198 | Overcoming Mic Shyness: How to Sound More Confident on Your Podcast

[00:00:00] Ever feel like your mic knows you're nervous before you even hit record? Yep, we've been there. But what if I told you that confidence isn't something you're born with? It's something you build. Sound matters. Be heard. Welcome to the podcast where you get exclusive behind-the-scenes tips to make your own show sound truly spectacular. This is Podtastic Audio.

[00:00:33] What's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris and I love podcasting. I love creating podcasts. And this is why this show even exists. It's because my love of podcasting, I want to show you what I've done with podcasting so that you can make a better show for your own. Make an amazing podcast that you are proud of. And this is Podtastic Audio.

[00:01:00] All right, let's be real here. You know, podcasting can feel a little awkward at first. I mean, you know, you're sitting there, I'm sitting here, you're talking to a microphone, you know, maybe you're in a tricked out closet. Shout out to David Hooper in his tricked out closet. Maybe you're wondering, is anyone even listening to this thing? And you're like, hey, your voice? Well, maybe perhaps it's a little shaky. Maybe perhaps you're very nervous. You know, that's totally normal.

[00:01:27] When I first started podcasting and was it the summer of 2019. I was incredibly nervous. You can tell the shakiness in my voice. When I was on the microphone, I was like very, very nervous. I think maybe it didn't happen naturally. I think it took probably like maybe, I don't know, 5, 10, 20 episodes later, where I felt a little more comfortable on the microphone.

[00:01:52] Even then, I was just listening to an episode today that we did, you know, maybe back in, I think it was early 2020. And it's actually good for you to actually listen back to your older episodes because then you listen to them. You're like, oh my goodness. There are so many things I could do differently now that I didn't know back then. And I didn't have the confidence back then to do the things I could do now. And of course, I had different gear and things like that. But gear is only a small part of it all.

[00:02:20] What really makes a difference with a podcaster, what really makes a difference on a show is that you have a certain level of confidence when you make your podcast. But here's the deal. Confidence isn't something you're magically born with. Like nobody, you know, steps out day one and says, I am super confident. I can do anything and everything in front of everybody. No problemo for me. I'm going to go on stage. Give me the microphone. I'll talk to thousands, millions. No big deal.

[00:02:50] Nobody does that day one. You have to actually build the confidence that puts you at that level. It doesn't happen right away. And that's why on episode one or episode five, 10, even episode 20, it may sound a little different than your 500th episode. And I'm just talking about audio here. And if you want to add video into the mix, it's a whole nother level of confidence that you have to have if you want to be a content creator.

[00:03:20] But today I'm only talking about audio and today I'm only talking about audio podcasting. Now I know I make this look easy and I know I make solo episodes look like they're totally a breeze, easy peasy. But I never was like this at the beginning. I was a fumbling mess, totally fumbling mess. That's why I probably spent so many hours editing each episode after the fact.

[00:03:45] So today we're going to break down how to build that confidence, where it actually comes from, why nerves are totally okay, and what happens when you don't sound confident. Because, believe it or not, your audience can actually tell, especially and even with an audio-only podcast. So this episode is for all of the indie hobby podcasters out there. Maybe you are one of them.

[00:04:12] And whether you haven't even hit record on a single podcast episode yet, or you've got a few episodes out, but you still feel a little unsure behind the mic, this show is for you. Okay, so first things first, we're talking about confidence here. And you might wonder, where do people find confidence? Do you buy it at the store? Is it available at Amazon? Does Walmart sell confidence? Well, some would say confidence comes in the form of drugs or alcohol. But today we're not talking about that.

[00:04:42] We're not talking about artificial confidence. We're not talking about, what is it, the white man's dancing potion? No, we're not talking about that. We're talking about actual, real confidence. Now, the thing about confidence is that it isn't about being perfect. It's about doing. The more you do this, I'm talking the more you record audio podcasts, and the more you actually do solo episodes. I know a lot of podcasters, they love to do the interviews. That's great. That's fantastic.

[00:05:11] But I'm telling you, the more you actually do this, the easier it gets. You know, when I started, like I said earlier, I was overthinking every single word. I was thinking about how I was going to say it. What is it going to sound like on the microphone? How is it going to come out? And then I was also thinking, like, how can I edit this to make it better at the same time? So you're overthinking everything. I know I was. And I probably re-recorded my first episode maybe 10 times or at least edited a bunch.

[00:05:40] And I still hated it. Of course, we always hate the sound of our voice. We always hate the way we say things on the microphone. It's a nervous, just a fumbling mess. All in all, the first time you record, it's not good. It never is. So you really have to get past that first, like, oh my goodness, we're recording right now. Oh my goodness, it doesn't sound quite as I thought it would. You kind of have to get over that and just put in the reps. Practice, practice, practice.

