Interview with Clare Liggins about her experience of creating a podcast

N.B. This interview was conducted via email

Tell me about the podcast you have created

I wanted to create a podcast that talked about costing in research data management. The University have recently procured a new costing tool and I was approached by a member of the project team to see if we were doing any events where they could promote the tool. When planning for Love Data week started, I thought this topic would fit. I started planning a session to talk about costing and as the planning progressed, more people became involved. We decided we wanted to create more of a conversation than just information delivery so the podcast was set up in that style, with me giving the point of view of funders and the Library, someone from the Research Finance office, the project member for the costing tool, someone from Research IT and the RDM strategic lead. It was good to have so many angles represented.

Why did you want to make a podcast?

The idea came from MRE. I was talking about the logistics of developing a session, and they suggested a podcast. The more I looked into it, the more it seemed like a good approach. It was a good way of facilitating a conversational style, and it would also create a resource that could be kept for future use and have a wider reach.

How did you go about developing this? Who was involved?

Nicola Grayson, who suggested it in the first place, suggested I speak to the student team, as they would be able to handle the technical side, such as recording and editing. I got in touch with Traceyanne, who had approached me about being involved in a session and she was keen for the podcast. She contacted Iffat from Research Finance and we had an initial meeting to discuss the direction and focus of conversation. I contacted Mary from Research IT, and Bill — RDM Strategic Lead, who were all keen to be involved. We shared a brief outline of what we planned to cover from our points of view and I agreed to steer the conversation.

Were there any technical obstacles and if so how did you overcome these?

The only technical obstacles were finding a time when everyone was available, and a time when the equipment was available. The editing also took a while as the student team became fairly thin on the ground due to recent circumstances.

How did you feel about making a podcast?

I found the process a little scary but mainly exciting and stimulating. While we were recording, everyone relaxed into it fairly quickly and it was a pretty comfortable environment with low pressure levels. I think knowing it could all be edited helped. It also gave me inspiration for things we could do in the future with this medium.

How did you overcome anxiety/nerves? Did you discuss these feelings with colleagues?

Yes, we all had an open conversation before we started and everyone was a little nervous but not a great deal. It was more about what to expect. It was a lot less nerve-racking than standing up in front of a room full of people.

How did you feel after the podcast?

I felt really pleased with how it had gone and inspired to do more with it. It has been a shame the editing process took so long but if we could develop these skills within our own team we could more control over this. If the process could be tighter, I now have many ideas about how to develop it further. The process was fun and easy to manage and there is a lot that we could do with it. I am a bit nervous about listening to it back though — I think we all felt that!

What advice would you give to anyone considering making a podcast?

Relax with it and keep it informal and comfortable. It works better if you can enjoy it. Prepare what you’re going to say, as much as you need to but don’t worry too much about the conversation moving in different directions, as long as you keep it to the point. Use the student team as they were great but they don’t have endless time to spend on editing so if you can learn how to do that yourself the process will be quicker. Don’t let the content get too dry and don’t worry about it being extra smooth. If there is anything you can laugh at in there it will be more relatable. Keep the conversation fairly tight, try not to ramble about a subject, although I fear we may have done just that!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Clare!