Make a Podcast Better With a Show Outline
Podcasters Can Make Production Quicker, Easier, & More Professional
Aug 11, 2009
In reality, there is still another task to accomplish before they unleash their podcast upon the masses. In order to make the production of a podcast quicker, easier, and more professional a podcaster will need to prepare an outline of their show.
With a show outline in hand during the recording phase they will be able to easily stay on track and avoid the possibility of rambling, losing their train of thought, or finding themselves at a lose for words.
A Podcast Show Outline Offers Many Benefits
A show outline will benefit all podcasts no matter how simple or how complicated they are. Creating a show outline will allow a podcaster to think about the content of each episode and to structure it in an organized manner. What music, if any, will be used during the podcast? In what order will topics be addressed? If a podcaster is lucky enough to have a sponsor, then when will their message be inserted?
Preparing an outline will force the podcaster to address all of these questions during pre-production, rather than leaving them for the production phase where they must be decided on the fly.
Creating a podcast show outline also holds a very nice side benefit. When it comes time to publish the podcast the show outline can be used to easily create show notes. This will make it easier for potential listeners to become familiar with the podcast's content, so that they can get an idea of what to expect when listening to the program.
How to Make a Podcast Show Outline
There are no templates for podcast show outlines, so a podcaster can just settle upon a format that they feel comfortable with. The only thing that they really have to keep in mind when writing their outline is that it has to adequately provide an overview of the podcast while also remaining simple enough for the podcaster to follow while recording.
When it comes time for a podcaster to make a podcast show outline of their own they may not know where to start. The following example is provided in order to give them some guidance.
My Podcast - Episode 2
- Intro music
- Opening monologue (who the podcaster is, what the podcast is about)
- Topic 1: Covering the important points about topic 1
- Topic 2: Pros and cons of topic 2
- Interlude: Music or sponsors message
- Topic 3: Highlights of topic 3
- Topic 4: Investigating the importance of topic 4
- Closing monologue
- Closing music
Experience and a Podcast Show Outline Make All the Difference
Even with an outline in hand a podcaster will still need to make some creative decisions during the recording phase. They may find that certain portions of their show outline require more time to address than they had anticipated or, conversely, that some material was covered much more quickly than they had imagined. They shouldn't be discouraged if their first few outlines aren't perfectly crafted.
As they record more podcasts their pre-production skills will improve and so will their show outlines. With that improvement they will find that creating a professional sounding podcast has gotten that much easier.
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