This series is all about Libsyn’s podcasters. It’s sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with from 2 Minute Talk Tips
When did you start podcasting?
I’ve been podcasting as an occasional guest on my friend’s Caffeinated Comics podcast since 2013 and before that I led an employer’s efforts to essentially create podcast episodes to teach folks how to sell their stuff.
I finally launched 2 Minute Talk Tips in December of 2016
Why did you start podcasting?
I guested on my friend’s podcast because I’m passionate about the geeky topics he covers.
I launched 2 Minute Talk Tips when I lost my job.
It had been part of my layoff contingency plan for more than five years, and when my job went away, it was time to get started.
I launched it in part so that when an interviewer asked me what I had done while unemployed, I could say, “I taught myself to launch and manage a weekly podcast to share my professional expertise with the world.”
I also wanted to have a project to work on – 2 Minute Talk Tips give me a place I could focus the energy that had previously gone into creating and managing content for someone else.
Finally, I love to speak and to write. 2 Minute Talk Tips is a great way for me to explore those passions and to help other folk at the same time.
What’s your show about?
2 Minute Talk Tips is about becoming a more effective public speaker. The first two minutes of every episode are a short, practical tip to make the listener a better presenter.
The second part of the episode is a more in depth discussion of a topic, a book review, and interview, or whatever else I feel may interest a speaker.
If a listener has only 2 minutes a week, I’ve got them covered. If they have more than 2 minutes to spare, I’ve got even more value for them.
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
I do my first draft of each episode in a notebook with kitties on the cover and then I do my second draft (a detailed outline) in Microsoft OneNote (one of my favorite applications).
When it’s time to record, I use a Rode NT1-A microphone and a Behringer Q1202 USB Mixer.
I do all my recording on a Marantz PMD 661 Digital Audio Recorder. Then I edit my show in Audacity on a Toshiba Kirabook laptop.
I use Skype for interviews with a mix/minus hook up between my mixer and my PC.
I use a Behringer UCA 222 USB sound card to make that connection. I use HostGator to host my WordPress website and I upload all my content, show notes and posts through the Libsyn WordPress plugin.
How have you promoted your podcast?
I promote 2 Minute Talk Tips at the basic level with the Libsyn destination tools and post each episode to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
I also promote it on my resume, email signature, and through word of mouth. My next step for promotion will be to launch a Facebook page specifically for the show and to (finally) move forward with business cards.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
My thoughts on this topic will change all the time. I do wish I had started about a month earlier than I did. Finally getting everything together and online turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.
I also wish I realized that even though my mixer supports USB, it doesn’t work for recording a Skype conversation to an external recorder on its own. The USB sound card solves that problem.
2 Minute Talk Tips has also reminded me that going out a doing a thing – creating content that can help people is a powerful thing. Especially when between jobs.
So much of our self-worth can be tied up in a job that when the job goes away, it’s easy to get slammed by a cascade of negative emotions.
Creative endeavors, like podcasting, are powerful alternatives to sitting alone in the dark. All of us in the community creating podcasts, are bringing something into the world that wasn’t there before. That helps our listeners and that helps us.
I am grateful for the opportunity each week to help my listeners get a little better at public speaking.
Success does not come from becoming the best orator, podcaster or commentator. It comes from continually improving.
Each week I remind my audience and myself that you don’t have to get best…just get better.
Thanks for reading and for the opportunity to share my thoughts. We are all still at the beginning of this medium. And I can’t help but smile at the future of this industry.
If you are looking to up-level your speaking chops, why not do it 2 minutes at a time? It’s time to subscribe to 2 Minute Talk Tips STAT!
One of the best ways to empower yourself professionally and creatively is to start a podcast! If you are ready, we’d be happy to host your media. If you feel like you’d like to but need a little bit more to get started, we have a FREE Podcasting QuickStart every month!