[00:06:06] But if you keep going, if you keep doing this, if you get over those mental hurdles and you actually record and put something down and you get up and do the next one, you will eventually get better. And that is exactly what happened to me. I kept going episode after episode, show after show. And I remember the first time I did a solo episode on this podcast. The very first episode was solo. Most of the episodes here are solo episodes.

[00:06:35] And it was very, very hard. And I was so nervous. I kind of ran through things a little quickly. I didn't think about what I was saying. I just ran through it as quick as I could. And I do not think at that point, I did not have enough confidence as I do now. And that's the thing. Practice makes perfect. So the more you do it, the more confidence comes through. And confidence comes from showing up. And showing up comes from doing it over and over again. Not waiting until you're, quote, ready.

[00:07:04] Ready because honestly, you'll never feel 100% ready. No matter how many times you do this, you just got to hit record and go with it. But hey, I understand if you are nervous. Listen, I was really nervous. In fact, you know, would it surprise you that I still even to this day get a little nervous getting on the microphone, an interview show, being interviewed or interviewing somebody else, or even doing this solo show right here? I make it look easy. Yeah, I know. But there are times like even today, I'm actually nervous doing this. Surprise. I know.

[00:07:33] But having nerves is totally normal. You know, we all get them. I get them. You get them. But if we don't learn how to work through them, they can mess up how we sound. And what happens is that our voice will sometimes speed up or will stumble over our words, as I just did. Or you edit so much that your episode feels stiff and lifeless, like you're some kind of robot. Hey, I've been there.

[00:08:02] Trust me, man, a million times. But here's the thing. Nervous energy keeps the focus on you when it should be on them, your audience. That shift in mindset, it's a total game changer. Okay, so what actually happens when you do not sound confident on the microphone? We don't sound confident on your podcast. What do you think actually happens?

[00:08:29] Well, here's something a lot of podcasters don't even realize is that your audience, even though it's audio only, they can feel when you don't sound confident. If you sound unsure, if you're constantly apologizing for stuff like, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry we missed an episode. I'm sorry we didn't do this. I apologize. I'll apologize. Or keep saying things like, I don't know if this makes any sense. I mean, could you? Should you please? Maybe if you want to. I don't know.

[00:08:58] Maybe, you know, I don't know. Well, what happens when the listeners hear that kind of stuff? They will start to question themselves. What in the hell am I listening to this show for? They don't sound like I know what they're talking about. And then they turn off the podcast, hit unsubscribe, and you never hear from them again. And you wouldn't even know because when somebody unsubscribes your podcast, you have no idea. You don't have no idea at all, which is fine because I don't know. Can you imagine if you knew every single person that unsubscribed to your podcast

[00:09:28] and you saw them leave, they just disappeared, never to be found again. You saw who it was and you saw them actually leave your show. You'd probably be kind of discouraged. You probably wouldn't even continue podcasting. I know I probably wouldn't either. But back to confidence here. So confidence actually builds trust. Your audience is going to trust you even if they don't know you because you sound confident on the microphone. You know, even if you're still figuring things out, just in your own space behind the mic, believe in your message. Your audience will actually feel that.

[00:09:58] When they feel it, they trust you. And one thing about podcasting, especially like long form podcasting, which I think, you know, podcasting classic, I like to call it the audio form of podcasting does have a very high audience trust rating, I would say, versus let's say example of something short form like a YouTube shorts or TikTok thing or something like that, where somebody's swiping away, swiping away. And if you're here today, great. You're gone tomorrow. Yeah, whatever.

[00:10:27] There's a million other things right in front of their face. They can watch at that moment. With podcasting, you're kind of in the long game with you and your listener. Okay. So I know what you're thinking here. Chris, this sounds amazing. It sounds great. I get that. I probably have a confidence issue problem myself. Great. So how do we fix it? Well, let me tell you, there is some practical stuff that you can do right now to sound more confident on your podcast.

[00:10:53] And here are some things that have helped me and perhaps maybe, just maybe, they can work for you too. So the first thing you can do right now to help build more confidence with your podcast is warm up your voice before you hit record. Just talk maybe out loud for five, 10 minutes. Get the flow going. Maybe even do a few practice reps before you actually get the recording going. That's worked for me.

[00:11:19] I know on this show here is that I will actually test the equipment before I actually get recording here. I get everything set up. I talk into it, do a few lines. I run through a few things before I kind of get going with any actual content. So tip number one is to warm up your voice before you hit record. Moving on to tip number two, and that is record test runs that you do not plan to publish.

[00:11:48] Get comfortable hearing your own voice. Now there's this meme I saw running around social media. I don't know if it's still out there. I'm sure it is. There's this meme of this guy like bending over and totally throwing up. And the caption says, when you hear your own voice for the first time, when you hear your own voice, something like that. And I'm sure a lot of podcasters hate the sound of their voice, especially when they actually have to edit their own voice.

