In advance of our recorded conversation, we want to give you some context to enable you to prepare for our chat – or at the least very, to know what to expect.
An Overview of the Show
The whole purpose of our podcast is to bring together the many folks that make up our wonderful community in greater Philadelphia to share and learn from each other.
It will certainly help create an exciting and engaging conversation if you have some time to ponder our questions before we speak.
We expect that our overall conversation will last about 60 minutes – most of which will be our recorded chat. That will give us time to chit-chat, talk through the call process and then to dig into our conversation. We’ll then debrief a bit after we’ve stopped recording. Again, we’re aiming for a 25-45 minute podcast.
What to Bring to Our Call
When we record our call, we’ll do so using a video call on Riverside.fm, which is like Zoom but more geared for podcasts. While our conversation will be video and audio recorded, we will only publish the audio as part of the podcast. We’ll chat over video to enable ourselves to get to know each other better, and to give ourselves the benefit of visual cues.
Computer
Given the way that our recording systems works, we cannot record podcasts on mobile phones or tablets. Our guests will need to be on a computer (laptop or desktop is fine). Where possible, it would be great if that computer could be plugged into the router via an ethernet cable, although WiFi will certainly work in most instances.
Headphones
To ensure that our sound quality is as good we can we get it (and don’t worry, we’re not purists), we ask that you please use headphones during our call. Without headphones, we often run into echo and feedback loop issues.
Microphone
If you have a recording microphone, we ask that you use that as well during our call. If you don’t have one, that’s okay too. The mic on most computers can fill in if needed.
If you plan on using a earbuds with a mic, we ask that you pay particular attention to the location of the mic. We’ve noticed that earbud mics have a tendency to click when brushed against sweatshirts, hoodies, and other heavier weight garments. (We will often ask you to not use the mic on your earbuds, especially if the earbuds are corded.)
Web Browser
Our podcast recording platform, Riverside.fm, works in Chrome and Edge. Please make sure that you have either of those browsers installed and running on your computer before our recording session.
Dress code
Frankly, it doesn’t matter. We’re only publishing the audio as part of this podcast, so please wear whatever is comfortable. The hosts will be wearing whatever they have on that day. Casual attire is very acceptable.
Beverages
As we’ll be talking for almost an hour, it’s best to have a beverage or two on hand. Depending on the time of day, we invite you to have coffee, tea, juice, water, beer or something stronger close by.
Computer and Phone Notifications
Please silence all computer and phone notifications. The little pings in the background of a conversation can be very disruptive to the listening experience. Consider closing your email and turning off all notifications for the duration of the podcast recording session.
A Note about Pets
While we love animals, we recommend that you may want to place your cats, dogs, rabbits, and other pets in another room while we record our conversation.
How We’ll Record
We use Riverside.fm to record the podcast. The link for the Riverside.fm call will be in the calendar invite that you receive from us. Again, we only use the audio recording for the podcast.
To improve your connection (and get the clearest call possible), please:
- Have Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge installed and running on your computer.
- Pause Dropbox and other cloud syncing services.
- Connect via ethernet right into the modem or router if you can.
- Restart the computer and click on the Riverside.fm link in the calendar invite right before our call.
Publishing Your Conversation
We’re recording our conversations before we expect to publish them as podcasts. As such, we don’t yet have a specific date when your conversation will be released online. As podcasts go, we like to be flexible in our publication schedule. That said, we are publishing new episodes every other Friday. Your episode will be worked into our publication schedule in a way that we think best for our listeners.
On the day that your episode goes live, we will email you a link to that show, along with the episode artwork. We invite to you to share your episode as widely as you can once it is live.
Being on a Podcast
For many of our guests, our show is the first time that they have ever been a guest on a podcast. That’s great! We’re excited to be their first step into this great medium.
Before the Show
- Listen to a few recent episodes. This will help give you a sense of the show, its tone, pace, and focus.
- Think about the sort of questions that you’re likely to be asked. Consider how you’ll answer those. Think about trends, big issues, and common concerns for your industry or area of professional focus. To help you prepare, we will share the questions in advance of our recording session.
During the Show
- Speak clearly and a bit more slowly that you might do in person. Keep in mind that most folks listen to podcasts while doing something else like exercising, responding to emails, cooking, etc.
- Emphasize and re-iterate key points, again, keeping in mind that the audience is likely multi-tasking as they listen to the show.
- Keep your answers short and focused. This will allow the hosts to ask deeper questions.
- A podcast is a conversation and audiences tend to prefer when there is back and forth between hosts and guests.
After the Show
- If requested by the hosts, don’t mention on social media you’ve recorded an upcoming episode.
- After the episode has been published, do share the episode widely on social media and via email. You can include it in newsletters, blog posts, and individual emails to friends and colleagues.
Questions
If you have any questions or concerns about the above, or about your upcoming episode, please contact Liam on 610-590-0130 or liam@lbdesign.tv.