Our latest show (this time about podcasting), and new episodes about characters

Greetings!

I recently launched a new show called the Solo Podcasting Handbook. Why this... show?

I love solo podcasting (you might notice by the types of shows StereoForest puts out), but it can be a challenge. A challenge I enjoy, yup, but it's still hard! There’s no co-host or guests to banter with, and the pressure is 100% on you to come up with the ideas, write the scripts, and perform them (while not burning out).

I wanted to make a show specifically about the systems I use to handle that workload and keep the creative lights on. Because I find systems really fun (!) and a lot of people find them kinda overwhelming to figure out. So we’re going to talk about scripting, performance, podfade and... SYSTEMS. Yay.

Will I be talking about spreadsheets? No. Well, probably no. But if yes, it won't be often.

New episode: Writing Solo Scripts

You have written a script for your podcast. And then you record that episode and you end up sounding kind of like a bot reading a textbook or something. Or, it just doesn't come out as you expect.

Doing that can really kind of break the connection or even break the trust that you have between you and the audience. The science behind this is called "modality mismatch." Your listener's brain is wired to expect conversational speech style, but is hearing what they expect when a book is being read out loud.

So here is the system I use to stop sounding like this (I hope!)

Dictate your notes first A lot of people just do not write how they talk. For example: I am not going to write "gonna" in a written article, but I use it a lot in podcasts. If you are used to writing essays and your scripts are the same, try dictating the first draft, or the notes for the draft, using a voice to text tool.

Use signposts In the studies these are called discourse markers. They signal the structure of your episode. You are basically getting inside the audience person's head, but hopefully in a good way. You tell them what is coming next to help their active working memory because the human working memory is pretty limited.

Format for the performer If you have a "wall of ear text," you are going to hit your listener's overload. Format your script to reduce your own cognitive load. Use spacing that helps you scan and process text quickly. Use bold and italics for anchor words. This formatting frees up your brain to focus on sounding like you, like a human.

You can listen to or watch the full breakdown in the first episode of the Solo Podcasting Handbook. Links to tools and resources in the description and show notes.