How to use storytelling in your podcast

Most podcasters think they're great storytellers.

Most podcasters are wrong.

If you don't believe me, listen to literally any show called the insert keyword here podcast, and then tell me you weren't tempted to claw your own ears off.

So in this episode, I'm breaking down why storytelling matters, how to structure your episodes properly, and how to stop boring your audience to tears.

If you don't figure this out, you're going to end up with seven listeners and a misplaced sense of self importance.

And I'm here to prevent that embarrassment for you.

You're welcome, Haunted Master.

Think about your favorite TV show or film.

Wait a minute, Doc.

Are you telling me you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?

Now imagine it if it had no twists, no drama, and the main character just talked at you for an hour about their thoughts.

That's what most podcasters are doing wrong.

This is why shows like Serial, this American Life, and even Bloody Joe Rogan's show work well.

Because they understand the power of storytelling and using proper narrative structure.

And the reason why stories work.

Number one, the human brain is wired for stories.

Since the Stone Age, since we were even able to verbalize our communications, we have been telling stories.

Whether around the campfire, around the feast.

That's what we've been doing.

Stories create an emotional connection, making that information memorable.

There's nothing better than feeling like you agree or disagree with somebody and then taking that conversation away with you and relaying it to others.

Can you believe what Derek said about the baseball?

He's such an idiot.

A well crafted story beats a 20 minute TED Talk style insight dump any day.

Of course, any good story needs that golden structure.

Otherwise you're just waffling into the void.

Movie makers have known this for years, hence the three act structure.

Let me break it down for you.

Act one, the setup.

Who are you?

Why should we care?

Spoiler alert.

They don't set the scene here.

Frame the episode.

Tease what's coming next.

Of course, mystery equals engagement.

Then we're on to Act 2, the conflict.

Introduce the problem or challenge.

Bring in a story, a guest, or an example to illustrate the issue.

For example, if I was teaching people about the importance of using the blue yeti microphone correctly, rather than saying, the blue yeti microphone is a side address microphone, therefore you need to talk into its side rather than its top.

I might say something like, Ben was really sad because he was using a blue yeti microphone to record his podcast episode and it was unusable because he was talking into the yeti's helmet rather than its face.

Okay, that's a terrible example, but you get the idea now.

Suddenly we've got a character involved and that's something we can more easily visualize rather than fact.

Then Act 3 is the resolution we need to wrap up the point without dragging it.

Give the listener something to think about or do, and then provide a call to action.

Tell them where to go next in order to leverage that new insight.

Otherwise, your episode's a bit of a dead end.

While we're at it, here are some common podcasting mistakes that make you sound like a hobbyist rather than a storyteller.

Are you monotone with no energy?

Do you want your podcast to sound like a hostage situation?

No?

Then fix your tone.

Are you over explaining?

If you take five minutes to say one particular thing, you could say in 30 seconds.

Your audience is already scrolling through TikTok.

Do you have no direction?

If you don't know where your own episode's going, your listeners sure as hell don't either.

Of course, any good storyteller knows how to use sound design.

It's the secret weapon you've been ignoring.

Unless your voice has the hypnotic power of David Attenborough, you need to create atmosphere for your listeners and viewers.

Here's how to use music and sound effects without overdoing it.

Select music that complements the mood and tone of your podcast.

In other words, if you're talking about an emotional moment, don't use something that sounds like AC dc.

It just won't fit.

Use sound effects, but use them to punctuate the audio, not distract from it.

If you have too many sounds, it can be in danger of sounding like a bad 90s radio morning show.

Ensure all your volume levels are balanced.

You don't want to be drowning out your voice.

And silence can be powerful.

A well placed pause is always going to be more effective than a wall of noise.

Do you see what I did there?

Oh, and pacing is everything.

A well paced episode is like a well composed song with dynamics, variations in tempo, and moments of silence that resonate.

Learn to use the power of the pause.

Use silence to build suspense, or give your listeners time to absorb the info.

For example, have a listen to some of those top tier podcasts in the true crime category.

They use sound to create a mood.

I'm not suggesting that your show suddenly needs to become a massive true crime production, but you can borrow some inspiration from these shows and use them on your own show.

And yes, even if it's a business podcast, in fact, especially if it's a business podcast.

So let's talk about how you keep your listeners hooked until the end of your story.

Well, the best way of doing this is to break it up.

Use segments, guest clips rather than full guest conversations, sound changes, anything really, that prevents that troublesome monotony.

Give them teases to content that's coming next.

Give them a reason to stick with you and to come back.

And I cannot stress this enough the importance of a call to action.

Don't just say thanks for listening.

Tell them what to do next.

Whether that's something that helps your show, that is following it, leaving it a review, or sharing the episode with someone they think might be interested, or whether they need to sign up for your email list to get some offers from you.

Make it clear how best you can help them next.

So just to recap, if you want to become a better storyteller with your podcast, think about how you can frame your information in a way that's more relatable.

I'm guilty of this myself.

Sometimes I just splurge information out at whoever will listen, and I'm doing my own level best to try and think of ways that I can use more storytelling to make my points.

Break up the monotony of your own voice with anything from sound design to guest clips to anything really that punctuates what it is that you're saying directly to your listener.

If this episode helped you, do me a favor, click Follow in your favorite podcast app.

Share the episode, or at least pretend you're going to before you forget in 30 seconds.

So I hope this has helped you.

And until next time, tell more stories and stop making boring content.

The Fog Master is a Podnos production.

Find out more about us@podnos.co.uk Podnose.