Everyone that you meet has a favorite podcast that they listen to. This form of audio has been around for almost a decade but has recently been more noticed in the mainstream due to its popularity with celebrities and influencers. About every famous person you know has a podcast, you can’t blame them, who doesn't want to make money off of an hour-long conversation with their friends?

What’s more important about making a podcast though is the process behind getting started. It ultimately makes you a better person, your social skills can increase in a fast amount of time depending on how many episodes you record and you’re getting familiar with other people’s points of view.

As a listener to a podcast, think about why you enjoy the podcast that you listen to so much. Is it the way how someone talks or is it about what they’re actually talking about? You can start a podcast within any genre and you can talk about absolutely whatever you want. People gravitate towards this streaming service because they see it as an easy opportunity to bring some sort of value to the world.

For many, podcasts have helped people to find their purpose in life, people are now recognizing how impactful their voices can be. In the times that we’re in now, it’s easy to listen to a podcast whenever you want, especially with the amount of time we have to spend inside the house or alone.

Podcasts are great to listen to when going on a walk because of the shutdown of gyms or they’re even great to listen to when making food at home because of all of your favorite restaurants being closed. Starting a podcast is easy but just like any other hobby or side hustle it has its challenges, these challenges will only make you a better person in the future.

Learning to Build Something From Scratch

Ok so you want to start on this fun hobby, where do you begin? Well, it’s as easy as putting on some headphones and recording conversations with yourself or a group of friends. As you may assume that it is this easy, you are going to have to put in a little more effort to get your podcast to sound the way that you want it to.

There’s stuff like finding a service that will distribute your recordings to major platforms, finding the right microphones to make your audio sound clear, and learning how to edit the audio as well. This is where your process begins, just like that a podcast is teaching you many life lessons, with the first being how to build something from scratch.

So, what do you do in a situation like this where you may be intimidated to start one? Doing your research in advance is always helpful, and it’s something that you will have to do if you want to get your podcast up and running. Even when you think that you have everything ready and you know exactly what to do, there’s always something new to learn when it comes to recording.

You may want to start recording a video for your episodes or figure out ways to add sound effects while you’re recording. This a lesson that you should apply to your life when learning about anything. Never stop learning because there is always more to know, knowledge is power and that’s something that nobody can argue with. This knowledge doesn’t have to come strictly from school or old books you find in the library but from experience.

“Experience is always the best teacher,” use this quote when trying to figure what you want to learn next in your life.

Using Communication to Its Advantage

If you never had an excuse to talk to your friends enough, then starting a podcast is a great one to use. As the pandemic took its course earlier this year, my friends and I were not able to hang out every Thursday like we used to. We did have a group chat but of course, that could never replace real human interaction and everyday conversation. Months went on and we started to talk less and less, starting a podcast allowed me to influence them to hop on the phone and have deep conversations like we used to.

Use the opportunity to start a podcast in 2020 to your advantage, you will be able to talk to your friends more often and special guest without making it too awkward. If you are not a good communicator then starting a podcast is a way where you can become better at it.

Talking to different people weekly will help you to become a better conversationalist and communicate things in a more efficient way. Having more one on one conversation in your life will help you to be the communicative person that you desire to be.

You will also become more comfortable with networking. There will be a time where you’re listening to a podcast and may hear something that you want to add to your episodes. This will require you to watch more tutorial videos than usual or simply asking somebody who is more experienced for help.

Networking is an essential skill to have, especially in 2020 where we’re not able to meet everyone that we want to in person. Building trust in somebody can be accomplished over the phone or through the internet, use your process of creating a podcast to help you with that.

Having to Think About What You’re Going To Say

As free-flowing as podcasts may seem, there is a level of respect that you have to have in what you say. You never know who’s listening so you have to be careful of saying things that you don’t truly mean. Of course, you can speak your mind but it’s also good to have a censor for your words.

This is teaching you to be considerate when speaking, no matter who you’re talking to, you should show empathy towards that person. Even if this person is angry with you, try to empathize with them before you say something that you regret. Being someone who is respectful about others while speaking will instantly get respect back, how would you want someone to speak to you?

Doing a podcast episode every week is a good way to practice your speech, you can try phrases that you’ve always wanted to say and make jokes that you don’t usually make. As long as you’re not intentionally trying to hurt someone who may be listening, your free to say whatever you want.

Being honest on a podcast is important too, listeners love hearing someone that they know open up about their mistakes and their experiences. If you’re telling a story on your podcast, keep it as real as possible, don’t try to add in details that didn’t happen just to make the story sound better.

Do your research on people who sound truthful in interviews or other podcasts, study how they speak and what you can do to make your words sound better, but most importantly don’t forget to be yourself!

This is a hobby that you can start at any time, start now so that you’re not too behind in the future. Don’t do your podcast only for the financial benefits but do it for the experience and life lessons that it has to teach you. I’ll leave you with a quote from James Schramko that says

“Don’t bore people. Don’t worry too much about replicating someone else’s formula. Be original with the way you podcast.”