How to Script, Record, and Edit a Professional Business Podcast From Scratch
Executive Summary:
Even if you’re not a sound engineer, you can produce a podcast that sounds polished and professional. This guide covers the full production cycle—from scripting to editing.
This learning zone guide looks at:
Okay, let’s get started !
Step 1: Write a Compelling Script or Outline
Never forget that people want stories, and a logical approach to narrative flow will pay dividends. As we learnt in another learning zone guide you need to consider what your objective is, and endeavour to understand the interests and motivations of your audience “personas”.
Imagining you’ve done that, lets look at how to structure the podcast itself.
Start with a hook: a question, stat, or story.
You’ve got to reel your listener or viewer in and hook them with something that keeps them there to consume your message. Here are some common ones:
- A Question
Do you think a question is a good way to kick off a podcast?
See what I did there!? But seriously, a question gets people, well, questioning things and is a cheap trick for engagement. - Statistics
96% of people that listen go onto buy your service after listening to your podcast
In your dreams perhaps, but a statistic is always good as it lends a certain gravitas and credibility to what you;re saying. - A Story
“Back in 1973, Ernst Van Hoofdorp of Utrecht University in the Netherlands pioneered podcasting. Let’s take a look at where he started this media juggernaut and where it’s going to take us, and how you can get onboard and benefit from the journey.”
The above is demonstrable nonsense, but spinning a yarn is a great way to get the audience hooked, and you can use a story as a parable and do a switcheroo into your core message, Perhaps you offer podcasting services like ACrew4U for example!
Structure your episode with intro, main content, and outro.
Any good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Make sure your podcast flow does too. No one wants to sit through an amphorous stream of consciousness. Well, it’s unlikely for a business podcast at any rate!
Use bullet points for flexibility during recording.
It’s an idea to record bits of the story of self contained “snippets” akin to bullet point lists.
This means if you decide after recording “the fable of the donkey that learnt code”, it can be moved to before or after the lived experience of Martha the opinion leader, if you thbink it works better that way.
Step 2: Record With Clarity and Confidence
Choose a quiet space and use a quality mic.
(Crash!), it goes without (car horn) saying that (airplane passing overhead) that the microphone (slamming door) picks up more than (mobile phone ringtone) your selective hearing does. (echoing of room)…
So, do yourself a big big favour and use a proper directional mic, do a sound test, dont use a room where you can’t turn the aircon off, or pull down the blinds if you’re doing a video podcast.
Chances are, your podcast will be long form speech, so you can’t get away with duff audio. People will simply switch off.
A Studio is often a wise investment
Bearing the above in mind. It can be a lot more efficient to invest in hiring a studio. You should make sure it’s soundproofed though.
Trying to record lots of audio in your cheap yet noisy office or meeting room is more than often a false economy. Plus, everyone in the office is going to hate your guts if you’re shusshing them when they’re just doing their jobs.
Speak naturally—avoid reading word-for-word.
Read this sentence out loud. Notice how long it takes to make things sound clear.
Break things up, allow yourself and the script to breathe.
And-dont-try-to-read-it-out-or-speak-too-fast-it-makes-you-sound-like-a-robot-and-is-awful-to-listen-to.
Breathe!
Record in WAV or high-quality MP3 format.
Record using a format that is easy to edit afterwards, and please make sure each person speaking has their own microphone and channel.
Ensure you do a sound check on everyone and someone needs to monitor audio levels as if the audio is too feint, you can turn it up in edit but it will sound awful and audio levels that are too high (also known as “peaking”) are almost impossible to make sound good. Even with all the processing tools on earth.
Same logic applies to video podcasts. All the above audio rules apply, plus you need to ensure that cameras are framed well and that there is not too little or too much light (under or over exposure. And do your poor listener a favour, don’t just rely on a single camera or angle for a podcast with more than one person. And if you do go multi camera, make sure you set cameras up so the video has a matching look.
Or,get the professionals in to take the technical strain.
A production partner (like ACrew4U, if we may be so bold) can help you cover all the above stuff, and then some.
That leaves you free to concentrate on the actual content of your podcast and saves you audio recording 101. Even then, it pays to bear in mind technical constraints, especially when you have to explain things to a participant.
Step 3: Edit for Flow and Polish
When you listen to or watch a podcast, radio show or video, chances are it will have lots of touches that give it a bit of shine.
This is just a mark of respect to your audience. Do them (and yourself) a favour and make it easy on the ear or eyes by…
Removing filler words
Err, the, err, umms and aaahs, long ——— pauses, and (police siren) background noise.
Add music, transitions, and sound effects sparingly.
Unless it’s actually a science fiction story, leave the whizz bangs and zaps to the Star Wars people.
Use tools like Descript for AI-powered editing or Audacity for manual control.
If you’re prepared to put the time, effort and practice ( and did all the aforementioned stuff) there is nothing to stop you editing like a whizz.
There are some super clever and intuitive edit tools out there.
On the other hand, if editing audio and video is something you have neither the time or the inclination to do…
Call in the professionals to edit your podcast
A “proper” audio or video editor is worth their weight in gold. They know all the tricks and ruses, and it’s a great idea to get them involved BEFORE you record the content.
They can look at the script or flow and suggest extra stuff to record that could make the difference between something flat and dull or something altogether more interesting and polished.
It’s a great idea to actively listen to some radio shows, podcasts and watch some video podcasts if applicable.
You’d be amazed at how many edits and little bits have been finissed when you listen carefully.
Step 4: Finalize and Export
Providing you recorded well, and edited well this bit ought to be a slam-dunk but you need to ensure that what we will call your Transmission Master file (TX master) cuts the mustard with your distribution platform or platforms of choice.
Here are some things to make sure are done properly:
Normalize audio levels and compress files for streaming.
You need to ensure the audio level of the podcast is more or less consistent, and you will need to deliver a file of a size and format your platform can ingest. That will probably mean you need to compress or transcode your audio file and almost certainly do the same for any video content.
Tag metadata (title, episode number, description).
It pays to look at winning podcasts and look at how they are listed on platforms. This stuff is called metadata and is all the titles, summaries and tags you see on spotify et-al.
You’ll need to spend some time doing this to maximise reach. Good metadata is as important as good audio or video as people need to be able to find you via a text based catalogue.
Upload to your hosting platform.
If you did your homework on the two earlier points, this will be a home-run. So get your head around deliverable specs well ahead of uploading. And if you cannot be bothered to, find someone to do it for you.
Conclusion
With the right tools and workflow, you can produce episodes that sound like they came from a studio—without the studio price tag.
Lots of people delude themselves into thinking that being all “creative” and free-flowing is all you need to make good content.
It’s not all about the big picture, it’s also dependent on following a logical flow and taking care of those seemingly trivial technical details. Tip-they’re not trivial.
This could not be further from the truth! It’s as much an industrial and technical process as any other. So, be organised and structured and you’ll make your life easier and, crucially, your podcast a lot more effective.
And if you do want to keep focussing on the big picture, bring in the professionals (may I humbly suggest ACrew4U?) and they will make sure discipline, rigour and technical details are oberved so you produce a podcast that people will want to enjoy.
Want to know more about podcasting or ACrew4U?
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Want to learn more about Podcasting?
- How to Launch a Business Podcast That Builds Your Brand
- How to Script, Record, and Edit a Professional Business Podcast
- How to Grow Your Business Podcast Audience
- How to Monetize Your Business Podcast
- How to use your Business Podcast for Thought Leadership
Find even more resources at our Podcast Learning Zone
