How to Sound Your Best on a Podcast Interview From Home
Remote podcast interviews are a great way to keep recording episodes when you and your guest can’t connect in person. We usually suggest Zoom.us for these types of recordings, and we’ve even got some tips for setting up a Zoom podcast interview, recording it, and making sure it sounds great.
But whether you’re connecting by Zoom, Skype, or some other means - there are a few basic things you and your guests can do to ensure the final product sounds great. If you’re the interviewer or podcast host, you’ll nail these tips in no time, but remember to share the following with every guest before you connect:
Avoid Speakerphone: This can cause feedback or echo and generally just doesn’t sound great. If you’re connecting via a computer, wear headphones (though guests generally sound best on mobile, see next tip).
Hold the Phone: Airpods, bluetooth headsets, etc… can reduce sound quality. We’ve found that simply holding your phone up to your ear sounds best.
Use the App: For Zoom or Skype audio calls, guests should use the mobile app rather than a computer, turn off speakerphone, and hold it up to your ear.
Find a Quiet Spot: Avoid high traffic areas and ask others not to disturb you.
Silence Alerts: To avoid interruption, silence alerts on your phone and computer.
Conserve bandwidth: To avoid audio hiccups, close any non-essential bandwidth-using applications. A web browser is fine, but downloading a movie or performing an online backup could cause problems. For this reason it’s also ideal to turn off the video component of Skype or Zoom for the duration of the interview (it can be on when you initially connect and say hi though).
Headphones: We’ve already said it, but it bears repeating. Wear headphones or a headset to prevent your interviewee’s voice from picking up on your microphone. Ask your interviewee to do the same.
Microphone: If you’re using a separate external mic, use a stand or a stack of books to get it up near your mouth. Avoid using your laptop’s internal microphone. Here’s some affordable podcasting gear we recommend.
Need help recording your podcast from home? We can help with that. Book a free consultation to learn more about how our remote podcast training and recording sessions work.