Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - What Mic and Other Equipment Do I Need to Podcast?

Episode Date: April 4, 2019

Before I launched my first podcast, I spent hours googling microphones and other equipment. I’m not a huge tech person. I just wanted someone to tell me exactly what I needed. But I kept reading conflicting advice. Or, I’d see someone ask an equipment question in an online forum, and they’d never get a straight answer, just a lot of, “Well, it depends…” And sometimes it does depend. But sometimes you just want an answer! So on episode five of Podcasting Step by Step, I share the exact hardware and software I use to podcast and why. These products and services will likely work for you, too.   Visit sarahmikutel.com for show notes.   Ready to start podcasting? Download my free guide: “8 Mistakes New Podcasters Make and How to Fix Them.”   I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. Thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Have you been wanting to podcast for a while now, but something's holding you back? Maybe it's fear of putting yourself out there or confusion about the tech. I'm Sarah Micahattel, and on podcasting step by step, I'll break down how to podcast with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and the confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams. Let's get started. Before I launched my first podcast, I spend hours Googling microphones and other equipment, and I am not a huge tech person. I just wanted someone to tell me exactly what I needed, but I kept reading conflicting advice. Or I would see someone ask an equipment question in an online forum, and they would never get a straight answer. It was just a lot of, well, it depends. And sometimes

it does depend, but sometimes you just want an answer. So on this episode, I'm sharing exactly what kind of podcasting equipment I use, and this will likely work for you too. To start a podcast, you do not need to spend thousands of dollars on mics and mixers. In fact, do not worry about mixers at all. Those come in handy when you have a live show and you want to add in the moment music and sound effects, but to record a solo or an interview show, you do not need a mixer. Here is what you need for a solo show. A mic, headphones, editing, and recording, software, your computer, which you probably already have, and a podcast media host. Now let's break this down. There are several different kinds of microphones. The two most popular for podcasting

are dynamic microphones and condenser mics. The biggest difference, condenser mics are more sensitive and they're going to pick up everything around them, including street noise and other sounds that you might not want showing up on your episode. I started out with a blue Yeti microphone, because so many podcast articles and blog posts recommended it. This was not a good choice for me, because the Blue Yeti is a condenser mic, and I am often recording in a city, with neighbors on the other side of the wall,

people coming in and out of the building, and other noise. Unless you're lucky enough to have a recording studio, choose a dynamic mic with a cardioid polar pattern. A polar pattern just means where the microphone is picking up the sound. So a cardio polar pattern picks up its sound mostly from the front of the mic and a little from the sides. And this is exactly what you want for your podcast.

So for most podcasters, a dynamic mic with a cardioid polar pattern is a good bet. I switch from the Blue Yeti to the Audio Technica ATR 2100, which is one of the most popular mics out there. And at around $65, it sounds great and it comes with a stand for your microphone to make your recording easier.

You don't want to hold the mic and risk handling noise getting into your recording. Plus, it can just be awkward holding the mic when you're trying to do an episode. If you buy the ATR 2100, sometimes it's bundled with other accessories like a windscreen. The windscreen is just the foam covering that will go over the head of the mic, and that is to prevent plosives. Those are the harsh P and B sounds that happen when you say words like Paul and boy. With a dynamic mic like the ATR 2100, you need to speak close to it, but not too close, or you could have those plosive problems, so you want to speak about a fist away from the mic. And if you're having problems with closives, try speaking off to the side of the mic instead of directly into it. Another great benefit of the ATR 2100 is it's both a USB mic and an XLR mic.

