First-off, I would like to apologize for my cold during the recording. I tried what I could and even waited several days, recording on occasion to see how I sounded, but it was of no avail. However, I think that is one of the challenges of doing a recording. Sometimes we get sick and it hurts our overall performance when speaking. I realize now why the podcasters and YouTubers that I watch apologize when they are sick. To the audience, they sound at less than peak performance and to themselves they probably sound even worse. That is at least how I felt. I definitely respect their willingness to give it a go though, no matter how their voice sounds.
Another challenge with doing this type of genre is knowing what program I should use. If I wanted to use GarageBand, I would have had to make a reservation at the library and used one of their rooms. To be honest, the thought just made me a little uncomfortable. Having people around watching what I’m doing just scares me a little. Maybe I’m overthinking it though. So I tried other programs I might like. I gave programs like Audacity a try, but it was painful to use for me. Maybe with a lot of time to mess around with it and I could have gotten a better feel, but I just could not get the program to cut where I wanted or delete segments. A challenge is definitely finding a program you can effectively use and be comfortable with. I eventually settled with VoiceThread. I was comfortable with the program and it helped me be comfortable as I recorded. When we are just typing an essay, programs like Microsoft Word and Google Docs are not very different. So there was just a new and interesting element in this genre.
The last real challenge I felt was figuring out how I wanted to perform my “This I Believe.'” Which parts do I want to stress or where do I want to pause? When speaking in public, it doesn’t seem as big of a deal. People are really only listening to your speech once. With this “This I Believe,” people can listen to your podcast multiple times and know if something just seems off. It is a challenge to really practice and perfect how you are going to perform your script. Then it is even harder to get that perfect performance.
On the flip side, I liked doing the “This I Believe” podcast because it gave me a chance to practice my speaking without speaking in front of an audience. I won’t lie and tell you public speaking doesn’t bother me, it does. It’s weird, I had an easier time doing public speaking when I was younger. The advantage is, you also get to listen to your own voice and how you pronounce words. I realized when I was doing this that for many words I don’t put emphasis on hard T’s. When I was practicing, I tried to teach myself to work on that. The podcast gave me an opportunity to improve my speaking. I hadn’t realized that there were certain speaking problems I was having. I need to enunciate better for example.
Another pleasure is the fact that you get to listen to people instead of just reading their paper. I think it gives a deeper insight into how people write. You get to compare how you read their papers to how they wrote their papers. Maybe they place stress on different areas or pause differently than myself. I think it exposes us to more style differences.
Finally, I think speaking adds a new element of personal connection between the writer/speaker and the audience. I believe that a genre like “This I Believe” adds to our ability to understand the mood, emotions, and purpose that the author intends. When you are talking about things that are important to you or what you believe in, that is important. I think it really helps the genre move beyond other forms of writing.
Some of the decisions I made surrounding my “This I Believe” podcast was choosing not to incorporate sound effects or music. When listening to the best of the genre, I noticed that most did not use sound effects or music. I figured there had to be a reason. For me, I wanted the people to listen and think about what I was saying and not be distracted. My topic was on awareness and how ironic would it be if I reduced your ability to be aware of what my podcast was saying if I included elements that could distract you. I thought about using them. Maybe I would use cheering when I stole second or some music in the background, but after a little bit of experimenting I realized that it just didn’t work. I want my readers and listeners to think about what I am saying and ponder the importance of awareness in their life. I want people to ask themselves: “How important is awareness to me and how do I use it?” or “Am I self-aware of my limits and my flaws?” I feel that incorporating music and effects would have weakened my overall purpose. Maybe it would have helped make my podcast sound better, but does that help people to learn why I think awareness is important? My answer was no.
One of the things I did do was emphasize “Safe!” in my podcast. I was trying to imitate the referee, and I hoped by doing that I could instill how I felt when I stole second onto my audience. The feeling was amazing and it is why that game is so memorable compared to many others I have played in my life. That steal beats the time I stole home. Even though stealing home is harder and much more rare, this instance happened in a much more substantial moment. I hope when you listen to my podcast, you can feel some of that excitement.
Another delivery decision I made was to make a slight pause after I stated “I believe.” I wanted to add a little bit of emphasis to the fact this is something I believe in. I really do find awareness to be an important skill and tool. I’m one of those people who is constantly examining their surroundings and considering what options are available or examining myself. I felt the added pause helped add that emphasis to “I believe”.