[00:12:16] And they record the podcast maybe without headphones. So they're not hearing themselves live. They just talk right into a microphone. So the only thing they hear is themselves as they naturally would without a microphone, without headphones, without anything else. Just their normal voice that we all hear when we all talk out in the regular world. And I think that you need to listen back to your voice and get comfortable with it.

[00:12:42] And the more you do that, the more test runs you do, the more practice podcasts you put together. It can be video. It can be audio. It can be whatever you want. You know, I'm talking audio here, but the more times you actually record your voice, listen back to it, tweak it around, get used to editing it, get used to where it sounds. It's going to help you build more confidence. And that is tip number two, record some test runs that you don't even plan to publish.

[00:13:09] Moving on to tip number three on how you can make your podcast sound a bit more confident, give yourself a little more confidence in your content, a little more confidence in your podcast. And that is to script out your intro. If you're starting strong, the rest usually flows. And I know that a lot of podcasters, I've been guilty of this myself, is that you will record this really killer intro and it'll be all set, ready to go.

[00:13:38] And you will keep that one intro and use it on every single podcast episode from there on out. It's set. It's ready to go. Your intro is killer. You nailed it because you spent so much time working on that intro. Take after take after take. And you got it nailed right. And you got it sounding right. It looks great. It sounds great. Perfect. Let's just use this over and over again. But the problem is you did that one time. That's great.

[00:14:03] But I think that if you were to do a fresh intro every single episode, and maybe what could help you is if you actually script out that intro. So you're not like off the cuff thinking like, what am I going to say on my intro? What is my intro? I fumbled it up, you know, and you lose the confidence. So if you have something in writing that you can just read right off the page and read it right into your podcast every single time, it might help you because, you know, we do get nervous and things do happen.

[00:14:31] And we do have, you know, this fear of screwing things up and our confidence level is, you know, really, really low, especially if you're trying to do this in front of a guest live. I could not tell you how many times I've seen this happen. You know, when we were doing the Chris and Christine show, we had a guest come on and the intro, I would have Christine do the intros because she was better at it than I was. And I would fumble it up and screw it up so bad because I didn't have anything written down. I kind of regret that now.

[00:15:01] And she didn't have a lot either, but she had a few little talking points. So she would enter the guest, but she would just say, this guest is such and such, such and such. I mean, kept it very, very short. But I know some people can do this long winded and they will read the entire LinkedIn bio of the guest's bio before they bring them on. And that I'm totally bored with. When we did, it was only like maybe one sentence, if even that. And then that's all it was.

[00:15:26] But when it comes to your show, introducing your show, maybe have it scripted down, have something written down that you can read off every single time. So, you know, and by the time you do this, like maybe 50 times already. And if it's the same thing every single time, you may not even need the script. Keep it there. It's like a safety net. So when you do read your podcast into your microphone from the script, you got something there to really kind of fall back on. And that was tip number three.

[00:15:54] Moving on to tip number four. This one is easier said than done, especially with video, because you can see it more on video versus an audio podcast. But you can still kind of tell an audio too. And that is if you are smiling while you're talking. In fact, I just did that right now. Could you tell? Maybe you could. Maybe you couldn't. But if you're smiling while you're talking, it actually can change your tone and make

[00:16:20] you more believable and more human and sound more realistic versus a monotone talking robot. I mean, you know, come on now, you know? I mean, that's the thing about AI these days. You got the AI voices and different AI things. Great. That's fun. I get it. Cool, man. But a lot of that stuff does not have a lot of personality. I mean, maybe some of them do. You could program some of that into it and everything. But we're talking about you here. We're talking about your podcast.

[00:16:46] We're talking about doing a regular, you know, audio podcast, talking right to a microphone all by yourself, maybe with a co-host. Maybe you got a guest coming on. Who knows? But if you're smiling, it will definitely boost your confidence on the podcast. And the listeners will actually hear that. Okay, moving on to tip number five to get you some confidence on your podcast. Now, this kind of goes into with tip number three, but it's something a little more extreme than just the intro.

[00:17:13] And I'm talking about if you prep a basic outline for your podcast and do not try to wing it. I mean, I used to wing it all the time. I know I made it look easy, but I know listening back that a lot of my say winging it podcast episodes, well, they sound a little more or let's just say it's a little less confident than they should. And if you have a basic outline, something just basic bullet points, just ideas, things you're going to talk about, maybe like you're talking about this or that, and you got them

[00:17:42] kind of written down just basic guidelines. Think of them as like, like bumpers on the bowling lane. When you go bowling, I know when the kids do bowling, the little kids do bowling, they have these little bumper railings that come up, they pop up on either side of the gutter. So the ball does not go into the gutter and it kind of forces the ball down the lane to hit the pins. So think of an outline kind of like the bumper railings for your bowling ball so that they doesn't go in the gutter. You can kind of keep it straight and keep it on a path.