USB simply means you can plug the mic right into your computer. XLR means you can plug the mic into something else like a digital recorder via a cable. And it's great to have both of these options. Why would you want to record into a digital recorder? Well, if you have two or more people recording in the same room, they're each going to need their own mic, and you can't easily record with two mics into your computer. You're going to need something else to plug them into. So a digital recorder or some other kind of interface, and you would use XLR cables to plug them

men. And that's what makes the ATR 2100 such a great mic. It can be both USB or XLR. If the ATR 2100 is not available in your location, the Samsung Q2U is pretty much the same thing, and it's even cheaper at around $60. I just ordered one myself because I've heard such great things about it. I said I wasn't that into tech before, and while that's true, I guess podcasting has made me a little bit more excited about it, or at least more excited about what it enables us to do as podcasters. Now, moving on to recording and editing, if you don't have a guest, you can record right into your digital audio workstation or DAW, and you can edit there as well. The most popular DAW is Audacity and it's free. I use Adobe Audition because you can do more

with it. It's more flexible. It looks better. And Adobe addition costs about $21 a month. I know that's expensive. Teachers and students get a massive discount, so lucky you if you qualify for that. But all DAs have a learning curve, and I really wanted to start with the software that I knew I would get the most out of in the long run. As I mentioned earlier, if you have more than one guest in one place, you'll need a way to plug in all of their mics. I recommend the Zoom H5 or H6 digital recorders to do this. And even when you're recording solo, a number of podcasters prefer to record directly into a digital recorder because they say it's less risky than recording into a computer that could crash. Having said that, I like keeping things simple and I just plug my USB mic directly into my computer and I record from there.

Now, if you're doing a remote interview that is you are in one place and your interviewee is somewhere else, you need a way to record them through your computer. and there are several ways to do this. For me, Skype is the easiest solution that offers the best quality audio. I Skype my guests and then they record both sides of our interview using software called eCam call recorder. This is Mac only and it's a one-time cost of about 40 bucks. If you're a PC user, you can use something called a Malto call recorder, which is free or is a premium version for about $30.

And when you're recording these remote guests, you and your guests both need to wear headphones. If you don't, you're going to have audio bleed where your recording software will pick up your guest voice coming out of your speakers, and that's going to cause echo and just sound really bad. You don't want your mic picking up your guest on your side. They're going to be picked up on their own side, so wear headphones to prevent this and make sure that your guest does as well. You also need to wear headphones so that you can monitor the audio quality and hear noises that will be obvious on the recording, but that you might not hear while you're having the interview. Noises like your guest typing or shuffling around paper or making some other kind of sounds.

If they are making distracting noises, you need to tell your guest to please stop because this is going to be a real pain to edit out later. You might not be able to edit out at all. So make sure you speak up and politely tell them to stop making those weird sounds because it's going to show up. When you're recording, you can use whatever headphones you've got, but when it comes time to editing and mixing your episodes, you should use headphones that let you accurately monitor the audio you're listening to. I had been using Bose's noise-canceling headphones

because that's what I've been using for years in my personal life. They are fantastic on planes and trains because they block out all of that extra noise. But for podcasting, I never use the active noise-canceling feature because that is going to distort the way that I hear the audio. So noise-canceling headphones are actually canceling the high and low frequencies, and we really need to hear those when we're cleaning up our audio because we don't want it to be distorted. We need to hear what the listener is going to hear. You also shouldn't edit or mix your episodes using wireless headphones because they're going to compress the audio and also make it distorted. And beats headphones should also probably be avoided while they could be good for listening to music. They're going to distort your audio as well and make it more. bassy. I bought some closed-back professional monitor headphones, the Senile SMH-1000. They cost about $75. They were recommended to me as quality close-back headphones that will fit nicely against your ears and provide the isolation that you need to really monitor your audio properly. Putting all this together, after you've recorded all of your elements, you're going to clean them up in

your digital audio workstation, get rid of hiss and other unwanted sounds. level out the volumes of the speakers, edit for flow and get rid of obvious mistakes and ums and aos and other things you don't want in there. And then you're going to package all of this together with intros, outros, music if you want, sound effects if you want, adds at some point perhaps. And when you're ready to put your podcast out into the world, you're going to need a podcast media host. Now, what is this? Great question. A podcast media host like Libson, which is what I use, they are what get your podcast out into the world. When you upload and publish a new episode,

you're doing this through your media host, and then they're going to push your content out to the podcast directories like iTunes. That's right. iTunes is only a directory. You don't upload your shows there. Once the directories refresh with your new episode, your favorite podcast listening app will pull that new content and deliver it to your subscribers. And this all happens via RSS feed.

