Description
(00:00:00) INTRO
A group podcast has a big advantage over a podcast that is recorded alone or in an interview format. It is much more spontaneous. When you record in a group, you tend to be more relaxed.
We know that the success of the podcast does not depend on us alone, it's a real team effort where everyone brings what they do best: their expertise, their oratory skills, their ability to popularise information, and their humor.
In a group, you don't have to fill in the blanks. The discussion flows smoothly, and one person's ideas will encourage the other to speak. This is stimulating for both the speaker and the listener.
Among the disadvantages, I would say that podcasting in a group requires good planning: Everyone has to be available at the same time. If you plan to publish your podcast every week, you have to keep up with the pace as everyone has their own agenda, so it's not always possible. Everyone has to have the same motivation.
(00:01:01) FOR REAL OR VIRTUAL?
I was talking about the energy that flows: this is particularly true when recorded ''in real-life''. You can FEEL the enthusiasm and joy of being together around a table.
You can also record in a group virtually, with the call room function of Lilicast. Everyone logs in at the same time and Lilicast then takes the voices of each speaker and synchronizes them. In a group podcast, sound processing is very important: it allows all voices to be at the same level so that one is not louder than the other. Lilicast does all this automatically, which is very practical.
(00:01:43) TO WRITE OR NOT TO WRITE?
Do you have to structure a group podcast with the same precision as a solo podcast? No, unless you're writing a piece of fiction, you don't have to go into detail at all.
For a group podcast, you can just write down the main ideas and get input from the people around the table. Sometimes you can be surprised at the interesting things that can come out of a spontaneous conversation.
(00:02:09) HOW MANY?
How many people should you have in your group podcast? There is no exact rule, but the more speakers there are, the messier the result is likely to be. Everyone will want to speak out.
To avoid stepping on each other's toes, appoint a facilitator, someone who will ensure that the conversation is interesting. He or she will pass the floor to one or the other, he or she will make a discussion that is going in circles right, by launching a new angle for the debate to continue. He or she will be the thread of your program, he or she will have the plot in front of him or her, he or she will know where you need to go and how to get there.
No matter how many people are on your podcast, the secret of a group podcast is to listen to each other. Don't interrupt each other. Let your fellow podcasters get to the bottom of their ideas. Don't be afraid to take notes while they are talking so that you don't forget what you wanted to say and intervene when you have the space to do so.
(00:03:08) CONCLUSION
The group podcast can be a great meeting if it is well organized. This is the biggest challenge of the exercise: you have to be clear about what you want to say and about the project of the podcast. And you have to make sure that everyone is going to the same destination.
