Month: January 2019

Where can I get Podcasts?

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I was at a training day recently when the subject of podcasts came up. One of the delegates there said "Okay, I understand what a podcast is - but how do I get them? Where can I find them?"

Okay - this is how.

I'm working on the basis that you've got a smart phone - iPhone or Android, it doesn't matter.

If you've got an iPhone, then you should have this app on your phone

This is Apple Podcasts. Open it and you'll have four icons along the bottom. One of them is labelled 'Browse'.

Click on that and BOOM! you've taken the first step into the vast, wonderful world of podcasting.

The next icon along is 'Search'. Click on that and just type in people, subjects or businesses that you're interested in. It's likely that they'll be a few results for whatever you type in.

Okay - if you have an Android phone, there are a couple of options for you. The first one is this...

It'll be a part of Google Play - and you can search from there, for the subject, people or business that you're interested in.

However, there is also TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Podbean which also all have their own apps - and almost all of them are free. It's worth pointing out that all of these apps are also available on an iPhone too

That's one thing I will say - if you're having to pay to listen to a podcast, then it's not a podcast. There may be paywalls for additional content - or to remove ads for some of the platforms - but podcasts should always be a free listen. For the moment, anyway - but that conversation is for another time.

The third and final way to find podcasts is simple - the internet.

Most podcasts worth their salt will have their own website, so search for them on Google and go to their page. The podcast episodes should be listed on the site and you can listen straight from there. The apps that I've listed are great for downloading episodes onto your phone for your commute, holiday, dog walk - whatever!

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and get listening!

Are You Taking The Mick With A Mic?

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We have a lot of people getting in touch, wanting to talk about podcasts.

One of the first questions they ask is about the equipment - what do they need?

Our answer is always the same - a microphone, some headphones, and an editing program.

"A microphone?" they say "But my phone (or laptop) has got a microphone built in! Why do I need to spend thousands on a microphone?"

First of all - you don't need to spent thousands. You can - but you don't need to. (If you fancy spending about £5k, we can recommend the Neumann U67 - a beautiful microphone). You can get a good quality microphone for under £200 - that's what we used for the first few months of podcasting. We've upgraded since, still kept the price below £300.

Have a listen to this little recording I made, using different microphones...

Now - we haven't fiddled about with the quality, or the volume of those recordings - and we recorded all 3 in our office, which is predominantly bare walls.

You can definitely hear the difference, can't you?

We get genuinely upset when we hear podcasts - or any audio, really - that has been badly recorded.

That's why we always recommend investing in a decent microphone - and why we use professional quality microphones for our client podcast recordings.

You make sure that your logo looks great, and that your profile picture shows off your best side, and that your articles are well constructed - so why skimp on sounding as good as you possible can?

As always, if you want to know more about Podcast, we have our FREE Podcasting Checklist here

Or, why not book a call (it's a conversation, not a hard sell!) by clicking the link here

Training? Training! Podcasts!

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If you’re in charge of training for your company - what are the costs involved in that?

I’m guessing:

 - Room hire

 - Coach hire

 - Loss of work as workers are attending training

Just those 3 things on their own will run into the many hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds.

What if I told you that we could severely minimise your costs for training? 

Maybe you’re expecting me to say something virtual, something online-based that means that people take the course at their desk, rather than going to a meeting room, yes? Well, that only really deals with one of the costs, and that’s room hire.

How about delivering training for your company that can be rolled out and taken during the employee’s commute?

We are using the power of podcasting to deliver training to the right people, in the form of a clickable link, which they can listen to in their own time - no room cost, no coach cost, no role play, no ‘half a day lost’ cost.


Let me give you an example. Rolls Royce wanted to tell 2,000 of their employees about the changes to their Gifts & Hospitality policy. This is something that they would have normally taken up 2-3 hours to deliver, with coaches, room hire and lost work hours all having to be figured in.

Instead, I recorded, edited and produced a Training Podcast that could be sent out via email to everyone that needed to see it. Via my analytics I could also tell the company how many people had listened to the training, when they had listened to it - and where in the world they had listened to it. 

This is what it sounded like: ​Rolls Royce Training Podcast

Within just a few days, they had a 91% uptake on the training - and all it cost them was the production of the audio.

