or if you yourself are not feeling well. Honesty is the key here. If you are feeling unwell but still have an important point to make and want to record a podcast episode, be honest with your audience and tell them the truth. Or let them know via social media that you are taking a break for a while to get better. They will understand that a lot better than pushing on and losing them for good. And if you are just starting out and you are not sure if your delivery is right, if you are unsure if there is enough spunk, get some trusted people to listen to your podcast and ask them for their honest opinion and tell them you will not judge them for giving you a possible critical answer. Take their criticism to heart and try and change your podcast before you continue publishing episodes that are not of the quality that they should be.
8. Unfocussed interviews, bad interviewing skills, constant interruption of guests
We come back to preparation. Before you have a guest on your show you need to prepare, you also need to prepare your guest. Tell them what to expect. You need to prepare a list of questions and send these questions (when possible) before the recording date to the guest so they can prepare as well. Contain your enthusiasm, criticism, or your point of view and let your guest speak without interruption, show respect and thank them for being on your show.
9. Lots of uhms and ahhs, mouth clicks, and saliva. Using a lot of filler words; Like/Right/Stuff/You know etc
The uhms and ahhs can be diminished a lot by preparation. You are more confident if you are prepared. If you know what you are going to say. Take regular sips of water to get rid of the mouth clicks and overproducing saliva. As for the filler words, it is hard to stop saying them, you need to first be aware that you even say them. And in the heat of the moment when you are on a roll, it is difficult to remember to listen to your own words and adjust. A solution can be to wear a rubber band around your wrist and every time you say -often used filler words- you snap the band, unconsciously you start to regard these words as bad words. However, most of the above mentioned can be taken out in post-production which brings us to number 10.
10. Unedited shows with zero audio post-production
If you have or want a podcast to support your business you must treat your podcast as a business as well. To publish an unedited podcast episode with uhms and ahhs, false starts, and overuse of filler words it will make it sound unprofessional and in some ways difficult to listen to. A podcast episode must stand like a house, with solid transitions from intro to segment to outro. If you feel that editing is not your thing make sure you hire an editor, or even better, hire me as your podcast manager. Not only will I edit your episodes, but I will also assist and give you advice when necessary so you can focus on creating amazing content, and together we will produce a podcast with good quality sound, informative, to the point, and thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.
I am not mentioning the comments about hosts making fun of their audience, racist remarks, hate talk, profanity, yelling, cursing, because to me it is self-evident that these are a no-go at all times.
Most of the above-mentioned points are easily taken care of by preparation, post-production, and common sense. You are probably putting a lot of work and effort into creating a podcast, hopefully, you do it for fun but also with a business sense, perhaps to get more clients, make a bit of money with it via sponsors or advertisement. Don’t waste all that energy, time, and money spent and improve, adapt and get help. Do a public speaking course, practice a lot by doing different recordings, and perhaps even get a speech coach.
Podcasting is a wonderful way of communicating, so go and communicate, engage with your audience, create fantastic content and make an awesome podcast everyone would want to listen to.
