Podcasting guide

If you are struggling with audio quality issues due to your surroundings, try:

• Closing windows and curtains to block out and dampen external noise.
• Moving mobile phones (or cordless house phones) away from your recording space.
• If possible, moving your recording device (laptop, iPad, etc) into a smaller room, ideally one with carpets and/or curtains. Some people have great success in recording audio from within an open wardrobe! These spaces are great at limiting noise and reducing the echo which occurs when sound bounces off flat surfaces.
• If you can't move, try placing clothes horses with sheets or blankets draped over them around your recording space.
• Turn off Bluetooth on your laptop (some older hardware can cause a slight hiss/buzz on recordings).
• Always use the windshield (the small fuzzy piece of foam) on the end of your microphone.

• Think about the structure of your podcast before you begin. This will keep it on track and relevant, and hopefully avoid waffle. Will it have an introduction and conclusion? Asking your audience to consider a question or reflect on a topic can also improve engagement.
• Storytelling and having guest speakers are also excellent ways to improve engagement with your audience.
• Reading line-by-line from a script can often appear artificial/stilted and sound like you are reading from a page. It's much better to have a simple list of bullet points. This will allow an amount of improvisation and your delivery will sound much more natural.
• For episodic podcasts, a theme tune and a fixed-length format is a useful way to build consistency.
• Consider recording standing up. Using your hands and being 'freer' will often lead to a more dynamic and energetic delivery.

Intro and outro music can help make your podcast more appealing to listen to and sound more professional when edited together.

When searching for music online, there will be lots of "free music" sites to choose from. However, you must always check the site's usage policies to ensure you have the relevant rights to use their music.

Some sites will prohibit you from using their music in podcasts, even though they allow usage in advertising and vlogs. This information can usually be found on a site's FAQ or "Licensing" page. 

SilvermanSoundStudios and PurplePlanet both allow their music to be used in podcasts and are a good place to start when looking for your theme. It's worth keeping a screenshot or PDF of their usage policy for your own records when downloading a track.

You must also ensure that you credit the creators. Most sites will include notes on how to properly credit them in your podcast. If they don't, it's best practice to verbally include the artist's name, track title and website at the end of your podcast, as well as written in the media description on MediaSpace.