From Facts to Feelings: The Secret Sauce of Engaging Podcasts

If you look at movies that you love, and you think about them, and you remember how they made you feel. Today we talk about three things you can have in your tool belt to use in your show to not just have something to listen to, but to have content that moves your audience. We also answer the question what do Sportcasters, Movie Reviewers, and Christians all have in common?Pull Some Emotion Into Your ShowMost podcasters focus on information—tips, tactics, and how‑tos. But your audience doesn’t connect to information first; they connect to emotion first.Three Tools To Boost ConnectionNostalgiaStorytellingVulnerabilityAs the old saying goes, "with great power comes great responsibility," so how do we use these ingredients in our show without sounding like we starting the sympathy engine just to grab attention?What Do Christians, Movie Reviewer, and Sportscasters all have in common?They are all working with the same source material. The same bible (more or less), the same movies, the same games. In this episode we talk about how to make your show stand out?The Best Book on StoryTellingI've read MANY books on storytelling, but Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks is the best - period. The audiobook is so good you will want to listen with a pad and pencil to take notes (or if you're loving in 2026, take notes on your phone).Ready To Start Your Podcast?Podcasting in Six WeeksMentioned in this episode:Where Will I Be?I love meeting you when I'm out at events. Here are some of my next events: Podcast Movement September 17-18 Podindy November 7th (use the coupon pacer at podindy.com)Where Will I Be?Question of the Month: The Smallest Amount of DownloadsWe all want a bigger audience. We all put a lot of work into our shows. With this in mind, what is the smallest amount of downloads you would do the show for? If it drops below a number would you stop, or put effort into finding out why? Does the size of your audience matter? Go to schoolofpodcasting.com/question by August 28th (and don't forget to say a little bit about your show and your website address so I can link to it in the notes)School of PodcastingTake Live Classes at the School of PodcastingPodcasting in Six Weeks is BACK! (and this time it's free!) We are continuing to experiment with marketing, and we had so much fun helping people launch their show that we are going it again (and dropped the fee). If you don't have a show but want to start one this is THE place to get going in the right direction. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks Growing Your Podcast Live Course For members of the School of Podcasting we are all banding together to go through the steps of growing your show (so sign up now!). This will including feedback and strategies to get your show growing faster. You will write down your typical downloads before you start, and compare it to the final numbers. Use the coupon code listener when singing up to become a member and receive a discount. These live classes start August 19th. Please let me know if you have any questions at schoolofpodcasting.com/contactSchool of Podcasting