[00:18:11] That's all it's for just to keep you going. And this actually does show off some confidence because you're not sounding like, oh my goodness, what am I going to talk about? Oh, no Joe back to you because I don't know. I'm kind of trying to wing it here. And hey, what'd you have for breakfast, Joe? He's kind of come up with this basic fluff and you kind of going back and forth. There's no confidence in that. Not really at all. You can do your show however you want. Listen, it's your show. Do it however you want to do your show.

[00:18:37] But if you want to have some confidence, try doing a basic outline and stay on track and stay on course. So that moves us to the final one. The final tip I have here, tip number six. Now, whether you're doing a video podcast or more specifically here, an audio only podcast and it's a solo episode, a solo show like this one is right here.

[00:18:59] Picture that you're talking just to one person, not an audience, not a crowd, not millions or thousands or whatever it is, just one single person. And that is what I'm doing right now. The one listener. Listen, honestly, I only have one listener. It's you. That's it. Just you and me. You're the only listener of this show. Would you believe that? I don't know.

[00:19:29] But the point is this. I'm talking directly to you. And that's what I do the show for. I do it for you. Not for the other person over there. Not the other person over there. I'm talking to the person you. Because if you really think about it, is it easier for you to have a conversation with one other person, just you and them? Or is it easier for you to talk in front of a big crowd of people? Give a presentation. I think they said that public speaking in front of a big crowd is probably one of the number

[00:19:58] one fears that most of us have. I know I probably would. I don't know what it'd be like to speak in front of a big, giant crowd. A big, giant crowd to me would be anything over maybe 50 people, maybe 100 people. I don't know. I mean, I know some of these presentations. I always think, what would be kind of cool if I gave a presentation at Podcast Movement or PodFest or any of those kind of podcasting places? And some of those rooms I've seen people in, there might be 100 people in these rooms.

[00:20:26] And some have smaller crowds, and I get it, and things like that. But even a smaller crowd, you got everybody fixated on you, and you're watching them watch you talk, talk about nervousness. Oh, my goodness. So in order to do that, you really have to have some confidence. Doing this little podcast here, talking directly to you, just you and me hanging out, feels like I'm just talking to you one-on-one. We're just hanging out, just together, just having a conversation.

[00:20:54] That's what makes it easy for me to have some confidence when I create a podcast. Maybe it could help you too. Hey, why don't you try looking back at your earlier episodes? You know, they might be rough. I get it. They're not quite as polished as they are today, especially if you've done like 100 or 200 episodes later. The very first ones, oh my goodness. They're the way they are because that is how they're supposed to be. Nobody's perfect on day one. Nobody gets it right, right out of the can.

[00:21:24] Even people that have been in the radio business for a very long time, I listen to some of their shows. When they go from being on radio and they try to do a podcast that is not attached to the radio station, they try to do it on their own. I mean, it's okay, but it's still fumbling. It still has this weird vibe to it. I don't know what it is. Even them, they even get nervous. Yes. So you do not have to be a pro to make a difference. You just need to be real, authentic.

[00:21:51] And that's what this podcast has been about now is about delivering real, authentic podcasts, not some corporate jargon nonsense, buttoned up, polished, talking points of robotic crap. I'm trying to be real with you. Get real, be authentic, and be as real as I possibly can. So here's a challenge I have for you right now. You ready for it? Record something right now today. You know, it doesn't have to be for the world. It doesn't have to be for anything. It doesn't have to be for a podcast. It's just for you.

[00:22:19] Then maybe in a few months later, listen back to that and see how far you've come. You know, I gave out a tip the other day on social media. And basically it was if I had to give one piece of advice for any podcaster out there, especially the new indie podcasters, is that have confidence. Confidence has got to be the number one thing that will actually make your show sound either amateur hour or somewhat professional.

[00:22:48] And that's the beauty of podcasting. Although I know we're competing with the big names and I know we're competing with the big shows and I get all that. That's right. But how do you make your show at least sound like you have some confidence? Like you sound like you know what you're talking about. Like you sound like somebody they would trust, your listener would trust. And that's all I have for Podtastic Audio today. I want to say thank you once again for being here. I truly do mean that.

[00:23:16] You can find everything including my brand new book at podtasticaudio.com. My brand new book is Podtastic Playbook. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Bookstore, whatever it's called over there. It's all right there at podtasticaudio.com. Go make your amazing show with your amazing new confidence. And I'll catch you on the next one. And until then, happy podcasting.