Have you ever subscribed to somebody's blog? It works the same way. You're creating a syndicated show that people are subscribing to. If you have a website, you may have the option to use that site to host your podcast, but I wouldn't recommend this. You will likely run into bandwidth problems, plus website hosts are not podcast experts. A good podcast media host is going to offer you things like support from people who understand podcasting, and we'll be able to help you with technical questions, and challenges. They'll provide stats for your show like download numbers and where people are listening. They might provide premium content options like an app for your show, a podcast player for your website. Not all podcast media hosts offer all of those things. I use Libson, which

does depending on which tier you subscribe to. I've been very happy with them. Libson plans start at $5 a month, but the $20 a month plan is great for weekly podcasters. This is going to give you all of the stats you want, like download numbers and where people are listening in the world. I mentioned that Libson offers a basic website for your show, and I would highly recommend having a website for your podcast, where you can include supporting content like show notes, and about page, your audio, contact info. You can keep this really simple if you want, but this is a useful resource for your current listeners and can also help you attract new listeners, and it also makes you look more professional to potential yes and potential sponsors. Many podcasters use WordPress, which is free. I use Squarespace because I think it's just much easier to design a beautiful site when you have no coding or design

skills. I have neither. You can also get a G-suite package with it, and that'll give you an email address that matches your website, which I think is a very nice touch. And this will also give you access to features like Google Calendar, which will make it easy to invite guests to be on your show, and Google Drive, which is where you can store all of your audio files and other content. Here are a few more optional podcast products you might be interested in. Pop filters. These help dampen those harsh closives that I mentioned earlier. They can also help you maintain a consistent distance from your microphone. The foam cover that I mentioned earlier for the ATR 2100 might be all you need and only

costs a few dollars, but if you want to go the pop filter route, they don't cost that much more. You can get a decent one for 10 bucks. I can link to one in the show notes. Shock mounts for your microphone can help minimize unwanted sounds getting picked up by your mic, like bumping against your desk. Many podcasters also use boom arms, and this will give you control. over where your microphone is located.

So with a boom arm, you can raise your mic up out of the way of your hands if they fly around when you're talking. I don't have a shock mount or a boom arm. I'm often living out of a suitcase. So I don't have the space for all of this extra equipment. But if I did, I think I would try it out. And finally, Descript editing software. This is podcasting's best kept secret.

I don't know why everyone isn't talking about it. When you upload your audio to Descript, it creates a written transcription, and then you can edit your podcast by moving around the written words rather than just editing the sound waves. This makes editing so much easier. At this point, you can't clean up your audio or create a fully produced podcast within the Descript platform. I think that's probably coming at some point, but it's a brilliant way to edit your shows. I'm currently using the classic version, which will be sunset in May of 2019. The reason that I haven't switched over to the new version yet is because they haven't yet implemented all of the classic versions features for Mac users.

But I will switch over in May, one, because I don't have a choice, and two, because I think the features are going to be live then. So I wouldn't edit any of my shows without using Descript. I highly recommend them. And fun fact, its founder Andrew Mason also created Groupon and Detour, my favorite yet now defunct travel app. And you'll often see Andrew working in tech support, which I think is rather cool. So that's a roundup of my favorite podcasting equipment, plus a few extras that other podcasters I know love to use. I will post links to all of this gear on sarahmicatel.com slash equipment.

Thank you for listening to podcasting step by step. You are now one step closer to launching that podcast you've been dreaming about, but I want to get you even closer. I created a free guidebook for you with actionable worksheets called eight mistakes new podcasters make and how to fix them. To find that, head on over to sarahmicatel.com slash fix. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarahmicotel.com slash blank no more.