“No story lives unless someone wants to listen.” -JK Rowling
Storytelling is almost as old as time, a good story brings people together, it also has the power to tear people apart. Bringing stories to a platform like podcasting changes the game, I mean, we all have a story that we can tell to someone and I’m sure that someone will want to hear it. So from there, we just have to figure out how to integrate that into our podcast. Maybe your podcast is a one that is based on other peoples stories, or maybe you have guests that have a hilarious story to tell and you incorporate it into your interview. Whatever your way of presenting the story, just understand that they are a necessity to a good listening experience.
What we do want to focus on for podcast storytelling is knowing what stories to tell, how to make sure that when you are telling a story that it comes across authentically and lastly, how you want to make the listener feel. There is so much to stories and storytelling but we will just focus on these three elements to start.
WHAT STORIES TO TELL
Knowing what stories to tell is an important and planned part of your podcast. If you are a conversational podcast and you are wanting to call up a mate who has a phenomenal story to add to what you are already discussing on your pod, then that is a great additive that people look forward to listening to. A crucial part is knowing that you should plan your stories prior to the pod so that you can lean into it a bit more. Obviously you think of things while you are chatting and it comes natural to the conversation and is interesting. But, planning just brings an element of organisation and professionalism to the pod which also makes for a better listening experience overall. In the realm of post production, it’s a dream because there is less, ‘umms’ and ‘uhhhs’ and cleaner audio for all.
Hyping a story up is one of the best experiences for a listener if it is done right, because regardless of whether the story is good or bad you can adjust your response and make the situation even better. This takes time and skill to master in the response part of a story as well as understanding the feelings of the person telling the story, but when you master it, it makes for very good content. Listening to professionals do it is a great way to learn, radio hosts have mastered the art of response because they constantly have unexpected calls and stories come in. So, make time to listen to some good ones and take note of how they respond to callers.
So what stories should you tell then? To be honest, it is very dependent on your podcast and your style. Overall we want a story that is easy to grasp, engaging and has a good punchline/moral/reason. People need a reason for a story, so make sure to give them one so that they don’t feel like they have missed something or left feeling underwhelmed.
AUTHENTICITY
The generation we live in has an urge and eagerness to be authentic and subconsciously trust authenticity. Although we seem like a superficial kind of society that we live in, there has actually been a lot of studies showing that Generation Z respond to authenticity more than anything else. This then begs the question, “how do we be authentic?” How do we display authenticity through an audio medium? It’s actually a lot easier than you might think.
You have to start with yourself and the whole process has to start with yourself. If you have a co-host doing the podcast with you, do this together. Start to openly discuss things in your life that you wouldn’t normally chat about. If you are a bit of a closed book normally, this will be a difficult exercise. If you are already a very open and out there person then you just have to hone your ability to be open to be honest with a purpose. The reason a lot of comedians come across as a friend to their audience is because they say the things we all think, but they do it with confidence. When you combine confidence, authenticity and stories, it becomes a concoction of fun, honesty and heartfeltness to the audience listening.
MAKING THE LISTENER FEEL A WAY
We all want to feel a certain way when we watch a movie or watch a tv show, that’s why we return to movies we watched as a kid. Hell, the amount of times I have rewatched The Mighty Ducks is insane, but that movie made me feel something. It made me feel happy, excited and that growth is achievable through hard work, friendship and lots of bad jokes. The same goes for storytelling on a podcast. We listen to them because we want to be in a certain mood, we want to start our day with laughter, excitement or feeling relaxed.
"Storytelling offers the opportunity to talk with your audience, not at them." - Laura Holloway.
No one enjoys being talked at, told off or corrected. Yes, these things are necessary for human growth and correction but stories give the ability to do so indirectly. Think about your favourite book, movie, tv show, what’s the overall story to it? Maybe it’s ‘be brave and bold and good things will happen.’ Or maybe it’s ‘friendship is the most important thing.’ Or maybe it’s ‘childhood trauma makes you funny.’ Whatever the story is, it’s never told directly, it’s always showed through a story, and although you don’t always recognise this during, it’s shaping your concept on life. It’s making you feel a certain way about someone or something without being told directly what to feel or do.
Stories have the power to speak to what is good, what is bad and what you can change. So make sure the stories that you tell make the listener feel comforted and directed towards good.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Finding the right story to tell can be hard. The important thing is, know prior to recording your podcast, what message you’re trying to convey to your listeners and base the stories you tell around that message and be authentic. Don’t just say anything that comes to your mind, be conscious, smart and make an effort to get into your listeners shoes.
Let’s recap:
Happy Podcasting :)
Poly Studios
