So, you want to be on a podcast?

That’s great! All of us here at Remodelers Advantage love hosting our shows (PowerTips Unscripted and The Tim Faller Show) and the opportunity they give us to meet smart, witty, fascinating people. In the process of conducting these interviews with some truly amazing people, we’ve gotten a lot of questions beforehand about what they could do to sound their best.

So we’ve compiled a short list of tips to help you sound great!

1. Find a small, quiet room

The most common mistake podcast guests make is choosing a poor location for the call. Large conference rooms, for example, tend to be echo chambers that ruin the sound of your voice. If you can, select a carpeted room with a lot of furniture. Your car or even a closet could be a better choice than a large room. (seriously).

Pro Tip: If your location has a lot of echo, add some fabric! Drape a blanket over your desk. Hang one on the walls. It really helps! 

2. Turn off notifications

Phone chimes, desktop notifications, incoming emails, office phones, oh my! Notifications are very distracting to an interview. You want listeners to focus on your message, not your background jingles.

3. Check for avoidable noises

Barking dogs, overhead fans, people gathering outside your office, AC units, the list goes on. Before the interview, do a quick check for anything that is making unnecessary noise (or could potentially do so during your call). Another often overlooked noise-maker is jewelry! 

4. Have a great connection

If your interview is via Zoom or Skype and you’re in a spotty WiFi zone, go somewhere else! Poor connections and constant cutouts will frustrate the show host at the minimum. Worst case scenario, the recording becomes unusable. Same goes for a phone interview. Either use a landline or ensure you’re in a high signal-strength area.

5. Don’t move

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but be careful of moving around too much during the interview. Avoid making overt gestures. For example, a guest once had a tendency to bang his pointer finger on the desk repeatedly while making an emphatic point.

6. Don’t worry and have fun!

It doesn’t have to be perfect. Through the magic of editing many minor distractions can be handled. Podcasts are a blast and being on one is a great way to talk about something you’re passionate about. So relax and enjoy!