How Improv Skills Can Boost Your Podcasting Attitude

Becuase of my Podcast: Clay From Fish Nerds Clay has had some very cool things happen on his Fish Nerds Show including having a touring opera singer invite clay to do a show at a theater. Check out Clay at www.fishnreds.com The Sometimes Condescending Nature of Radio People Towards Podcasting There are some really cool people from the radio industry that get podcasting. People like Eric K Johnson from Podcast Talent Coach and the Podcast Review Show, Michael Sharkey from the Talent Show, Jeff Brown From Read to Lead, Tim Sinclair from Ringr and My Worst Interview Ever, and Phillip Keller from Blind Faith live GET PODCASTING. I don't want to lump all radio people together. There are times when someone comes across with a condescending tone of voice. It comes across like "Podcasting is a fad, or not "Real Broadcasting." They seem to think that now that the "Real" broadcasters are here and it's time to step aside and let the "real" broadcasters take over. I recently listened to The Sound Off Show with Matt Cundill. In the episode, he was talking about how a recent professional survey company had polled listeners in Canda.Matt asks, "Is the hype on podcasting just a lot of noise and it takes a study like this one to figure out where it really ranks?" What a douchebag. AS if study after study showing podcasting's slow but steady growth, and radio's slow and steady decline aren't enough. This is what I say "Radio People" with a negative slant. This is what I'm basing my opinion on, and when I say "Some radio people have a bias," this is why. How Improv Skills Can Help Your Podcast Today I have Chad Elliot from the Off the Cuff Comedy Improv Podcast, and http://seattleimprovclasses.com/ I appeared on episode 7 and was SUPER nervous as I didn't get this I would be doing improv on his show. I have never done improv. Luckily Chad sent me his book Improv Manifesto: 7 Easy Steps to Confidence, Creativity, and Charisma - Even If You're Shy! (Think On Your Feet Under Pressure with Tools of Improvisational Theater & Improv Comedy.) which helped me get ready. Here are some things I learned. Talk with confidence, even when you're not confident about your answer. You will be amazed at how your brain "Fills in the blank" when you start talking. The key to improv is listening to every word of the person you are working with. If things horrible, it is a learning experience and you will handle it better next time, and will build skills to help get through it better. You can see results when you start doing one improve exercise What Does This Do With Podcasting? When you are 100% focused on what your guest/co-host is saying you are better prepared to ask a better follow up question (than if you had a premade lit of questions). If you have a bad interview, living through this experience shows you that you will survive and equips you to handle it better in the future You can contemplate different stories to pull from an idea (see The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling by Annette Simmons) It builds confidence and can get you our of your comfort zone. This way when podcasting opens the doors to new relationships, you will have the confidence to walk through Face Your Podcasting Fears Chad had a client who said, "You know what I want to do this because I'm scared of it, but I don't want to do it because I'm scared of it." The pros of podcasting outweigh any negatives and if you can make it through the learning curve, you will be so happy you made it through (see www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start to start your podcast today) This Month's Podcast Question How many "strikes" do you give a podcast before you unsubscribe (if you have subscribed) or if you don't subscribe how many strikes do they get before you quit streaming their show. Got to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact and use the information there. You can send...