Podcasting

How to be a Good Podcast Host – A Conversation with Elaine Appleton Part 1What makes a good podcast host? That’s a question many of us ask!  What gives a Podcast its “hostiness” and makes you want to come back for more again & again?“There’s almost nothing about hosting and really by implication producing and that, that quality – I did not coin the term ‘hostiness,’ that comes from I believe PRX many years ago – but it’s, it’s this ineffable quality that makes us go ‘oh, I love listening to Ira Glass,’ or Jad Abumrad of Radio Lab, or Anna Sale, or Brené Brown, or whoever we connect with, and different people obviously connect with different hosts. But what is that makes us connect?”– Elaine Appleton GrantMy next guest has actually been on this podcast before. She’s an award-winning journalist, audio producer, and on-air talent who worked for three NPR affiliates before founding Podcast Allies, LLC in 2019. She hosts the podcast Sound Judgment, a master study in great podcast hosting, and I’m certainly honored to have her here. In fact, you might have heard her review of this podcast read out on a recent show. Her show features today’s best hosts, and producers, including Glynn Washington, host of Snap Judgment, John Barth, founding producer of Marketplace, Ann Bogel of What Should I Read Next, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs of Last Day. Her production company, Podcast Allies, develops narrative and conversation podcasts for social impact organizations, such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the American Academy of Pediatrics, so her background in audio is pretty extensive.Her name is Elaine Appleton Grant, and I’m looking forward to getting her take on what she feels makes a good podcast and a great host. With all the interesting people she’s interviewed, she’s bound to have a very informed opinion.The Voice of GodAs we start the episode off, the discussion turns straight to podcasting, its storytelling strengths, and the powerful role it plays in audio branding. We talk about her work with John Barth, developer of the famous Moth Radio Hour, and Elaine and I discuss audio trends in everything from television commercials to movie trailers, and how modern audiences have outgrown the classic “voice of God” Hollywood voice-overs. As Elaine puts it, “it’s like the end of the newscaster voice.”Ways to Get AttentionOur conversation continues with a look at how multi-tasking and our always-on-the-go lifestyle have changed the tone and purpose of advertising. “We’re all trying to find ways to get attention,” she says. “There are effective ways, there are good ways, there are ways with integrity, and there are ways that you and I might argue are less so.” We talk about how this very podcast got its start and the audio trends, both good and not-so-good, that helped inspire its focus on sonic branding.Episode SummaryDefining audio branding and its relationship to commercial podcastingMarketing, movie trailers, and the new advertising rule of “show, don’t tell”How a lifestyle podcast paved the way for The Hidden Gem of MarketingThe early days of Sound Judgment and how Elaine defines “hostiness”Podcasting’s unique ability to foster a relationship between host and listener and how to be a good podcast hostStay tuned next week as Elaine and I talk about the challenges companies face as they enter the podcasting world, as we hone in on the secret of hostiness and how it empowers the host, guest, and listeners alike, and how a more diverse voice industry has helped transform advertising.Connect with the GuestWebsite: https://www.podcastallies.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/elaine.a.grant/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appletongrant/Twitter: https://twitter.com/elaineagrantConnect with the Audio Branding PodcastBook your project with Voice Overs and Vocals: https://voiceoversandvocals.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/JodiKrangleAudio Branding Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVOLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/Leave a written review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding or leave a spoken review at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/talktome/ (Thank you!)Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategyhttps://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/Editing/Production by Humberto Franco – https://humbertofranco.com/This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.