Want to find out we could help your business? Why not book a call, and we can have a chat - https://monkeypants.as.me/

The British Abroad

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Olivia Colman is one of Britain's best and most talented actors and I could spend hours and hours talking about the roles that she has brought to life.

However, on this occasion, I want to talk about her Golden Globes acceptance speech.

Olivia won for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite and highlighted something in her speech that I tell my clients about all the time - being real.

First of all, just watch her speech. Don't worry, I'll wait here...

Wasn't it great?

Did you find yourself smiling as you watched it? I know that I did - and it was because happiness radiated out of her like sunshine. Of course, you would expect that from someone who's just won a globally recognised award...

The other thing that would have made you smile, though, is how 'real' she is. She makes a speech like you or I would probably make such a speech. She's noticing people in the audience; people she recognises but probably doesn't know (yet!) - all the while telling us all how happy she is, how she flew on a private jet, how much she's eaten, how much she's enjoying herself...

It all comes out in a rush - but you don't miss a word of it. 

Olivia is being a real person - and that's something that you should be doing when you're hosting your podcast, speaking in front of a crowd, or being interviewed by the press.

Do not, do not, do not be someone else! Listeners, audiences and journalists can smell a fake a mile off - and it makes us want to turn away.

However you're putting yourself out there - podcasting, delivering a presentation, being interviewed, make sure that we get to see, hear and experience YOU.

Now, that doesn't mean you should come along and moan about the row you had with your partner, or the bill you've just had for your MOT - but you shouldn't try and suppress your natural personality. Letting that naturalness come out is what helps people bond with you, connect with you, relate to you.

The way to find out if you're being the 'real' you is to listen or watch yourself back. Better yet, get a friend to do it with you. Afterwards, ask them if they thought you were being genuine. If they say 'no' - then go back and find out just what it is that is preventing you from being you.

For some, it's all about the confidence. They find it easier to be like someone else when they're speaking in public or being interviewed. They've seen someone that they like speak - so they try and do some kind of homage or impersonation of them. It. Just. Doesn't. Work. Not really. You might get away with it once, but it's no long-term solution.

Spend time talking out loud. Don't worry, it's going to feel weird at first. Start by just talking. On anything. Your favourite movie, or holiday destination. Then, start recording and listening back to it - again, it's going to feel weird - but after a while you'll be able to hear the real you coming through, rather than some version of you that you'd like to convey.

If you'd like to talk more about how we can help you be more 'real, why not book a phone call for a chat? 

What’s In A Name?

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I wanted to write a little bit about the interview that Michael Gove gave to the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme recently.

As always, I preface these posts by saying that I am writing this purely from the point of a media trainer. I'm not looking to start a debate about Mr Gove, Mr Javid, any political party or major policy talks. I'm just looking at how Michael Gove acted during the short clip that I've posted at the bottom of the page.

I didn't want to post the full interview, as it is quite lengthy, but you can find it on the Radio 4 website here

So - Michael Gove was responding to the question about Home Secretary Sajid Javid's decision to come back to the UK to respond to the migrant crisis.

He did well. Michael Gove is well-versed in interviews (I've even interviewed him once. Pretty brief, though, but fairly challenging - for both of us) and that is proved here.

He speaks confidently on the subject at hand, engaging with the presenter - but one thing stood out for me.

He called the Home Secretary "Sajid". He was informal in his naming of him - and this is quite rare.

Normally, fellow MP's refer to each other in interviews as 'the Minister' or 'my learned colleague' or 'Mrs xxxxx' - so why does it matter that Michael Gove referred to the Home Secretary as 'Sajid'. Because it's a familiarity that you and I would use when speaking about people we know.

By taking that small step of calling him by first first name, he achieves a couple of very subtle things.

One - he indicates that he is close, friendly even, with the Home Secretary. By inferring that closeness, that leads us to believe that we should trust what he is saying because he knows the person he's referring to; he knows his thinking.

Two - on a subconscious levels, he ever so slightly becomes relatable. He's speaking about someone he knows in the same way that we would - that means he's more like us, doesn't it? Of course, as soon as you become conscious of it, it seems laughable; ridiculous, even. But it will have worked on some sections of the audience. 

It's these subtleties that seem very natural, but will almost certainly have come about through media training. As I said, Michael Gove is an accomplished interviewee - but that's because he works at it.

If you'd like to talk about how we could help you with your media training, click here

Or, if you'd like our FREE Media Training Checklist, click here