How to create an effective podcast
Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th May 2021, 9.30am-13:00pm, Held remotely over Zoom
Podcasting is one of the fastest-growing means of communication for universities, be it a recorded series of lectures, a snapshot of research, or an advertisement to attract new students and/ or funding. There is no doubt podcasts are one of the most accessible “windows” through which to view your university, and your podcasts should reflect the quality of your institution.
What strikes one about university podcasts is that although the production quality is important, it is the communication skills of the podcaster, and his or her ability to tell a good story, that makes it effective. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to communicating effectively with podcasts to a wide variety of audiences. With MPI’s wide experiencing in broadcasting, and training at 38 British universities in the past 10 years, we are ideally placed to fill that gap.
Technical capabilities vary from university to university, while our course enables you to get the best out of whatever technical expertise or resources you may have. We help you to pitch your podcast correctly to the target audience, to organise your thoughts and consider the best ways to present them. We will give you the skills to present the podcast in a talk format, and the interviewing skills to make an interview/conversation style podcast.
All participants will have the opportunity to practise both formats, an audio/video straight talk and an on-camera interview.
The workshop does not offer training in technical skills (recording and editing a podcast) because facilities differ from university to university, but the trainers supply the participants with a list of useful ‘how to’ links.
The Objectives
The course enables participants
- to communicate effectively in their podcasts
- to pitch their podcasts correctly to the intended audience
- to choose the best format for their podcast
The Learning Outcomes
- To understand the challenges of attracting online audiences
- to be able to pitch a podcast correctly to the intended audience, including non-specialist ones
- to know how to tell a good story in a podcast
- to know how to plan, structure and present a podcast
- to know how to interview colleagues for a podcast
- to be able to record a podcast in both straight talk and interview formats
Some feedback quotes from previous workshops:
“Absolutely everything was excellent and very useful. I thought the way the structure and content along with the way the questions have to be set was very useful, and transferable to lecturing or language lessons delivery”. Irina Nelson, Lecturer, Modern Languages, Southampton University
“I had such a great time at the workshop… I wanted to thank you for a really enjoyable and informative day” Dr Alex Lloyd, Lecturer in German, Magdalen and St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Very good – lots of useful information- trainers very perceptive in analysis and offering ideas and suggestions for improvements. Helen Adams, Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford
Bookings will close on Wednesday 5th May at 12pm. The workshop is limited to 12 attendees and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Participants are expected to attend both sessions.