Writing Your ScriptFinally, we’re down to creating the show. So you sit down in front of your computer, bring up your recording program, place your face in front of the microphone, and draw a blank. What’s up with that?

Well, it’s completely understandable. If we assume that you’re an expert in the field, it’s perfectly natural to think you can just riff on it for a set amount of time. However, I would wager that those times have been in social situations and that you were entertaining friends. If you’re doing a solo show, then you’re talking to a microphone, and there’s no one else around. If you’re doing this for the first time, this is not a normal thing to do, and you might find yourself locking up with nothing coming out. It’s ok. It just means that you need to write a script.

The word script can strike fear in many people because they dread having to write out everything word-for-word, and while it’s true that some people will find that the best option, that’s not what I’m talking about. So if you’re not trying to produce an NPR-style documentary, I’m going to suggest that you not write this out word for word because it’s going to take you forever, and you might get discouraged before you start.

Also, it’s been my experience that people who read a script sound like they’re reading a script, and it’s one of the most challenging things ever. So unless you’ve got a lot of practice reading a script and getting it to sound natural, don’t do this.

Instead, you might consider including as much information as possible, but not a complete script or my recommendation is to make a list of points you want to make sure you cover and have it in front of you. Hit each point, expand on it for as long as you’re not stretching, and then move on to the next point. This approach is the best because this is the closest to the social situation where you’re talking to your friends, and your voice will be more dynamic. Just make sure you don’t get off the track and start talking about something you didn’t mean to get into. Tangents take a long time to resolve, and you can lose the listener along the way.

Like a lot of the subjects we’ve covered in this course, this is your choice. Whatever you choose, write out your idea and rehearse it until it feels as natural as possible before you hit that record button, and I have a little bit of a mind trick that might help you.

Because I am of a certain age, I remember a show that came on when I graduated high school called Twin Peaks. Kyle Mclachlan played Agent Dale Cooper, and one of the things that Agent Cooper did a lot was talk to a recorder. When he did that, he always started by addressing a person named Diane. Diane was Cooper’s secretary and confidant, and he felt awkward talking to a recorder and asked Diane if it would be alright if he used her name to feel like he was talking to a person. So I’d like you to try doing that. Pick someone in your life that’s easy to talk to, and use their name while you rehearse. The trick is to deliver it in as natural a way as possible. Then, when it’s time to record, you can drop the name or edit the name out.

One last tip to writing a script. Say it out loud as you write it, and then read it aloud when you have finished. Sometimes the right thing to say is not the EASY thing to say, and you’ll know when you read it out loud what sounds awkward and what’s hard to say. Don’t be afraid to rewrite things to make them easy to read out loud. Podcasts do not have to be War and Peace. Say what you need to say as simply as possible. Your frustration level, and your audience, will thank you.

Something else I’d like you to consider when scripting your episodes is how you open and close them. I don’t know who to attribute this to, but there’s a saying that there is someone new on the planet who has never seen The Flintstones every day. It sounds almost heretical to say, but it’s true, and like the Flintstones, some people have never heard your podcast...