PodMov Daily: Tuesday, November 12

Episode 85: Your Newsday Tuesday

Varied Volume: Perceived Confidence from Vocal Cues

In this week’s Smarter Living letter, The New York Times‘ Tim Herrera covers new research about confidence and persuasion in speech. “When we’re trying to seem persuasive, the volume of our words — when vocalized, of course — can have an outsize impact,” Herrera explains.

According to a paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, it’s all about cues related to the volume and variation within a person’s speaking voice. Essentially, “we tend to look at speakers who vary their volume as more confident.” Listeners tune in more effectively to a mixture of higher and lower volumes.

Podcasters already have an edge when it comes to persuasion. Jonah Berger, marketing professor and co-author of the study, puts it this way: “Sometimes we think crafting the perfect email will be the best way to persuade people. But what we find in our work is the voice can be quite impactful.”

The Podcasting English Department: Southern Illinois U. Gets Creative

With a new podcasting lab and the addition of virtual reality, the English department at Southern Illinois University is evolving its curriculum. In the Daily Egyptian student publication, Juniper Oxford writes that “digital humanities” have become a major focus of the Creative Writing program.

According to Professor Pinckney Benedict, the program had been primarily ‘on the paper’ until the SIU Foundation made it possible to expand into audio. Just last year, Benedict applied successfully for an Innovation Grant to build a podcasting lab.

“These new technological developments will allow students to tell stories in new ways and reach new audiences,” said graduate assistant Mandi Jourdan. “Writers will need to learn how to adapt to and take advantage of these new media.”

Professor Joe Shapiro credits the new developments with rising interest in the discipline. “Enrollment in English went up this year,” Shapiro said. “We are very proud of that. We think that has to do with a lot of the changes we have made.”

How to Nail Your Podcast Interview: Colin Gray's Guest Essentials

“Interviews are an opportunity, and so many people waste them, falling into a sea of mediocre content,” writes Colin Gray. “Instead, let’s grab the opportunity, go on that show, and deliver one of the best interviews they’ve ever heard!”

We couldn’t agree more with the sentiment. Gray’s post about how to be a great podcast interviewee will smooth your nerves and help prepare the uninitiated.

From simply “turn up” (Really — Gray has “lost count of the number of interviews [he’s] been stood up for”) to rehearsing your 1 – 2 minute origin story, these pieces of advice aren’t just for guest stars.

Whether you’re an invited interviewee on a podcast or simply aspiring to mastery of your message, remember: “You’ve just taught a class.” Your podcast listeners have chosen your voice, and each word you say counts.

Happy Tuesday, readers, and congratulations to James Kim on the well-loved performance at the On Air Fest in Los Angeles, November 7. Check out the video trailer for Kim’s podcast Moonface, called “thoughtful, vivid, and adventurous” by Vulture.

Cheers,

Team PM

Here's what else is going on:

• Promising start: Cambridge Community Television reflects on last month’s PodTales event with a question: “What’s a podcast festival?” You’ll find details on panel discussions and joyful innovation from “the first podcasting festival in the country devoted exclusively to imaginative audio storytelling.”

• Harvest thoughts: Father and daughter Chris and Hallie Casey create the Austin, TX-based podcast One to Grow On. Interviews with “Navajo activists and farmers about food sovereignty on the reservation” center recent episodes, which seek to “understand how food production impacts us and our world.”

• Super market: Liberty Media Corp, the majority owner of satellite-radio provider Sirius XM, is “planning to step up its bet on podcasts.” Since Sirius bought Pandora in February, the companies have secured a deal “a substantial number of podcasts” from comic-book giant Marvel.

• Festive turn: At last week’s Festival Congress in Sheffield, England, media figures focused on UK festival events with over 5,000 attendees. Reportedly radio producer Chris Bailey gave a presentation on “the power of podcasting,” during which he “enthused about the potential killer content” on organizers’ doorsteps.