Deliverable 2:

How to compose the Podcast

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© Karen Thompson ● Department of English ● University of Idaho

English 317: Technical Writing

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TableofContents

LearningObjectives.....................................................................................................3AboutPodcasts............................................................................................................4-6HowtoCreateYourPodcast:OptionsforToolsandRequiredTestRecording..........7-9

Generalsubject,audience,andpurposeofyourpodcast....................................10Choosingaspecificfocusforyourpodcast..........................................................11-12WritingthePodcastScript....................................................................................13-18

PresentationSpeakingStyle:howtodevelopaneffectivestyle................................19-24

Learning Objectives:

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Adapt prose style concepts

for the ear.

Apply presentation speaking

style concepts: vocal variety,

pace, pause, and diction.

Compose a podcast script.

About Podcasts

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A British journalist combined the Apple’s

iPod with the word broadcast to coin the

term Podcast.

Podcasts can be:

•Audio-only Files

•Video Files

and/or

• Broadcasted (live or prerecorded)

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How businesses and organizations use Podcasts:

• Externally: to promote products and services to clients and customers.

• Internally: to share information between employees, particularly in project teams.

• You will compose an audio-only podcast aimed at an external audience.

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How to create your podcast.• You need a microphone, and the one in

your computer will be fine for this project.

• Your podcast must be hosted on a site that allows users to play it without having to download the file.

• I recommend using SoundCloud. It’s free, easy to use, and will host your file.

You will also find a link to SoundCloud under Tools and Resources.

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• I do not accept audio files (mp3, wav etc.) in the

BbLearn drop box.

• Here’s why. You are practicing how to create and

share these types of files as they are shared in

workplace settings.

• So, if you choose to create an audio file on your

computer, be certain it is uploaded to a host site

and will play without a user needing to download

the file. 8

Do a test recording.

• First, be certain you completed the technology check on Orientation Day 1 and are using the recommended browser for this course. If not, go there, do that.

• Close all other programs and browser windows to ensure you have enough memory.

• If the test recording fails, follow the troubleshooting steps under Tools & Resources.

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Your Podcast:subject, audience, and purpose.

• The general subject of your podcast will be research at the University of Idaho.

• Your audience will be members of the general public.

• Your purpose will be to inform the audience about research currently being conducted at the university.

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You will need to choose a specific focus.

• You may choose to focus your podcast about

• some specific research,

• a research program,

• or one or more researchers.

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To find a focus, do some investigation.

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The UI Research and Economic Development website’s News and Features page is a good place to start.

After you have chosen the focus and taken some notes, you will need to write a script and practice it.

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The goal is not to sound like

a professional broadcaster

but to develop a clear

presentation speaking style.

Practice the principles of effective prose style when writing the script but adapt these for the ear by keeping sentences short.

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You should be able to

say each sentence in

your script in a single

breath.

Your script will need:

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Introduction

About 30

seconds.

Key Points

About 2

minutes

Conclusion

About 30

seconds.

Timing

Introduction:

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About 30 seconds

Brief salutation: greet the audience

and give them an idea of what you

will be presenting in the podcast.

You can also start with an engaging

question such as “have you ever

wondered about ……?” and then use

the salutation.

Body:

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About 2 minutes.

Key Points: think about how many points

you can reasonably talk about in 2

minutes.

About four key points and 30 seconds to

talk about each one should work well,

but don’t follow this as a rigid rule. Think

about what works best for what you will

talk about.

Closing:

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About 30 seconds

Wrap it Up. Here are some ideas for a clear conclusion:• What’s next? – point listeners to

future research,• Where can I learn more? – point

listeners to where they can learn more.

• ETC.

• Thank the audience for listening.

Presentation Speaking StyleHow to develop an effective presentation speaking style for any delivery method or environment.

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The content on the following slides had been adapted from: Write-Out-Loud.

What is vocal variety?

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• Vocal variety, or vocalics, refers

to the nonverbal features of our

speaking style. These features

are pitch, tone volume, and

rate.

What is vocal variety? continued

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• Your goal as a speaker is to

have a range of vocal variety

that allows you to adapt your

speaking style to meet

audience needs.

• For example, giving a eulogy at

a funeral would require a

different speaking style than

delivering a conference

presentation.

Vocal Variety: Pitch

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• Our voices all have a natural

pitch, which is like music with

high and low notes.

• If your pitch range is narrow,

mostly high or mostly low notes,

your voice will have a

monotonous effect on listeners.

Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn

exercises to help you develop your pitch range.

Vocal Variety: Tone

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• Our voices carry emotional

content through the tone we

use.

• If your voice lacks expression, it

will be flat and lack energy.

• If you fill your speech with too

much energy, it will seem overly

exuberant and forced.

Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn exercises to help you develop an effective tone.

Vocal Variety: Volume

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• Some of us naturally speak

softer or louder than others.

• Volume affects how the

audience perceives your

trustworthiness.

• Learn how to consciously

control the volume of your

voice.

Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn

exercises to help you develop volume control.

Vocal Variety: Rate

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• When we speak, rate

refers to the pace of our

speech.

• Speech rate is calculated

as the number of words

spoken in a minute.

Vocal Variety: Rate continued

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Slow speech is less than 110 wpm.

Conversational speech falls between

120 wpm at the slow end and 160 -

200 wpm in the fast range.

People who read books for radio or

podcasts speak at 150-160 wpm.

Auctioneers or commentators who

practice speed speech are usually in

the 250 to 400 wpm range.

Vocal Variety: Rate continued

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• When giving a

presentation, whether it is in

person or recorded, it is

important to be flexible in

your rate of speech.

Vocal Variety: Rate continued

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• One study analyzed the

speaking rate of 9 six-

minute TED Talks.

• The average speaking rate

was 163 words per minute

and ranged between 153

and 168 words per minute.

To calculate your speaking rate:

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Time yourself speaking from

your script.

Next, take the total number

of words spoken and divide

by the number of minutes it

took you to speak them.

Speaking Rate (wpm) = Total words / # of minutes

Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn

exercises to help you develop an effective speaking rate.

Remember to pause periodically:

• It will help the audience to understand you,

• Help you control the rate of your speech and avoid distracting filler words (um, er, ah), and

• allows your mind to catch up to what your mouth is saying.

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Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn

exercises to help you develop effective pausing.

Diction

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• Diction is not about

changing your accent (yes,

we all have an accent).

• It’s about clearly

enunciating the words you

speak.

• Speaking too fast will affect

diction.

Go to Tools and Resources on the project page to learn

exercises to help you develop effective diction.